Bookshelf

Alumni and faculty members who would like to have their books considered for this listing should contact Stacey Himmelberger, editor of Hamilton magazine. This list, which dates back to 2018, is updated periodically with books appearing alphabetically on the date of entry.

The Road to Tender Hearts by Annie Hartnett ’08.

January 13, 2026

Tags Alumni Book

(Ballantine Books, 2025).

How cool is it when your literary idol has this to say about your latest book? “A miraculous novel — an actual and spiritual road trip you won’t forget.”

That’s how the author John Irving described Hartnett’s national bestseller, a story about an old man named PJ Halliday whose quest to reunite with his high school crush takes him on a cross-country journey accompanied by his adult daughter, two orphans he just met, and a cat who can predict death. This could finally be PJ’s chance for a fresh shot at love and parenting. What could possibly go wrong?

This book has all the feels — humor, disfunction, joy, frustration, and just the right amount of weirdness. As one reviewer noted, “Annie Hartnett has given life to one of my favorite characters I have ever read: PJ Halliday. At 63, in Birkenstocks and a zip-up sweater stitched with polar bears, good with women despite his flatulence, and charmingly dependent on his ex-wife and her new husband, PJ is like “The Dude” in The Big Lebowski, one of those iconic characters you just can’t help falling in love with and who will live on in your heart long after the book is over.”