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How Ptolemy Proudfoot Lost a Bet by Wendell Berry


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The Book Club


Mary Alice Monroe - 1999
    The Book Club by Mary Alice Monroe released on Apr 24, 2003 is available now for purchase.

Necessary Lies


Diane Chamberlain - 2013
    Bestselling author Diane Chamberlain delivers a breakout book about a small southern town fifty years ago, and the darkest—and most hopeful—places in the human heartAfter losing her parents, fifteen-year-old Ivy Hart is left to care for her grandmother, older sister and nephew as tenants on a small tobacco farm.  As she struggles with her grandmother’s aging, her sister’s mental illness and her own epilepsy, she realizes they might need more than she can give.When Jane Forrester takes a position as Grace County’s newest social worker, she doesn’t realize just how much her help is needed.  She quickly becomes emotionally invested in her clients' lives, causing tension with her boss and her new husband.  But as Jane is drawn in by the Hart women, she begins to discover the secrets of the small farm—secrets much darker than she would have guessed.  Soon, she must decide whether to take drastic action to help them, or risk losing the battle against everything she believes is wrong.Set in rural Grace County, North Carolina in a time of state-mandated sterilizations and racial tension, Necessary Lies tells the story of these two young women, seemingly worlds apart, but both haunted by tragedy.  Jane and Ivy are thrown together and must ask themselves: how can you know what you believe is right, when everyone is telling you it’s wrong?

The Holy Ghost Speakeasy and Revival Show: A Novel of Fire and Water


Terry Roberts - 2018
    From town to town, his Gospel train rides the rails of 1920s Appalachia, spreading the Good News with his daughter and a loyal group of roustabouts in tow. But Jedidiah's traveling revival company has a secret: in addition to offering the gifts of the Holy Spirit, it also delivers spirits of another kind. Prohibition is in full swing, but The Sword of the Lord train keeps the speakeasies in the towns it visits in business by providing the best that mountain stills have to offer. While beyond the gaze of federal agents, the operation eventually runs afoul of an overzealous small town sheriff and a corrupt judge, setting in motion a series of events that could land them all in chains. Told with haunting lyricism, this is the story of a preacher full of contradictions, a man for whom the way is never straight and narrow. It bends like the river, a river that leads him in the paths of a different brand of righteousness--and perhaps even to salvation.

Gulf Coast Cottage


Maggie Miller - 2021
    In the middle of an awful divorce, fifty-three-year-old Georgia Carpenter finds herself out of luck, time, and money. Then her phone rings with the news that her great aunt has died and left her a cottage in the Gulf Coast town of Blackbird Beach.Georgia has no idea what awaits her on the other coast of Florida. All she knows is that she has nowhere else to go. And no reason to stay where she is.​Fortunately for her, life has far more interesting plans than she ever could have realized. Including making the acquaintance of a handsome handyman and getting the chance at a brand new start.

Rush


Lisa Patton - 2018
    What’s more, Lilith suggests their daughters, both incoming freshman, room together. What Wilda doesn’t know is that it's all part of Lilith’s plan to ensure her own daughter receives an Alpha Delt bid—no matter what.Cali Watkins possesses all the qualities sororities are looking for in a potential new member. She’s kind and intelligent, makes friends easily, even plans to someday run for governor. But her resume lacks a vital ingredient. Pedigree. Without family money Cali's chances of sorority membership are already thin, but she has an even bigger problem. If anyone discovers the dark family secrets she's hiding, she’ll be dropped from Rush in an instant.For twenty-five years, Miss Pearl—as her “babies” like to call her—has been housekeeper and a second mother to the Alpha Delt girls, even though it reminds her of a painful part of her past she’ll never forget. When an opportunity for promotion arises, it seems a natural fit. But Lilith Whitmore slams her Prada heel down fast, crushing Miss Pearl’s hopes of a better future. When Wilda and the girls find out, they devise a plan destined to change Alpha Delta Beta—and maybe the entire Greek system—forever. Achingly poignant, yet laugh-out-loud funny, RUSH takes a sharp nuanced look at a centuries-old tradition while exploring the complex, intimate relationships between mothers and daughters and female friends. Brimming with heart and hope for a better tomorrow, RUSH is an uplifting novel universal to us all.

Seven Year Itch


Lyndsey Gallagher - 2019
    The last thing she expected was to fall in love with a complete stranger at the hen weekend. Which wouldn’t be a problem apart from the teeny tiny fact that she’s already married to somebody else… Is it a case of the Seven-Year-Itch or could it be the real deal? Lucy needs to decide if she is going to leave the security of her stale marriage in order to find out if the grass is indeed greener on the other side, or whether it’s worth having one more go at watering her own garden. Could this party-loving, city girl really leave the country she loves for a farmer from the West of Ireland? Is there such a thing as fate? What about karma? Is John Kelly all that he seems?

Broken Little Rich Girl 2 (Broken Little Rich Girls)


Dominique Thomas - 2018
    To regain their sanity and find their joy these four women will have to face the problems in their life. Miko’s world came crashing down when she had to reveal to Zyir that Enika was not only her child but that he was the father. In doing so it changed everything in her world. Miko must learn how to gain control of her rebellious daughter and finally decide if Zyir is the man for her, while trying not to lose her mind in the process. Nelly lost control of herself and did things to Jannero that she couldn’t take back. When she finds herself alone, it's then that she realizes that her anger is really a problem. Only changing isn’t that easy and Nelly isn’t sure if its something she can do on her own. Rumer’s health continues to deteriorate as her world falls apart right before her eyes. After facing the hardest day of her life, she decides with the help of her mom to take a break from it all. Her getaway trip leads to revelations and possibly a new love. However, once Rumer returns home, she’s faced with Kritt and the stress from her life once again and finds herself questioning what's real. The new man that’s making her smile or Kritt, a man that she’s always known. Jerzey’s world was turned upside down when she realized that the man who shot her was none other than Snowden’s brother. After leaving Philly she’s determined to be a happier Jerzey. Unlike her friends, she’s ready to be happy and live her best life. A big move along with new ventures place her in new crowds. A sexy, local guy finds himself smitten with her and she can’t deny he’s attractive as well still her heart yearns for Snowden. Jerzey feels Snowden is running from the love they share, and she wants to hold out for him but what she won't do is wait too long. In the finale of the Broken Little Rich Girls series, you see more pain, anger then finally healing. To become whole these women will have to pick up their broken pieces and put themselves back together again. While it won’t be easy, it’s necessary because you can't be happy and be broken. It just doesn’t work that way.

Call & Response


J.J. Salkeld - 2014
    Set in Carlisle - on the border between England and Scotland and much else besides - Call & Response introduces DS Samantha 'Pepper' Wilson and her North Division CID team. In this first episode Pepper struggles to cope with the madness and sadness of everyday policing, whist covering for an absent boss and adapting to a new Superintendent who's come straight from a supermarket's supply chain to British policing's chain of command. And matters take a serious turn when a case of 'revenge porn' is reported, involving members of a minority ethnic group, and one of Pepper's young DCs is assaulted, within spitting distance of Carlisle's shiny new Police HQ. Both cases are delicate and potentially inflammatory, and Pepper's short fuse is trimmed still more by the return to Carlisle of a dangerous career criminal with whom Pepper grew up, and whose reappearance could have dangerous implications for her, the city, and its now almost vanishingly 'thin blue line'.

The Weight of Birds


Amanda Lewis - 2020
    

Angel


Mary E. Kingsley - 2011
    When her father, Calvin, telephones out of the blue one evening and says he’s coming home for Thanksgiving, Angel thinks her dream of having a normal family is finally going to come true. Instead, she finds herself at the center of a dangerous scenario, threatened by secrets far beyond her understanding.Set in a small Appalachian town in the early 1970’s, Angel is the compelling story of an innocent girl as the unwitting link between the two generations of her family’s dark and unresolved past.

Secrets of Heavenly


Teresa Robison - 2013
    Olivia assumed that bigotry was the product of her mother's loyalty to long-dead relatives, an allegiance to maintain the family's white blood line. After Emma's death though, Olivia finds a letter and an old journal among her belongings. Soon she discovers the secret that prompted Emma to irrationally blame an entire race -- a secret that had nothing to do with family history, although it strongly paralleled another tragic event from the past. 1846, Marianne Witherell's journal: Before Lincoln and the American Civil War, slavery is at its peak in South Carolina. A young slave girl named Willa suddenly arrives at Heavenly Plantation with her mother Heddie, destined to serve the wealthy plantation family as house servants. Right away, two of the Master's children-Marianne and Seth-forge a bond with Willa, in spite of their older brother Foster's warnings about the evils of mixing with the "darkies." Although she grows up in the "big house" treated like family by her pair of white friends, Willa cannot forget that she is still a slave. Never is that fact made clearer than when Foster cruelly taunts and threatens her in secret. As it threads through the lives of its diverse characters, this novel captures the complicated and often violent nature of life in the antebellum South. As Willa's story is told, a dramatic tapestry is woven, binding the Witherell family to a web of secrets that include forbidden love and faithful friendships alongside dangerous obsessions, mental instability, and even murder.

SEALs of Honor: Books 4-6 Swede, Shadow and Cooper


Dale Mayer - 2016
    Swede 2. Shadow 3. Cooper Full descriptions are below: SEALs of Honor: Swede His fellow SEALs have lost their hearts one by one while murder gets in the way of the promise of finding his own true love. Swede is on the lookout for his perfect mate, but if it'll happen is secondary to when considering that he's deep in the wilds of Mexico hunting a rebel training camp. When a group of civilians wanders into the middle of his operation, Swede is stunned to learn a woman he long ago decided was completely wrong for him is in the very place his team is setting up an extremely dangerous mission. Eva loves animals, especially those in need. When a friend requests her help transferring a herd of horses from Mexico to new homes, she jumps at the opportunity…and lands herself in trouble. Swede is an old "frenemy" and he's determined to extricate her to safety before the rebels show up. Even as he works to shelter her, she struggles to protect her heart from him a second time. The rebels have plans of their own--one that isn't likely to involve a happily-ever-after in Swede and Eva's futures. SEALs of Honor: Shadow Given a life that's been little more than an uphill battle, it's no wonder Shadow is so damn good at dealing with whatever's the hardest, the most hazardous and hellish. The life of a SEAL is the one place where Shadow is most comfortable existing. He's certain of what he's capable of achieving, knows when to act and exactly how to do what needs to be done. But when he sets off on a mission to rescue Arianna and her family, his world goes from precise, controlled action to blown-to-smithereens chaos. Who is this woman and why does she rattle him the way no one else ever has? Arianna has been plunged into a foreign state of affairs that includes kidnapping, beatings, threats…and Navy SEALs. The only good thing about this nightmare is the dark, dangerous savior watching over them. Shadow doesn't seem to have a clue what to do with her. Although she has a pretty good idea where she'd like to see their relationship go, will they ever get that chance? She's been marked for murder, and it's up to Shadow to save her--or risk losing what he hadn't even realized he wanted, yet now can't live without… SEALs of Honor: Cooper A highly-skilled practitioner of medicine saved Cooper's life and sanity while that same woman steals his heart. Being a SEAL is at the core of Cooper's being, but he isn't just doing his duty when the doctor who miraculously restored him to life is kidnapped. He's the first in line to volunteer in her rescue. Dr. Sasha Childs has devoted herself to helping others. Finding out her husband is helping himself to her best friend solidifies her sense of single-minded devotion to practicing medicine. Disillusioned about love, she volunteers her skills to a Syrian refugee camp crying out for medical aid. She's completely unaware of the war brewing around her until she's caught in the middle of it. Cooper had his hands full rescuing Sasha from foreign hands the first time. After the war comes home, keeping her safe a second time becomes damn near impossible. Blessed with getting his life handed back to him, he discovered he needs a second miracle before the woman he's fallen for becomes little more than a casualty of war.

Book of Mercy


Sherry Roberts - 2011
    It was supposed to be easy. But they hadn't planned on Antigone Brown, a woman who has trouble reading road signs, keeps a stone in her pocket to help her remember right from left, and despairs of ever being a good mother to her unborn child. As she is quick to tell you, she is no hero. But now she will have to face her greatest fear to save the town's books.

Rain Song


Alice J. Wisler - 2008
    Something happened in Japan...something that sent Nicole and her father back to America alone...something of which Nicole knows only bits and pieces. But she is content with life in little Mount Olive, North Carolina, with her quirky relatives, tank of lively fish, and plenty of homemade pineapple chutney. Through her online column for the Pretty Fishy Web site, she meets Harrison Michaels, who, much to her dismay, lives in Japan. She attempts to avoid him, but his e-mails tug at her heart. Then Harrison reveals that he knew her as a child in Japan. In fact, he knows more about her childhood than she does...

This Will Go Down on Your Permanent Record


Susannah Felts - 2008
    Content to be alone and work on her photography, Vaughn’s seclusion is disrupted when she meets her new neighbor, Sophie Birch. The two form a tentative friendship, hanging out at Dragon Park with the rest of Nashville’s teens. There, the relationship deepens: Sophie becomes the subject of Vaughn’s artistic experiments and Vaughn becomes the subject of Sophie’s social experimentation as she pushes Vaughn to loosen up and let down her guard. After a fight with her mother, Sophie moves in with Vaughn and her academic parents who embrace Sophie’s wild side — until the girls push each other a step too far. In her debut novel, Susannah Felts perfectly captures the feel of growing up Southern-style, the universal push-pull of adolescent limit testing, and, above all, the intoxicating power that comes with burgeoning creativity.