{"product_id":"word-salad-9781400346684","title":"Word Salad","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eMatilda loves logic and order, and now her structured world is falling apart--in a bookstore.\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eFormer economics major Matilda is moving back to her hometown of Washington D.C. to care for her ailing mother, and she's desperate for money. She takes a job at her neighborhood bookstore and tries, in vain, to make sense of illogical business of books. To make things worse, she's forced to team up with a new hire--the enigmatic, flaky, larger-than-life, Sage--who shows up on her first day of work with zero administrative skills and her tiny, puffy, incessantly urinating dog that resembles an underfed rat.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eSomething in the chaos begins to remind Matilda of her long-neglected creative side, and she starts to rediscover the person she once was before so much got in the way. But things get even more unmanageable when Matilda and Sage are tasked with putting together an event for the reclusive and controversial Dr. Jordan Rutabaga, a windbag of a public intellectual with a cult following that includes a number of people who would like to literally and figuratively see him dead. Rutabaga has a long list of alleged misdeeds, from plagiarism to failure to pay child support to stiffing the nanny.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eAs the event date approaches, Matilda and Sage discover that Sage and Rutabaga have their own not uncomplicated past, adding yet another person to list of people who do not wish him well. Add in a lawsuit and an impending snowstorm along with the potentially sinister presence of Rutabaga himself, and Matilda is about to come undone.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eBestselling author Susan Coll's gastric, bookish, laugh-out-loud comedy of manners reminds us that sometimes things have to completely fall apart for them to perfectly come together.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAuthor:\u003c\/b\u003e Susan Coll\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/b\u003e Harper Muse\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublished:\u003c\/b\u003e 09\/15\/2026\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePages:\u003c\/b\u003e 368\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eBinding Type:\u003c\/b\u003e Paperback\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eWeight:\u003c\/b\u003e 0.62lbs\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eSize:\u003c\/b\u003e 8.35h x 5.51w x 0.93d\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN:\u003c\/b\u003e 9781400346684\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eReview Citation(s): \u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eKirkus Reviews\u003c\/i\u003e 08\/01\/2026\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eBooklist\u003c\/i\u003e 09\/01\/2026\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAbout the Author\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eColl, Susan:\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e - \u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eUSA Today\u003c\/em\u003e and \u003cem\u003eWashington Post\u003c\/em\u003e bestselling writer Susan Coll is the author of eight previous novels, including \u003cem\u003eThe Literati\u003c\/em\u003e, \u003cem\u003eReal Life \u0026amp; Other Fictions\u003c\/em\u003e, and \u003cem\u003eBookish People\u003c\/em\u003e. Her other books include \u003cem\u003eThe Stager\u003c\/em\u003e, \u003cem\u003eAcceptance\u003c\/em\u003e, \u003cem\u003eRockville Pike\u003c\/em\u003e, and \u003cem\u003eKarlmarx.com\u003c\/em\u003e. Her work has appeared in \u003cem\u003eThe Washington Post\u003c\/em\u003e, \u003cem\u003eThe New York Times\u003c\/em\u003e, NPR.org, The Atlantic.com, \u003cem\u003eThe Millions\u003c\/em\u003e, and other publications. Her novel, \u003cem\u003eAcceptance\u003c\/em\u003e, was made into a television movie starring Joan Cusack. Susan is the recipient of multiple grants from the DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities. She works as an event consultant at Politics and Prose Bookstore and was the president of the PEN\/Faulkner Foundation for five years. Coll teaches workshops at The Writer's Center in Bethesda, Maryland.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"booksdeli.com","offers":[{"title":"Susan Coll \/ Paperback \/ English","offer_id":48944184656029,"sku":"9781400346684","price":22.78,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0619\/5648\/9373\/files\/img_49f3ed37-57cc-473f-8351-ae89321881ae.jpg?v=1790155412","url":"https:\/\/booksdeli.com\/products\/word-salad-9781400346684","provider":"booksdeli.com","version":"1.0","type":"link"}