Summary

The novel opens with a single planning sheet for Tuesday, April 30th, with a schedule including work and trivia, a goal of drinking more water, and a short list of things to buy.

The narrator tells the reader to choose a bird and describes a top-down view of an old-style neighborhood in Los Angeles named Larchmont. Nina Lee Hill- the hero of the novel- works at a bookstore, Knight’s. It is a paradise for Nina, except for the customer she is currently dealing with. Nina imagines herself hitting the woman with an imaginary blaster, and tells her that they cannot refund a completed book, suggesting a library card. When Nina says to give the book, Pride and Prejudice, another chance, the woman says most people’s lives are not as boring as Nina’s and leaves. The owner Liz says Nina...