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The Widening Spell of the Leaves


Larry Levis - 1991
    He seems to be writing the poems we all need to read right now." --Antioch Review Larry Levis was born in Fresno, California, in 1946. His first book of poems, Wrecking Crew, won the United States Award from the International Poetry Forum, and was published in the Pitt Poetry Series in 1972. His second book, The Afterlife, won the Lamont Award from the American Academy of Poets in 1976. In 1981, The Dollmaker's Ghost was a winner of the Open Competition of the National Poetry Series. Among his other awards were three fellowships in poetry from the National Endowment for the Arts, a Fulbright Fellowship, and a Guggenheim Fellowship. Larry Levis died in 1996.

A Grand Day to Get Lost


Kris Radish - 2013
    Emily unwittingly begins a treasure hunt in a world that is as beautiful as it is dangerous, and it is a hunt that could not only change her life, but the landscape of the entire literary world.Is it really possible that the renowned author of The Yearling faked her own death in 1953? Parading through the scrub country in Rawlings's seemingly fresh footsteps, Emily must separate fact from fiction as she discovers more than one secret world, opens up her heart to new friendships and challenges, encounters ghosts from the past, and puts her own life in danger to uncover the truth.A Grand Day to Get Lost not only resurrects a bold literary icon but also explores the emotional landscape of loss, survival, and forgiveness in a world where anything is possible for those who dare to risk and follow their dreams. "Cross Creek belongs to the wind and the rain, to the sun and the seasons, to the cosmic secrecy of seed, and above all, to time."Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings - Cross Creek - 1942

Healing Maddie Brees


Rebecca Brewster Stevenson - 2016
    But she also has an old friend, an ex-boyfriend who might be able to heal her. She was witness to Vincent Elander’s so-called miracles in the past. But that was a long time ago, a memory that she would rather stay buried.Now she is happily married to Frank and mother of their three young boys. The religion of her past is behind her, along with any confidence she once had in it. With the onset of her cancer, the memories of Vincent won’t leave Maddie alone, and before long they are affecting everything else: her marriage, her husband, the things they thought they agreed on, the beliefs they thought they shared. Soon Frank, who was to be Maddie’s rock throughout her treatment, is finding fault-lines of his own. In this exquisitely written narrative, Stevenson explores the questions of honesty and commitment, of disease and isolation, and of the many shapes healing takes.

The Christmas Star: A Love Story


Robert Tate Miller - 2017
    In deep despair, he turns to drinking to drive away the pain, but he only succeeds in driving away his wife. His marriage shattered, his family gone, Paul now despises Christmas.But can the holiday he so detests hold a miraculous surprise? After an accident in which he loses consciousness, he wakes up in the company of the shepherds who will soon travel to Bethlehem to see the newborn Christ in the manger. Can Paul find salvation on the night that forever changed the world? Can he discover the true spirit of Christmas?

Summer at Hope Haven


Kristin Harper - 2020
    Taking a deep breath, she grasps the heart-shaped iron door handle and steps inside the once-happy childhood home she’s been avoiding. It is time to face up to the past…When Emily’s fiancé walks out on her while she’s still grieving the loss of her family in a terrible accident, she escapes back to Hope Haven on the remote Dune Island, where her family vacationed every summer. Emily hopes that fixing up the house will also mend her broken heart, but the cottage holds more than just bittersweet childhood memories. Emptying her father’s antique writing desk, Emily finds a letter that reveals a devastating secret about her parents.With a head full of questions that can never be answered, it seems like returning to the island was the worst decision Emily ever made… until she meets Lucas Socorro, saltwater dripping from his dark curls after a surf session. As they take long walks on the soft sand, and talk late into the firefly-lit night, Emily wonders if Dr Luke—as the kids in the hospital call him—could be the one to help her heal. With Luke holding her hand, delving into her family’s painful past is a little easier.Painting the gloomy cottage walls the colour of seashells, and revamping her grandmother’s flea-market furniture, Emily starts to feel she might call Dune Island home for good—and that she could build that home right here with Luke. But when Emily’s family secret spreads through a network of local gossips, her fragile heart breaks all over again. Luke is the only one who could have started the rumours. Was she wrong to trust him so easily?As the sun sets behind the dunes, Emily has a difficult decision to make. Does she pack her bags and leave the island for good? Or take a risk that Hope Haven has everything she’s been looking for?A beautiful and emotional read that will make you long to feel the sand beneath your feet. Perfect for fans of Nancy Thayer, Tracy Brogan and Mary Alice Monroe.

The Children of Captain Grant: A Play in Five Acts


Jules Verne - 2009
    There's never a dull moment as "The Children of Captain Grant" search the globe for their long-lost father and brother.

Goodknyght!


Steve Barlow - 2001
    But Fate has other, more dangerous plans for him.

She Saw What He Did


Lynda Renham - 2019
    Her life was complete. The shock discovery that her husband, Jared, had been having an affair rocked her world. So when Jared suggested a short break to the Cannard Islands, to heal their fractured marriage, Abby agreed. An idyllic holiday turns into a nightmare when Abby witnesses something terrible. Suddenly her life and the life of her daughter are in serious danger and no one seems able to help them.

Bleeding Heart


Liza Gyllenhaal - 2014
    Could get heated for book groups.” —Booklist“The multilayered plot and deceptive characters makes this a strong crossover chick lit/mystery novel. Great for book club discussion groups.” —Library Journal"Alice Hyatt is trying to move on with her life after her husband’s disappearance; he took millions of dollars and a female accomplice with him. She finds solace and stability in her landscaping business, Green Acres. When nearby millionaire Graham Mackenzie asks her to design his garden, she can’t say no—not just because he promises to give a generous donation to her best friend’s charity, but because she wants to take on the challenge of creating the most beautiful garden in the Berkshires. Mackenzie doesn’t exactly have a spotless reputation, however—he earned his money in the hydraulic fracturing industry, and many residents aren’t happy about it. Alice’s controversial client soon causes her problems with many locals, including Tom Deaver, the environmental writer on whom she develops a crush. But Mackenzie doesn’t really cause trouble until he drops dead …‘Gardening thriller’ may seem an unlikely genre, but Gyllenhaal pulls it off.”— *Kirkus ReviewsConversation Guide included

The Full Series


Janet Evanovich - 1990
    Full of fun! From the #1 New York Times bestselling author Janet Evanovich comes the Full Series #1 boxed set, containing one copy each of Full House, Full Tilt, and Full Speed.

Not Perfect


Elizabeth LaBan - 2018
    She’d confess her situation to her friends—if it wasn’t for those dreadful words of warning in his goodbye note: “I’ll tell them what you did.”Instead, she does her best to keep up appearances, even as months pass and she can barely put food on the table—much less replace a light bulb. While she looks for a job, she lives in fear that someone will see her stuffing toilet paper into her handbag or pinching basil from a neighbor’s window box.Soon, blindsided by catastrophe, surprised by romance, and stunned by the kindness of a stranger, Tabitha realizes she can’t keep her secrets forever. Sooner or later, someone is bound to figure out that her life is far from perfect.

After the Rain


Brandy Bruce - 2019
    Maybe. Hopefully. One day. As a radio show host, Debra spends her mornings as Miss Lonely Heart on air, empathizing with all the broken hearts in the Denver metro area. She spends her evenings watching old musicals and trying not to think about the guy who broke up with her and subsequently fell in love with one of her best friends. Alone in a new city, Debra questions where she belongs and who she is now. When she stumbles into the indie music scene, Debra meets singer Ben Price. Rock star appeal, with a day job as a worship pastor, Ben is everything Debra wants to avoid. But he’s determined to be her friend, and it so happens she could really use one. Because try as she might, nothing seems to erase the anger and betrayal she feels. It’s time for a new dream. But how does she start over when the pieces of her broken past remain lodged in her heart?

Jacob's List


Stephanie Grace Whitson - 2007
    A contemporary novel of a couple overcoming tragedy and finding renewal as they complete their son's list of adventures.

The First and Final Nightmare of Sonia Reich


Howard Reich - 2006
    Someone was trying to kill her, "to put a bullet in my head," Sonia told anyone who would listen. Polish and Jewish, Sonia Reich had survived the Holocaust by staying always on the run. She and Howard's father, Robert, also a Holocaust survivor, had fled to America, moved to Chicago, and raised their young son to tell no one that they were Jewish. It was only after moving to Skokie, a town filled with Holocaust survivors, that his family would live as Jews. Still, his parents told Howard almost nothing about their past. The First and Final Nightmare… is Reich's moving and bittersweet memoir of growing up in Skokie, discovering an odd and personal American freedom in jazz, and his riveting, revealing investigation into his family's past and the nature of his mother's illness, called late-onset Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. This is a poignant story of a mother and a son, a haunted past, and the irony of what may happen when that often repeated admonition to "never forget" becomes a curse.

Bassett


Stella Gibbons - 1934
    It is run by the unlikely partnership of balmy Miss Padsoe and young, cockney Miss Baker - divided by class and age, they are determined to dislike each other. Through their tale and the interwoven tribulations of two young lovers, Gibbons' sparkling novel explores the heart of friendship and what unites us.