By the Book

Written by Amanda Sellet

Narrated by Laura Knight Keating

As a devotee of classic novels, Mary Porter-Malcolm is a walking encyclopedia of Mistakes That Have
Been Made, especially by her favorite literary heroines. So when some new friends seem in danger of
falling for the same tricks employed since the days of Austen and Tolstoy, Mary starts compiling the Scoundrel
Survival Guide, using archetypes of literature’s debonair bad boys to spot red flags in the dating department.
But despite her best efforts, she soon finds herself falling for a supposed cad—the same one she warned
her friends away from. Without a convenient rain-swept moor to flee to, Mary is forced to admit that real life
doesn’t follow the same rules as fiction and if she wants a happy ending, she’s going to have to ditch the books
and write it herself.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Recorded Books, Inc.
• Release date: May 12, 2020
• ISBN: 9781980077855

Amanda Sellet

Amanda Sellet is fond of silly jokes, large bodies of water, dessert at least once a day, and stories of all kinds. A former journalist, Amanda is the author of By the Book: A Novel of Prose and Cons. She currently lives in Kansas with her family.

Reviews for By the Book

[Tonasha Porter · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Loved it! Really funny and not so cookie cutter. Pleasantly surprised!

[Diane Mak · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Very cute for what it is, I think my 15 year old self would also have really enjoyed this. Short, fun read and I feel that the audiobook version was what made me keep "reading" and finishing the book. If I read this I would have stopped much earlier as Mary can be a bit sometimes (but I also cringe at thinking how I was then too ?). Also Lydia and Arden are TOO CUTE.

[Ithaar Elbagir · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

adorable tale of self discovery and female friendship. Had a cute romance and feel good book references any book lover would appreciate.

[Dionna Tan · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Its not bad. Good for light reading, for little butterflies feelings.

[caseybook01 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Surprisingly I was enjoyed reading this. It's was delightful and cute, light reading.
I like dynamic between her parents and siblings. the sort of enemies to lover in this book was sold me in. plus the reference of the classic book was really good.

[Karla Alejandra · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I disagree with the terrible hot take about Mansfield Parkal and Fanny, but it was an otherwise very enjoyable book.

[Maru · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

I really wanted to love this, but I was not capable to connect with the characters! I loved the book references. It was an okay book...

[n.w.moors-1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Mary Porter-Malcolm is the bookish middle child of two college professors. Starting public high school after being in a small private school on campus, she has to find new friends which she does by using her extensive knowledge of 19th-century classic books. Her new friends are fascinated, taking Mary's advice about the boys in school as she compares them to men in those novels and labels them accordingly which becomes compiled into the Scoundrel Survival Guide. Of course, the boy she had at the top of the list turns out to be a nice guy and Mary ends up learning some valuable lessons.This may sound a bit like some other YA books with a book-loving heroine, but Mary (and all the other characters) has more depth than the usual and the story arc works much better here. Her family is just wonderful, quirky without being over-the-top, and her new friends are pretty cool also. I'm on a kick of reading some YA books and I really liked this one. First time author, but I'll definitely read more by Ms. Sellet.