Each week, SunLit—the Sun’s literary section—features recommendations from staff at bookstores across Colorado. This week, the staff at Old Firehouse Books in Fort Collins recommends books about romance, the roads and coming to terms with long-held secrets.

The mating

By Casey McQuiston
St. Martin’s Griffin
$20
August 2024
Buy

From the publisher: Theo and Kit have been many things: best friends in childhood, crushes, in love and now separated ex-partners. After a brutal breakup on the transatlantic flight to their dream trip through Europe with food and wine, they said goodbye to each other’s lives once and for all. The time apart has done them good.

What remains is the unused voucher for the European tour that never took place. It is still valid for 48 months after the original date and will soon expire. Four years later, it seems like a great idea to finally take the trip. Alone. Separately.

It’s only when they board the tour bus that they realize they both happened to have exactly the same idea and are now trapped together for three weeks full of breathtaking views, delicious flavors and the most romantic cities in France, Spain and Italy.

From Andrea, event coordinator: Sure, several years later they can get along as long as they can prove to each other that they’ve moved on. And let’s be honest, what’s the best way to prove to your ex that you don’t have any feelings for him at all anymore? Definitely a one-night stand!

Casey McQuiston is back with a book that is absolutely hilarious and beautiful and so much fun to read. Kit and Theo are wonderful bisexual wrecks who, while flawed, have so much heart and care for the world around them and for each other (begrudgingly). And I can’t even describe the incredible FOMO I felt reading about their tour. You will finish reading this novel and book a tour to Europe right after. The explanations of the food, wine and cities were delicious. (Plus, I listened to the audiobook and highly recommend it!! Get your audiobook today on Libro.fm!!)

Killed by a traffic engineer

By Wes Marshall
Island Press
$35
June 2024
Buy

From the publisher: In the United States, nearly 4 million people have died on the roads since counting began in 1899. The numbers have gotten worse in recent years, but we continue to accept these deaths as part of doing business. No investigation has been made into why we build roads that are literally killing us. Ending the carnage on our roads will require a mindset shift and a dramatic transformation of transportation. This is especially true for transportation engineers, because they are still the ones responsible for our roads.

Civil engineering professor Wes Marshall highlights how little science goes into the design of our roads, leaving safety to take a back seat. While traffic engineers don’t intentionally mean to harm anyone, he explains, they are guilty of creating a transportation system whose designs are largely based on plausible but unproven assumptions.

From Sterling, bookseller: To ease my lingering sadness at not being able to attend the event we held with the author, I’ve chosen August to highlight a book that is both impactful and necessary. Wes Marshall takes us on an intense, thorough, and sometimes grim, yet compassionate journey through the fundamentals of a (until recently) almost unquestioned profession. This is the ultimate insider’s guide to a fascinating area of ​​design that is associated with often catastrophic safety implications and touches our lives by shaping the way we move every day: the traffic engineer.

The Widow’s Guide to Dead Bastards

By Jessica Waite
Atria Books
29,99 €
July 2024
Buy

From the publisher: While mourning the sudden death of her husband, writer Jessica Waite discovered shocking secrets that challenged everything she thought she knew about the man she loved and trusted. From exposed affairs to drug use and porn addiction, Waite was overwhelmed as she tried to reconcile this devastating information with her new reality as a widowed, single mother. And to complicate matters further, strange, unexplained coincidences forced her to consider whether her husband was coming back from the grave.

With her trademark candor and brutal honesty, Waite describes her turbulent love story and the pain of adjusting to the new normal she has created for herself and her son. The Widow’s Guide to Dead Bastards is a gripping, difficult, and surprisingly beautiful story. is also a lyrical exploration of grief, mental health, single parenthood, and betrayal, showing that the most moving love stories aren’t perfect—they’re flawed and poignantly real.

From Revati, Managing Director: This is an amazing autobiography that will make anyone question what it really means to love someone. Jessica Waite writes with so much understanding and raw emotion that you can empathize with her in the loss, anger, grief, confusion, and love. Despite the heavy subject matter, you will be instantly hooked and I am sure this will be one of my favorite autobiographies of the year.

THIS WEEK’S BOOK RECOMMENDATIONS COME FROM:

Old fire brigade books

232 Walnut St., Fort Collins

www.oldfirehousebooks.com

As part of the Literature Section – SunLit – we feature our staff’s recommendations from bookstores across the state. Read more.