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Giant's House: A Romance
Giant's House: A Romance | Elizabeth McCracken
36 posts | 44 read | 65 to read
An unusual love story about a little librarian on Cape Cod and the tallest boy in the world, "The Giant's House" is the magical first novel from the author of the 1994 ALA Notable collection Here's Your Hat, What's Your Hurry.The year is 1950, and in a small town on Cape Cod twenty-six-year-old librarian Peggy Cort feels like love and life have stood her up. Until the day James Carlson Sweatt--the "over tall" eleven-year-old boy who's the talk of the town--walks into her library and changes her life forever. Two misfits whose lonely paths cross at the circulation desk, Peggy and James are odd candidates for friendship, but nevertheless they soon find their lives entwined in ways that neither one could have predicted. In James, Peggy discovers the one person who's ever really understood her, and as he grows--six foot five at age twelve, then seven feet, then eight--so does her heart and their most singular romance. "The Giant's House" is an unforgettably tender and quirky novel about learning to welcome the unexpected miracle, and about the strength of choosing to love in a world that gives no promises, and no guarantees.
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Soubhiville
The Giant's House: A Romance | Elizabeth McCracken
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Pickpick

What a strange and bittersweet book. The friendships Peggy formed with James and his family were complicated and her emotional attachment to them strikes multiple chords.

In not sure if I‘ve ever read about a 8 foot tall person unless it was in fantasy. This really felt like historical fiction, I would believe it if told it were based on a true story.

@AmyG I feel like you might enjoy this one.

March‘s #bookspin

AmyG I have this somewhere. Ha, have to find it. Thank you! And now I am wondering if I‘ve read it. 🤣 (edited) 9mo
Yenya1954 I‘ve put this on my TBR list. 9mo
TheAromaofBooks Woohoo!! 9mo
Soubhiville @AmyG @Yenya1954 it was my first by the author. I‘m interested in more by her. 9mo
jlhammar I‘ve had this on my shelf for years - must get to it! I loved 9mo
73 likes1 stack add5 comments
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Sapphire
Giant's House: A Romance | Elizabeth McCracken
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#adventrecommends I read this pre 1999 but it has had major staying power. Reading this authors newest now. Also enjoyed Bowlerama, but the Giants House is what made me fall for this author.

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Moray_Reads
The Giant's House: A Romance | Elizabeth McCracken
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Pickpick

A sad and poignant story about the relationship between a small-town librarian and a young man over eight feet tall. It is absolutely beautifully written and narrated by a complex woman wrestling with society's, as well as her own, expectations of a thirty-something woman's life in 1950s America. She's intelligent and dry-witted and her humour lifts the melancholy of the story, ably assisted by a cast of odd neighbours and visitors ⬇️

Moray_Reads For me, it wasn't really romantic love but two sad, lonely outsiders desperately trying to fill a void left in both by missed opportunities and a limited future who find comfort and hope in one another. 5y
45 likes1 stack add1 comment
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Marja
The Giant's House: A Romance | Elizabeth McCracken
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Pickpick

It has been a while since I read this, but I remember it to be weird and wonderful. This book celebrates libraries and librarians. The author used to be a librarian and it shows. The writing is good but the story made me a little uncomfortable and I didn't care about the characters as much as I would have wanted to but I still think it's well worth reading.

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shaynarae
The Giant's House: A Romance | Elizabeth McCracken
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Pickpick

This book was so sweet and charming! A delightful summer read about a librarian and an “over tall” Cape Codder in the early 20th century and their relationship to each other. Subtitled “A Romance,” itms not cringe-y; rather it‘s simply sweet without the overwhelming elements passion. Darling, funny, and heartbreaking, I recommend picking up this one. #catsoflitsy

rretzler 😻 5y
wanderinglynn What a cute fur-baby! ❤️🐱 5y
17 likes3 comments
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Centique
The Giant's House: A Romance | Elizabeth McCracken
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Pickpick

1950s New England, Peggy Cort is a spinster librarian in a small town, sensible beyond reason & rapidly becoming curmudgeonly until 11yo James comes into the library with an appetite for knowledge and an inability to stop growing.
This beautifully told story captures Peggy‘s unique view of the world, her loneliness palpable - and how she sees James, all his beauty and promise, and the condition that isolates and confines him.

Centique It‘s touching, quiet and for me it was unremittingly sad - but I think I‘ll remember this for a long time. 6y
Lcsmcat Sounds like my kind of book. Stacked. 6y
Centique @Lcsmcat hope you like it! 😘 6y
89 likes5 stack adds3 comments
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Marja
The Giant's House: A Romance | Elizabeth McCracken
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"I do not love mankind." After opening line like this I will be very disappointed if I don't like this book. So far so good.

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Kangaj1
The Giant's House: A Romance | Elizabeth McCracken
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@Liberty I found your favorite book today and bought it. So excited to finally read it!

34 likes1 stack add
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RedbagReadbooks
The Giant's House: A Romance | Elizabeth McCracken
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Pickpick

3.5/5⭐️

LeslieO ❤️❤️❤️ 6y
29 likes1 stack add1 comment
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Wife
The Giant's House: A Romance | Elizabeth McCracken
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Such a lovely surprise in the mail today! Thank you so much to my #jb friend Jennifer! This has been on my TBR and I‘m excited to read it. I love ❤️ the 1920‘s fashion card too. @Jas16 @kaye

Cinfhen Cool book cover 6y
Wife @Cinfhen The cover and the blurb make me want to dive right into this one! 🌹 6y
Jas16 So glad it arrived. I hope you enjoy it! 6y
58 likes3 comments
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ErickaS_Flyleafunfurled
The Giant's House: A Romance | Elizabeth McCracken
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Pickpick

Amazing book. The writing is spectacular.
McCracken is one of my favorite authors. Her wordsmithing is stunning.
The tag line is that this a love story between a young boy with gigantism and a much older socially awkward librarian. But it‘s so much more than that.

*picture stolen from the Internet of Robert Wadlow, the tallest man ever. Some of his life story was incorporated into the book‘s character.

SW-T It was an interesting book. 6y
lahousewyfe I read this book so long ago and just remember closing it with a satisfied sigh. Such a world she wove. 6y
ErickaS_Flyleafunfurled @lahousewyfe Yes! Her writing is so engaging. I want to read all her books. 6y
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BooksForEmpathy
The Giant's House: A Romance | Elizabeth McCracken
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Pickpick

Last night‘s Book Club! This book about a very tall (almost 9 feet by the end) boy and a librarian over 20 years his senior was unlike anything we had ever read before. It has lots of writing about the magic of books and is heartbreaking on nearly every page. It‘s about loneliness and love and romance and unfair circumstances and the desire for more and the ending is so surprising it is worth the read just to find out what happens!

72 likes4 stack adds
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BooksForEmpathy
The Giant's House: A Romance | Elizabeth McCracken
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Hi! I made a delicious vegan kale “ceaser” with roasted chickpeas + avo today and I am feeling more like myself. Also, in the middle of this book for Book Club next week!

I have been exhausted this school year and knew that I needed to make a change. I am pulling back from 5 days a week at my schools to 4, and have been given the opportunity to start my own private therapy practice one afternoon a week! More moments like this one in my future ☀️.

DivineDiana Looks delicious! 🙂 6y
Suet624 Nice!!! 6y
readordierachel How exciting! 6y
CuriousG Kudos to you for recognizing when you needed change, and actually doing it! Hope the new schedule treats you well 😊 6y
mauveandrosysky I‘m so glad you‘re doing what you need to do to make things better! 🖤 (edited) 6y
76 likes5 comments
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LeslieO
The Giant's House: A Romance | Elizabeth McCracken
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36 likes1 stack add
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LeslieO
The Giant's House: A Romance | Elizabeth McCracken
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Started picking my next read based on what letter I need in the #litsyatoz challenge. G✅

LeahBergen I need a ‘G‘ pick, too. I‘m doing the “author or title” route this year and I‘m thinking of picking a Gaskell. 6y
LeslieO @LeahBergen This method is moving books up on the TBR like A Quiet Life in the Country and The Yonahlossee Riding Camp for Girls. 6y
34 likes2 comments
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LeslieO
The Giant's House: A Romance | Elizabeth McCracken
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#Librarians- toiling in obscurity

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LeafingThroughLife
The Giant's House: A Romance | Elizabeth McCracken
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This one‘s been on my shelves for eons, and I think this is the perfect quiet, cloudy Sunday to finish it! #lazySunday #currentlyreading

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Bry
The Giant's House: A Romance | Elizabeth McCracken
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I knew nothing about this book before I started it. It was quirkier than I expected, which normally doesn‘t work for me, but I came around to the cynical librarian‘s voice. Bonus points for all the details about library work in the 1950s. 😊

ErickaS_Flyleafunfurled I just read the description and I want this book right now!! 7y
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Krisjericho
The Giant's House: A Romance | Elizabeth McCracken
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“The idea of a library full of books, the books full of knowledge, fills me with fear and love and courage and endless wonder.” The picture is an interior of shot of the library I work at. Ain‘t it purty?! 😍 #Library #quotsy #quotsynov17

ReadingSusan It‘s so pretty! And big. My library is tiny! 7y
Gezemice Pretty! Love the giant windows! My library is a bit dark although it is an older building which is quite pretty. 7y
TK-421 Gorgeous! 7y
Simona 😍😍😍😍😍 7y
38 likes4 comments
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Liberty
The Giant's House: A Romance | Elizabeth McCracken
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Dewey's Readathon countdown, Day 7: The prompt is "sad." This is one of my very favorite books and it is, among a million other things, sad. And when I discovered the cat had chewed the corner, that also made me sad. #readathon #30DaysofReadathon ???

cariashley I get SO mad when my cats do that. Luckily they seem to get that and mostly have left them alone recently! 7y
139 likes12 stack adds1 comment
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HighShelfEsteem
The Giant's House: A Romance | Elizabeth McCracken
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Have been wanting to read all three of these for a hot minute and got them all for $3.00 at the library's used book shop!

Bookcation74 One of my all time favorites!! 7y
19 likes1 comment
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Caryl
The Giant's House: A Romance | Elizabeth McCracken
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#jubilantjuly day 9: #shoesoncovers - I'm weeding my book collection, and I found this one. I haven't read it yet. Is it worth keeping?

@RealLifeReading

ReadingEnvy I know some people call it their favorite book of all time but I struggled to get into it. 7y
ErikasMindfulShelf Thought it was ok, didn't love it. Gave it away after reading it. 7y
Soubhiville It's on my TBR shelf, it's been there a long time... 7y
Caryl @ReadingEnvy @irre @Soubhiville - Thanks for the feedback! I think I'm going to let it go. 7y
25 likes4 comments
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LitHousewife
The Giant's House: A Romance | Elizabeth McCracken
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This morning, my husband left the house early to get an oil change. A friend picked up the kids for riding lessons. Words cannot describe how much I enjoyed having the house to myself. I spent most of that time finishing this book. It was a glorious morning.

It's an excellent book! The writing is compelling, thoughtful, & beautiful. I am so glad I read it. I'm still processing the ending. I'm also contemplating the word greedy. Such a good book.

Wife I totally understand that feeling of having the house to yourself. It happens so rarely and is such a treat for me. 🌹 8y
52 likes3 stack adds1 comment
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LitHousewife
The Giant's House: A Romance | Elizabeth McCracken
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I am loving this book!

Megabooks 👍🏻👍🏻 Great quote!! 8y
54 likes1 comment
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ReadingEnvy
The Giant's House: A Romance | Elizabeth McCracken
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Can you guess this month's library book theme? More on my blog http://readingenvy.blogspot.com/2017/02/library-books-mid-february-2017.html

cathysaid Prepare for Missoula to piss you right off!! (edited) 8y
MicheleinPhilly Theme is "grab all the books I can carry"? ? 8y
ReadingEnvy @MicheleinPhilly usually! 😜 8y
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LitHousewife
The Giant's House: A Romance | Elizabeth McCracken
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As my half PTO day is coming to a close it ends with "All I'm greedy for is peace and quiet." I may not be a librarian, but I ought to be. ?

LiteraryinPA That resonates a lot with me too. Sigh. 8y
52 likes1 stack add1 comment
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LitHousewife
The Giant's House: A Romance | Elizabeth McCracken
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I'm now starting this book about a librarian and her relationship with a very tall student who may be one of her few friends. Should be interesting.

shawnmooney I've been curious about McCracken forever but haven't gotten to her yet. Looking forward to your review! 8y
Sapphire This book made a huge impression on me when I read it years ago. May be worthy of my rare reread because it was so impactful to see if I have similar reactions a few decades older/later. 8y
EvieBee I loved this book! 8y
See All 7 Comments
OneLitChick This is a lovely book! Enjoy! 8y
LitHousewife @shawnmooney I will let you know. Just a couple of chapters in and I'm intrigued by this librarian. 8y
LitHousewife @Sapphire That is a major endorsement! I'm so glad I picked this one up. It was $1 at the dollar. Best impulse buy ever? 8y
60 likes8 stack adds7 comments
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ChrisBohjalian
The Giant's House: A Romance | Elizabeth McCracken
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Spotted this giant walking along the tarmac outside the Jacksonville Airport this morning. One more reason why I love book tours!

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suvata
The Giant's House: A Romance | Elizabeth McCracken
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I bailed on this book a while back. Thought I would give it another try.

suvata It was OK ... nothing to write home about. 8y
13 likes1 stack add1 comment
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MicheleinPhilly
The Giant's House: A Romance | Elizabeth McCracken
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#SeasonsReadings2016 One of those books that sat on my shelves unread for years. When I finally did read it, I was mad at myself for not having read it sooner. This book is ❤️. #SetInLibraries

valeriegeary Yes! I read this years ago but remember really enjoying it. 8y
StacksNShelves I love this book! 😍❤️ 8y
EvieBee Gasp. Completely forgot about this one. A favorite of mine! 8y
MrBook Nice cover! 8y
33 likes6 stack adds4 comments
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Juneofthemoon
The Giant's House: A Romance | Elizabeth McCracken
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Panpan

This book was nothing like what I expected. Many times I don't read up on books too much before I crack them open because I don't want other people's opinion to color my own experience too heavily. I was intrigued at first but the plot then lost me and I couldn't relate to the main character in any way. Bummer of a book.

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Juneofthemoon
The Giant's House: A Romance | Elizabeth McCracken
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Sitting in the car at football practice before the game starts, hanging out with a sleeping toddler and trying to block out the harried nature that is a sports filled parking lot on a Saturday morning.

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Imagineannie
The Giant's House: A Romance | Elizabeth McCracken
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This is a great opportunity!

19 likes1 stack add
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MamaGina
The Giant's House: A Romance | Elizabeth McCracken
Pickpick

Not at all what I expected ... But absolutely wonderful! This one will stay with me for a long time.

Macnjen Ooh good! I got this thru paperback swap but haven't read it yet! 9y
5 likes1 stack add1 comment
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MamaGina
The Giant's House: A Romance | Elizabeth McCracken
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My weekend is today & tomorrow, so having my own personal readathon, starting with this one.

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JessLovesBooks
The Giant's House: A Romance | Elizabeth McCracken
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Some of us get to lay in bed all day. Almost done with my first Elizabeth McCracken and it gets👍🏼👍🏼

MrBook I think your feline and mine were separated at birth. 😺 8y
6 likes1 comment