NATIONAL BESTSELLER

“Sophie, Standing There by Meg Mason is our October Reese's Book Club pick! A funny and tender story about loneliness, connection, and finding your way back to yourself.” —Reese Witherspoon (Reese’s Book Club October ’26 Pick)

“Engrossing.” —The New Yorker

“The great pleasure of this novel, aside from its depiction of Sophie coming into her own, is its celebration of reading and writers.” —Wall Street Journal

A TOP TEN LIBRARY READS PICK • AN INDIE NEXT PICK • A MARIE CLAIRE, FORBES, WOMAN'S WORLD, SHE READS, AND GOODREADS MOST ANTICIPATED READ

The “brilliant” (Ann Patchett) and much beloved author of the critically acclaimed Sorrow and Bliss returns with a tender and hilarious novel about heartbreak and the journey from isolation and loneliness toward love.

Sophie Pattison loves books. And as well as a dream job at a local book festival, she has a husband she adores; a lifelong best friend, Emma; and a brother she’s always been close to. Which makes you wonder why since Christmas Sophie has been living alone, estranged from Emma, avoiding her brother, and about to be fired.

Now it feels like the only thing she has left is reading. When Sophie rediscovers an author she first read in her twenties, the words on the page reach her in a new way—becoming both solace and company. Sophie devours every one of the author's novels and begins to dream of meeting her, but knows they never will. But what if they did? What if, by then, the author feels like a friend? What if, for Sophie, it feels almost like love?

In this much anticipated novel, Meg Mason captures the heartache and dark humor of our relationships in all their complexity, with a story about the power of connection and an ode to the inexplicable nature of the human heart.

“So smart, so funny, so moving. I absolutely loved it.” —Bonnie Garmus, New York Times bestselling author of Lessons in Chemistry