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Thursday, September 17, 2020

"Fall" into a Book



It's almost here!  The season of leaves, hot drinks, pumpkins, apple picking, and hayrides.   September 22 marks the first day of Autumn, my favorite of the four seasons.  A perfect time to curl up with a book, coffee, and weather permitting, a comfy blanket. 



"After a hectic year, Edindale, Illinois, attorney Keli Milanni is ready to welcome autumn by counting her many blessings. But a case of murder could cause her to fall behind . . . "--Amazon.



"Australia, 1920. Seventeen-year-old Maddie Bright embarks on the voyage of a lifetime when she's chosen to serve on the cross-continent tour of His Royal Highness, the dashing Edward, Prince of Wales. Life on the royal train is luxurious beyond her dreams, and the glamorous, good-hearted friends she makes crack open her world. But glamour often hides all manner of sins. Decades later, Maddie lives alone in Brisbane, whiling away the days. When a London journalist struggling with her own romantic entanglements begins asking questions about the reclusive author M.A. Bright, Maddie is taken back to the dazzling days of the royal tour--and to the secrets, she has kept for so long."--Back cover



Richard Papen had never been to New England before his nineteenth year. Then he arrived at Hampden College and quickly became seduced by the sweet, dark rhythms of campus life -- in particular by an elite group of five students, Greek scholars, worldly, self-assured, and at first glance, highly unapproachable.
"Under the influence of their charismatic classics professor, a group of clever, eccentric misfits at an elite New England college discover a way of thinking and living that is a world away from the humdrum existence of their contemporaries. But when they go beyond the boundaries of normal morality they slip gradually from obsession to corruption and betrayal, and at last -- inexorably -- into evil."--Back cover.



From the New York Times, Bestselling author of Little Children and The Leftovers comes a new novel about sex, love, and identity on the frontlines of America's culture wars. Sharp, witty, and provocative, Mrs. Fletcher is a timeless examination of sexuality, parenthood, and the big clarifying mistakes people make when they're no longer sure of who they are or where they belong.



In the crisp, early hours of an autumn morning, the police are called to investigate two deaths. The first is a suspected murder at a farm on the outskirts of a small village. A beautiful young woman has been found dead, her cottage drenched with blood. The second is a reported suicide at a nearby quarry. A car with a woman's body inside was found at the bottom of the pit. As DI Louisa Smith and her team gather evidence, they discover a shocking link between the two cases and the two deaths--a bond that sealed their terrible fates one cold night, under a silent moon.



"Autumn has finally arrived in the small town of Bascom, North Carolina, heralded by a strange old man appearing with a beat-up suitcase. He has stories to tell, stories that could change the lives of the Waverley women forever. But the Waverley's have enough trouble on their hands. Quiet Claire Waverley has started a successful new venture, Waverley's Candies, but it's nothing like she thought it would be, and it's slowly taking over her life. Claire's wild sister Sydney, still trying to leave her past behind, is about to combust with her desire for another new beginning. And Sydney's fifteen-year-old daughter Bay has given her heart away to the wrong boy and can't get it back"--Provided by publisher.



Amateur biographer Margaret Lea receives a letter from reclusive author Vida Winter, summoning her to write Vida's life story. Up to this point, Vida has never given a true account of her life, toying with interviewers by inventing outlandish life histories of herself. In her old age, she, at last, wants to tell the truth about her extraordinary life. Margaret is captivated by Vida's strange tale of the mysterious March family. But as a biographer, she deals in fact not fiction, and she doesn't entirely trust Vida's account. As Margaret pieces together the story on her own, what she discovers is a chilling and transforming experience.




"Crisp autumn breezes, sizzling bratwurst, warm gingerbread cookies... and just a dash of murder. It's Oktoberfest in Buttercup, Texas, and homesteader Lucy Resnick is taking a break from her chores to enjoy a day of bratwurst, craft beer, and German gingerbread at Sweetwater Brewery. But the day takes a bitter turn when one of the brewery owners turns up dead, crushed by a giant sack of barley. It doesn't take long for Sheriff Rooster (not the sharpest tool in the garden shed) to finger the victim's brother and co-owner, Simon Gustafson. But former investigative reporter Lucy senses that the blighted plants in her pumpkin patch aren't the only things rotten in Buttercup. Will she find the killer in time? Or will she be next in line for canning?"--Amazon website.





Poet Glyn Maxwell wakes up in a mysterious village one autumn day. He has no idea how he got there; is he dead? In a coma? Dreaming?-- but he has a strange feeling there’s a class to teach. And isn’t that the poet Keats wandering down the lane? Why not ask him to give a reading, do a Q and A, hit the pub with the students afterward? Soon the whole of the autumn term stretches ahead, with Byron, Yeats and Emily Dickinson, the Brontës, the Brownings, Edgar Allan Poe, Walt Whitman, Wilfred Owen, and many more all on their way to give readings in the humble village hall. And everything these famed personalities say -- in class, on stage, at the Cross Keys pub comes verbatim from these poets’ diaries, essays, or letters. A dreamy novel of a profound autumn term with Poe, Yeats, Whitman, Dickinson, and the Brontës. -- amazon.com




As autumn approaches Ilse Stern is thinking about her infatuation with Hermann Rød, and whether his determination to be a painter will interfere with their romance--but the reality of being Jewish in occupied Oslo is about to turn her whole world upside down, as the deportation of the Norwegian Jews begins.

Monday, September 14, 2020

Read An Ebook Day!






On the list of literary holidays, September 18th is "Read an ebook day" a day to explore reading with technology. Time to grab your smartphone, tablet, or home computer and check out what books we have to offer through our virtual services. Personally, I prefer to use my laptop, for the bigger screen also, there is something to be said for being able to adjust the color and text size. 


Here are a few of the ebooks we have to offer.

Omni Overdrive/Libby




An intimate, powerful, and inspiring memoir by the former First Lady of the United States #1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER


Two couples meet for dinner at a fashionable restaurant in Amsterdam. Behind their polite conversation, terrible things need to be said, and with every forced smile and every new course, the knives are being sharpened. Each couple has a fifteen-year-old son. The two boys are united by their accountability for a single horrific act; an act that has triggered a police investigation and shattered the comfortable, insulated worlds of their families. As the dinner reaches its culinary climax, the conversation finally touches on their children. As civility and friendship disintegrate, each couple shows just how far they are prepared to go to protect those they love.



"Welcome to Greenwich, CT, where the lawns and the women are perfectly manicured, the Tito's and sodas are extra strong, and everyone has something to say about the infamous new neighbor. Let's be clear: Emily Charlton, Miranda Priestly's ex-assistant, does not do the suburbs. She's working in Hollywood as an image consultant to the stars, but recently, Emily's lost a few clients. She's hopeless with social media. The new guard is nipping at her heels. She needs a big opportunity, and she needs it now. Karolina Hartwell is as A-list as they come. She's the former face of L'Oreal. A mega-supermodel recognized the world over. And now, the gorgeous wife of the newly elected senator from New York, Graham, who also has his eye on the presidency. It's all very Kennedy-esque, right down to the public philandering and Karolina's arrest for a DUI--with a Suburban full of other people's children. Miriam is the link between them. Until recently she was a partner at one of Manhattan's most prestigious law firms. But when Miriam moves to Greenwich and takes time off to spend with her children, she never could have predicted that being a stay-at-home mom in an uber-wealthy town could have more pitfalls than a stressful legal career. Emily, Karolina, and Miriam make an unlikely trio, but they desperately need each other. Together, they'll navigate the social landmines of life in America's favorite suburb on steroids, revealing the truths--and the lies--that simmer just below the glittering surface."-- Provided by publisher.




"A collection of essays taking aim at the legitimacy of the modern feminist movement, arguing that it has chronically failed to address the needs of all but a few women"-- Provided by publisher.


Odilo 




For his service in the British army during the French and Indian War, Judith Sheramy's father is granted a parcel of land in far away Louisiana. As the family ventures down the Mississippi to make a new home in the wilderness, Judith meets Philip Larne, an adventurer who travels in the finest clothes Judith has ever seen. He is a rogue, a killer, and a thief, and the first thing he steals is Judith's heart. Three thousand acres of untamed jungle, overrun with jaguars, Indians, and pirates, wait for Philip in Louisiana. He and Judith will struggle with their stormy marriage and the challenges of the American Revolution as they strive to build an empire for future generations.





Bacon Nation is a bacon-lover's dream, a collection of 125 smoky, savory, crispy, meaty, salty, and sweetly sensuous recipes that go right through the menu. Starters like Spiced Nuts with Bacon; Bacon and Butternut Squash Galette; Bacon, Pear, and Humboldt Fog Salad. Main courses featuring meats--Brawny Bacon Beef Bourguignon, Saltimbacon; poultry--Paella with Chicken and Bacon; fish--Flaky Cod Fillets with Bacon and Wine-Braised Fennel; and pasta, including an update of the classic Roman dish Bucatini all'Amatriciana. Even dessert: Rum Ice Cream with Candied Bacon Chips and Chocolate-Peanut-Bacon Toffee. Or, as Homer Simpson would say, Mmmm, bacon.




The vicar of a nearby village persuades Agatha Raisin to help publicize a church fete. Agatha brings out the crowds for the fete, but there's more going on than innocent village fun. Several of the offerings in the jam-tasting booth turn out to be poisoned, and the festive family event becomes the scene of two murders. Along with her young and (much to her dismay) pretty sidekick, Toni, Agatha must uncover the truth behind the jam tampering, keep the church funds safe from theft, and expose the nasty secrets lurking in the village--all while falling for handsome George Selby, who may have secrets of his own.




Two-time Academy Award winner Hanks apparently has some other tricks up his sleeve. This story collection ranges from a man who worries that his sudden ESPN fame for bowling perfect games will ruin his life to an Eastern European immigrant struggling to adjust to New York after the tragedy.


eRead Illinois/Axis 360





Dropping out of high school to pursue her Broadway ambitions, a talented performer lands in a directionless job before a visit to the library catapults her into the plotlines of the books she reads. By the Newbery Honor-winning author of Princess Academy. 100,000 first printing. Simultaneous eBook.




The book combines illuminating personal anecdotes with Trebek's thoughts on a range of topics, including marriage, parenthood, education, success, spirituality, and philanthropy. Trebek also addresses the questions he gets asked most often by Jeopardy fans, such as what prompted him to shave his signature mustache, his insights on legendary players like Ken Jennings and James Holzhauer, and his opinion of Will Ferrell's Saturday Night Live impersonation. The book uses a novel structure inspired by Jeopardy, with each chapter title in the form of a question, and features dozens of never-before-seen photos that candidly capture Trebek over the years.




It's here #1 bestselling author Stephenie Meyer makes a triumphant return to the world of Twilight with this highly anticipated companion: the iconic love story of Bella and Edward told from the vampire's point of view.
When Edward Cullen and Bella Swan met in Twilight, an iconic love story was born. But until now, fans have heard only Bella's side of the story. At last, readers can experience Edward's version in the long-awaited companion novel, Midnight Sun.
This unforgettable tale as told through Edward's eyes takes on a new and decidedly dark twist. Meeting Bella is both the most unnerving and intriguing event he has experienced in all his years as a vampire. As we learn more fascinating details about Edward's past and the complexity of his inner thoughts, we understand why this is the defining struggle of his life. How can he justify following his heart if it means leading Bella into danger?
In Midnight Sun, Stephenie Meyer transports us back to a world that has captivated millions of readers and brings us an epic novel about the profound pleasures and devastating consequences of immortal love.



In the fall of 1918, thirteen-year-old German immigrant Pia Lange longs to be far from Philadelphia's overcrowded slums and the anti-immigrant sentiment that compelled her father to enlist in the U.S. Army. But as her city celebrates the end of the war, an even more urgent threat arrives: the Spanish flu. Funeral crepe and quarantine signs appear on doors as victims drop dead in the streets and desperate survivors wear white masks to ward off illness. When food runs out in the cramped tenement she calls home, Pia must venture alone into the quarantined city in search of supplies, leaving her baby brothers behind. Bernice Groves has become lost in grief and bitterness since her baby died from the Spanish flu. Watching Pia leave her brothers alone, Bernice makes a shocking, life-altering decision. It becomes her sinister mission to tear families apart when they're at their most vulnerable, planning to transform the city's orphans and immigrant children into what she feels are "true Americans." Waking in a makeshift hospital days after collapsing in the street, Pia is frantic to return home. Instead, she is taken to St. Vincent's Orphan Asylum--the first step in a long and arduous journey. As Bernice plots to keep the truth hidden at any cost in the months and years that follow, Pia must confront her own shame and fear, risking everything to see justice--and love--triumph at last. Powerful, harrowing, and ultimately exultant, The Orphan Collector is a story of love, resilience, and the lengths we will go to protect those who need us most.-- Publisher's description.

Friday, September 11, 2020

Hispanic Heritage Month


SEPTEMBER: National Hispanic Heritage Month (Sept. 15-Oct. 15)

National Hispanic Heritage Month honors the culture, heritage, and contributions of Hispanic Americans each year. The event began in 1968 when Congress deemed the week including September 15 and 16 National Hispanic Heritage Week to celebrate the contributions and achievements of the diverse cultures within the Hispanic community. The dates were chosen to commemorate two key historic events: Independence Day, honoring the formal signing of the Act of Independence for Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, and Nicaragua (September 15, 1821), and Mexico’s Independence Day, which denotes the beginning of the struggle against Spanish control (September 16, 1810). It was not until 1988 that the event was expanded to month-long period, which includes El Dia de la Raza on October 12, which celebrates the influences of the people who came after Christopher Columbus and the multicultural, multiethnic society that evolved as a result; Chile’s Independence Day on September 18 (El Dieciocho); and Belize’s Independence Day on September 21. Each year a different theme for the month is selected and a poster is created to reflect that theme.

Oscar Hijuelos



In 1940s New York, a rich man's daughter from Cuba falls in love with a waiter. They marry, have children, and when he falls ill and is unable to work, she becomes the sole breadwinner, working as a cleaning woman. But one day her cleaning job will bring luck. By the author of Mr. Ives' Christmas.



TWAIN & STANLEY ENTER PARADISE, by Pulitzer Prize-winning author Oscar Hijuelos, is a luminous work of fiction inspired by the real-life, 37-year friendship between two towering figures of the late nineteenth century, famed writer and humorist Mark Twain and legendary explorer Sir Henry Morton Stanley. Hijuelos was fascinated by the Twain-Stanley connection and eventually began researching and writing a novel that used the scant historical record of their relationship as a starting point for a more detailed fictional account. Chronicles the sojourn of journalist-explorer Henry Stanley; his wife, the painter Dorothy Tennant; and Mark Twain, Stanley's longtime friend, as they head for Cuba in search of Stanley's father.



In the 1960s, Rico Fuentes, a pale-skinned Cuban American teenager, abandons drug-infested New York City for the picket fence and apple pie world of Wisconsin, only to discover that he still feels like an outsider and that violent and judgmental people can be found even in the wholesome Midwest.

Gary Soto



At age thirteen, best friends Ronnie and Joey suddenly feel like chimps--long armed, big eared, and gangly--and when the coach humiliates Joey in front of a girl, he climbs up a tree and refuses to come down.



Twenty-one poems about growing up in a Hispanic neighborhood, highlighting the delights in such everyday items as sprinklers, the park, the library, and pomegranates.



Maria tries on her mother's wedding ring while helping make tamales for a Christmas family get-together. Panic ensues when hours later, she realizes the ring is missing.

Julia Alvarez



"A literature professor tries to rediscover who she is after the sudden death of her husband, even as a series of family and political jolts force her to ask what we owe those in crisis in our families, biological or otherwise"-- Provided by publisher.\



The life and death of three revolutionary sisters in the Dominican Republic, told by a surviving fourth. One by one the Mirabal Sisters, as they were known, join the opposition to the Trujillo dictatorship in the 1950s, suffering imprisonment and torture while their men watch powerless. They are released, then one night their jeep is ambushed. A story based on real events by the author of How the Garcia Girls Lost Their Accents.



Moving to Vermont after his parents split, Miguel has plenty to worry about. Tia Lola, his quirky, "carismatica, " and maybe a magical aunt makes his life even more unpredictable when she arrives from the Dominican Republic to help out his Mami.

Isabel Allende



"In the late 1930s, civil war gripped Spain. When General Franco and his Fascists succeed in overthrowing the government, hundreds of thousands are forced to flee in a treacherous journey over the mountains to the French border. Among them is Roser, a pregnant young widow, who finds her life irreversibly intertwined with that of Victor Dalmau, an army doctor and the brother of her deceased love. To survive, the two must unite in a marriage neither of them wants and together are sponsored by poet Pablo Neruda to embark on the SS Winnipeg along with 2,200 other refugees in search of a new life. As unlikely partners, they embrace exile and emigrate to Chile as the rest of Europe erupts in World War. Starting over on a new continent, their trials are just beginning. Over the course of their lives, they will face test after test. But they will also find joy as they wait patiently for a day when they are exiles no more and will find friends in the most unlikely of places. Through it all, it is that hope of being reunited with their home that keeps them going. And in the end, they will find that home might have been closer than they thought all along"-- Provided by publisher.





La casa de los esp ritus narra la saga familiar de los Trueba, desde principios del siglo XX hasta nuestra poca. Magistralmente ambientada en alg n lugar de Am rica Latina, la novela sigue paso a paso el dram tico y extravagante destino de unos personajes atrapados en un entorno sorprendente y ex tico. Una novela de impecable pulso estil stico y aguda lucidez hist rica y social.

In a triumph of magic realism, Allende constructs a spirit-ridden world and fills it with colorful and all-too-human inhabitants. The Trueba family's passions, struggles, and secrets span three generations and a century of violent social change, culminating in a crisis that brings the proud and tyrannical patriarch and his beloved granddaughter to opposite sides of the barricades. Against a backdrop of revolution and counterrevolution, Allende brings to life a family whose private bonds of love and hatred are more complex and enduring than the political allegiances that set them at odds. The House of the Spirits not only brings another nation's history thrillingly to life but also makes its people's joys and anguishes wholly our own.




Sixteen-year-old Alexander Cold accompanies his grandmother, a writer for a geography magazine, to the remote Forbidden Kingdom in the Himalayas to help locate a sacred statue of a golden dragon before it is stolen by a greedy outsider.


Sandra Cisneros



This book tells the story of Esperanza Cordero, a young girl growing up in the Hispanic quarter of Chicago, whose neighborhood is one of harsh realities and harsh beauty. Esperanza doesn't want to belong, not to her run-down neighborhood, and not to the low expectations the world has for her. Capturing her thoughts and emotions in poems and stories, she is able to rise above hopelessness and create a quiet space for herself in the midst of her oppressive surroundings. Esperanza's story is that of a young girl coming into her power, and inventing for herself what she will become.




"The word "orphan" might not seem to apply to a fifty-three-year-old woman. Yet this is exactly how Sandra feels as she finds herself motherless, alone like "a glove left behind at the bus station." What just might save her is her search for someone else gone missing: Marie, the black-and-white cat of her friend, Roz, who ran off the day they arrived from Tacoma. As Sandra and Roz scour the streets of San Antonio, posting flyers and asking everywhere, "Have you seen Marie?" the pursuit of this one small creature takes on unexpected urgency and meaning."--Dust jacket.




This exciting debut in graphic novel format tells the childhood stories of literary legends including Maya Angelou, Roald Dahl, and Sandra Cisneros. Perfect for fans of Good Night Stories for Rebel Girls and Brazen: Rebel Ladies Who Rocked the World.


Junot Díaz



A New York Times Bestseller, A Pulitzer Prize-winning author -- Junot Díaz turns his remarkable talent to the haunting, impossible power of love-obsessed love, illicit love, fading love, maternal love. At the heart of these stories is the irrepressible Yunior, a young hardhead whose yearning for love is equaled only by his recklessness. Through prose that is endlessly energetic, inventive, tender, and funny, Díaz lays bare the infinite longing and inevitable weakness of the human heart.



Rendering with warmth the endless human capacity to persevere, this is the long-awaited--and thrillingly satisfying--the first novel from the unmistakable voice behind the short story collection "Drown."




"Lola was just a baby when her family left the Island, so when she has to draw it for a school assignment, she asks her family, friends, and neighbors about their memories of her homeland ... and in the process, comes up with a new way of understanding her own heritage"-- Provided by publisher.

Wednesday, September 9, 2020

Time for a Change


Labor Day has passed and with it marks the beginning of the end of Summer signaling a time of change. So there's no better time than now, to delve into some novels where change plays a major role in the lives of the characters. 



As the end of summer approaches and a long, hot Labor Day weekend looms, the life of lonely thirteen-year-old Henry Wheeler is irrevocably changed when he and his emotionally fragile mother show kindness to a stranger with a terrible secret. 



"From the best-selling author of One Day comes a bittersweet and brilliantly funny coming-of-age tale about the heart-stopping thrill of first love-and how just one summer can forever change a life"-- Provided by publisher.



"Physician Bess Codman has returned to her family's Nantucket compound, Cliff House, for the first time in four years. Her great-grandparents built Cliff House almost a century before, but due to erosion, the once-grand home will soon fall into the sea. Though she's purposefully avoided the island, Bess must now pack up the house and deal with her mother, a notorious town rabble-rouser, who refuses to leave. The Book of Summer unravels the power and secrets of Cliff House as told through the voices of Ruby Packard, a bright-eyed and idealistic newlywed on the eve of WWII, the home's definitive guestbook, and Bess herself. Bess's grandmother always said it was a house of women, and by the very last day of the very last summer at Cliff House, Bess will understand the truth of her grandmother's words in ways she never contemplated. The bestselling author of The Paris Apartment and I'll See You in Paris, Michelle Gable now transports readers to Nantucket"-- Provided by publisher.



As the summer ends, a friendship begins...

When single mum Joy Lee abandoned her old life to take a job at a lakeside resort, she found something that her family's wealth and influence could never buy: peace of mind. Not easy to come by for the once-burned divorcee who keeps everyone at a distance. But when her new friend, Maris, dares her to take a chance with the drive-in's charismatic new owner, everything changes for Joy and her young son.

A difficult childhood has left Maris Kennedy with definite priorities. Her job running Summer's End, the camp store and cafe, comes first. Always. Nothing could ever make her risk that hard-won security - especially not her free-spirited colleague. But the more she encourages Joy to open herself up to new experiences, the more Maris begins to wonder what she, too, might be missing.

Learning how to trust will bring Joy and Maris together. And soon they form a friendship that leaves them as close as sisters - and open to love where they least expect it...in Summer's End.



"Blindsided by her mother's sudden death, and wrecked by a recent love affair, Casey Peabody has arrived in Massachusetts in the summer of 1997 without a plan. Her mail consists of wedding invitations and final notices from debt collectors. A former child golf prodigy, she now waits tables in Harvard Square and rents a tiny, moldy room at the side of a garage where she works on the novel she's been writing for six years. At thirty-one, Casey is still clutching onto something nearly all her old friends have let go of: the determination to live a creative life. When she falls for two very different men at the same time, her world fractures even more. Casey's fight to fulfill her creative ambitions and balance the conflicting demands of art and life is challenged in ways that push her to the brink. Writers & Lovers follows Casey--a smart and achingly vulnerable protagonist--in the last days of a long youth, a time when every element of her life comes to a crisis. Written with King's trademark humor, heart, and intelligence, Writers & Lovers is a transfixing novel that explores the terrifying and exhilarating leap between the end of one phase of life and the beginning of another"-- Provided by publisher.



"For nearly four decades, lifelong friends Jude, Wendy, Adele, and Sylvie have seen each other through romances, child-rearing, changing careers, divorces, medical recoveries, and general aging. But now Sylvie has died, and the three remaining women are tasked with cleaning out her beach house before it's sold. Thrust together In this weathered old house on the ocean, where the ghosts of their younger selves compete with their current realities, the women ponder a collective lifetime of loves and grievances, disappointments and successes, and ultimately, how life can change in a single unexpected instant - or over the course of a weekend"-- Provided by publisher.



"After a sudden change of plans, a remarkable woman and her loyal group of friends try to figure out what she's going to do with the rest of her life--from the #1 New York Times bestselling author of How Stella Got Her Groove Back and Waiting to Exhale Loretha Curry's life is full. A little crowded sometimes, but full indeed. On the eve of her sixty-eighth birthday, she has a booming beauty supply empire, a gaggle of lifelong friends, and a husband who's still got moves that surprise. True, she's carrying a few more pounds than she should be, but she's not one of those women who thinks her best days are behind her, and she's determined to prove her mother, her twin sister, and everyone else with that outdated view of aging wrong--it's not all downhill from here. But when an unexpected loss turns her world upside down, Loretha will have to summon all her strength, resourcefulness, and determination to keep on thriving, pursue joy, heal old wounds, and chart new paths. With a little help from her friends, of course"-- Provided by publisher.



"Sixty-nine-year-old Arthur Pepper lives a simple life. He gets out of bed at precisely 7:30 a.m., just as he did when his wife, Miriam, was alive. He dresses in the same gray slacks and mustard sweater-vest, waters his fern, Frederica, and heads out to his garden. But on the one-year anniversary of Miriam's death, something changes. Sorting through Miriam's possessions, Arthur finds an exquisite gold charm bracelet he's never seen before. What follows is a surprising and unforgettable odyssey that takes Arthur from London to Paris and as far as India in an epic quest to find out the truth about his wife's secret life before they met-- a journey that leads him to find hope, healing, and self-discovery in the most unexpected places"--Jacket.



Cast out of her home by her mother, Grace, disguised as a boy and accompanied by her younger brother, embarks on a life-changing odyssey in the looming shadow of Ireland's Great Famine.



London nurse Lissie needs a change of scene; she's suffering from PTSD after witnessing a violent crime. Cormac, a rural Scotland paramedic, trades places with her. Lissie has never experienced small-town life, and Cormac is a fish out of water in London. Through email, they discover new feelings for their jobs and each other. What will happen when they meet? -- adapted from jacket

August 2026

Summer Reading has come to an end, and a new school year is about to start. If it seems like the library has a little less going on this mon...