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Sophie Learns to Be Brave by Joan Halifax


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Southern Comfort


Fern Michaels - 2011
    . .Atlanta homicide detective Patrick "Tick" Kelly turned his back on the world the day his wife and children were murdered. Holed up in a beach shack on Mango Key, Florida, he drowned his grief in Jack Daniels. Now sober and a bestselling author, Tick would gladly stay a recluse forever if his brother Pete didn't keep trying to drag him back to the land of the living. After years of sacrificing her personal life in favor of her DEA job, special agent Kate Rush resigned and moved back to her native Miami. But the unofficial assignment that has just come her way is too intriguing to pass up. She and a fellow ex-agent are relocated to Mango Key to keep an eye on an imposing, mysterious fortress believed to be at the center of a human trafficking ring. At first, the Kelly brothers are suspected of involvement, but Kate is sure Tick poses no danger--except for the slow-burning gaze that makes her breath catch and her heart race. . ."A page-turner. . .the perfect blend of mystery, adventure and romance." --The Charleston Mercury "[A] thrilling read ripped from today's headlines." --RT Book Reviews

Home Sweet Home


Sigal Adler - 2017
    Took off his heavy shell to go for a swim. He went down to the lake by the shortest route, He was wearing a hat and a blue bathing suit.

The Intergalactic Interloper


Delas Heras - 2020
    There's a wanna-be rock star, his eccentric rabbit-loving neighbor, a cursed superintendent, and a ghost-obsessed old woman, along with a remarkable cat. Their intersecting paths are all drawn up towards the otherworldly creature lurking overhead.When Ollie spies a two-headed turtle from outer space on a nearby rooftop he wonders if he has lost his mind. His incredulous friends certainly think so. To make matters worse he lands in hot water at his bookstore day job and his cat has gone missing. His bandmate Zara offers to help him track down the troublesome feline, and they join forces with a nosy starlet to follow a trail of clues that leads them inexorably up toward a mysterious rooftop creature who would much prefer to remain hidden. The Intergalactic Interloper is a lighthearted romp through a bohemian New York world, a one of a kind novel that is as memorable as it is fun.

The Littlest Library


Poppy AlexanderPoppy Alexander
    But when her beloved grandmother passes away and she loses her job at the local library, Jess' life is turned upside down.Determined to pick up the pieces, Jess decides it's time for a new beginning. Unable to part with her grandmother's cherished books, she packs them all up and moves to a tiny cottage in the English countryside. To her surprise, Jess discovers that she's now the owner of an old red phone box that was left on the property. Missing her job at the local library, Jess decides to give back to her new community--using her grandmother's collection to turn the ordinary phone box into the littlest library in England.It's not long before the books are borrowed and begin to work their literary magic--bringing the villagers together... and managing to draw Jess' grumpy but handsome neighbor out of his shell.Maybe it's finally time for Jess to follow her heart, let go of her old life, and make the village her home? But will she be able to take the leap?

Sherlock Holmes & the Ripper of Whitechapel


M.K. Wiseman - 2020
    For the way in which the affair was dropped upon my doorstep left me with little choice as to the contrary. Not twelve months prior, the siren’s call of quiet domesticity and married life had robbed me of Watson’s assistance as both partner and recorder of my cases. Thus, when detective inspector Lestrade of Scotland Yard required a lead—any lead—I found myself forced to pursue Jack the Ripper alone and without the aid of my faithful friend. And all for the most damnedable of reasons:Early on in my investigations, Dr. John H. Watson, formerly of 221b Baker Street, emerged as my prime suspect.

The Witch Who Was Afraid to Fly


Yonit Werber - 2013
    No matter how hard her mother tried to convince her that she wouldn’t fall, the young witch refused. This was until one day the fairy queen visited her in a dream. Realizing that the young witch had never faced the reasons for her fear, the fairy queen asked her one simple question; one simple question that changed the young witch’s destiny, forever. A wonderfully-illustrated story in rhyme, for children aged 3 to 7 years old, about coming to terms with fear and realizing that often our fears are only thoughts. Most of the time one simple question can motivate us so much that we find the courage inside ourselves to do the things that we were, at first, afraid of.

Whitesands


Johann Thorsson - 2021
    In his frantic and unfruitful search for her two years ago, John Dark overreached and was reprimanded and demoted.Now suddenly back into the homicide department, Dark is put on a chilling case – a man who killed his wife in their locked house and then dressed the body up to resemble a deer, but claims to remember none of it. A few days later an impossibly similar case crops up connecting the suspects to a prep school and a thirty year old missing persons’ case. Just as he is getting back into his old groove, a new lead in his daughter’s disappearance pops up and threatens to derail his career again.Time is running out and John Dark needs to solve the case before more people are killed, and while there is still hope to find his daughter.In the style of True Detective and Silence of the Lambs, WHITESANDS is a thrilling supernatural crime novel.“Tense, breakneck storytelling. WHITESANDS is a dash of Thomas Harris swirled with supernatural elements that leave you speeding through the pages.” - Kristi DeMeester, author of SUCH A PRETTY SMILE and BENEATH"Johann Thorsson's fast-moving debut WHITESANDS, packs enough incident for a novel twice its size, until it's impossible to turn the pages fast enough." - John Langan, author of Children of the Fang and Other Genealogies"... certainly one of the best thrillers I have read this year." - Khasif Hussain, The Best Thriller Books

The Dinosaur that Pooped a Lot!


Tom Fletcher - 2015
    In this special little World Book Day book from the creators of The Dinosaur That Pooped a Planet!, Danny and Dinosaur remember their previous adventures.

The Legend of Lightning Larry


Aaron Shepard - 1993
    But what really terrified those bad men was that peculiar gun of his. It didn't shoot bullets. It shot light. And Larry always aimed for the heart. Can Larry save the town of Brimstone from Evil-Eye McNeevil's outlaw gang? Find out in this rip-roaring original tale of a gunfighter with a huge smile and a hankering for lemonade. TEACHERS AND LIBRARIANS -- A READER'S THEATER SCRIPT OF THIS BOOK IS AVAILABLE IN AARON'S BOOK -STORIES ON STAGE, - OR FREE ON AARON'S WEB SITE. ///////////////////////////////////////////////// Aaron Shepard is the award-winning author of -The Baker's Dozen, - -The Sea King's Daughter, - -The Monkey King, - and many more children's books. His stories have appeared often in Cricket magazine, while his Web site is known internationally as a prime resource for folktales, storytelling, and reader's theater. Once a professional storyteller, Aaron specializes in lively retellings of folktales and other traditional literature, which have won him honors from the American Library Association, the New York Public Library, the Bank Street College of Education, the National Council for the Social Studies, and the American Folklore Society. Toni Goffe is the British illustrator of numerous well-loved children's books and is a winner of the 1993 Gold Medallion Book Award. He is also illustrator of Aaron's -The Legend of Slappy Hooper.- ///////////////////////////////////////////////// -One of the books every boy should have on his bookshelf; girls will probably like the story too . . . The language is perfect, [with] the right dose of silliness to make both parents and children chuckle . . . The illustrations are ideal.- -- Cindi Rose, San Francisco Examiner, Aug. 20, 2012 -A tall-tale superhero for our time. . . . A readaloud that could lighten up classes well up in the elementary grades.- -- Kirkus Reviews, Mar. 1, 1993 -Pass out the bandanas and dig out the spittoon. Read this story in an old-timer's voice, and everyone will have a good time.- -- Chris Sherman, American Library Association Booklist, Mar. 1, 1993 -Move over Wyatt Earp. Make room for a cowboy of a different caliber. A wide age range of listeners will request this one again and again.- -- School Library Journal, Nov. 1993 -A rib-tickler. . . . Kids will enjoy acting this out as readers theatre.- -- Jan Lieberman, TNT, Spring 1993 -Lovely. . . . Should reach the tickly bone of youngsters.- -- Storyline, June 1993 -Perfect for telling or reading out loud.- -- Katy Rydell, Stories, Spring 1993 -My class loved this story. Great to use when introducing tall tales.- -- D. Peccianti, Reviews of All Resources (Monterey Peninsula United School District) -Introduces one amazing cowpoke. . . . Will have young listeners laughing out loud and asking you to 'read it again.'- -- Smithsonian, Nov. 1993 -Told in the spirited language of a true yarn-spinner, this is a rollicking picture book to warm the heart of just about everyone.- -- Kids' Line, Summer 1993

Road Trip! (SpongeBob SquarePants)


Adam Beechen - 2011
    SpongeBob and Patrick are on the ultimate road trip when they set out in the Krusty Krab Patty Wagon to save King Neptune's crown from Shell City! They will travel through a cavernous trench and meet a monstrous frogfish, see a stampede of sea horses, and meet a giant Cyclops!

The Circle


Stephen J. Galgon - 2019
    The power to control law enforcement, politicians at the highest levels, the judicial system as a whole. To have what you want when you want it, whatever it is. All you have to do is kill someone . . . before someone kills you. MEMBERS of THE CIRCLE don’t have to imagine such a life. They live it. The liberation of being both hunter and hunted. The salvation that comes with such freedom. A chance to feel truly alive. A chance to savor each precious moment. Because in THE CIRCLE any moment could be your last. DOUGLAS GOODWIN isn’t rich. He isn’t powerful. What could the sacred society of THE CIRCLE possibly want with him—just a regular guy with a regular job leading a regular life? What would drive them to coerce a young man who has always valued integrity over hedonism into their midst? And why would Doug agree to submersion in a world of secrecy and murder? It’s unthinkable. THE HARSH REALITY? Doug has been inducted into an institution where friends become enemies overnight, loyalty is a nothing more than a punchline, and conscience is a burden. Where he will be hunted and expected to hunt other members to their death. With no escape from THE CIRCLE’s ubiquitous influence and domination. HOW FAR WILL DOUG GO? How much will he sacrifice to preserve his way of life? Will he be swayed by the money, the women, the power? Or will THE CIRCLE consume him, as it has hundreds of others before him, and leave nothing but another nameless corpse in its wake?

Dark Paradise


Gene Desrochers - 2018
    Thomas, Virgin Islands – as a paradise. But when his best friend is murdered and the case quickly buried by local police, Boise realizes how far paradise has fallen.With the aid of Dana Goode, a local reporter investigating the kidnapping of a real estate mogul’s daughter, Boise goes on the hunt for his friend’s killer. But he’ll find more than he bargained for – much more. Because in the once-sleepy island city of Charlotte Amalie, sun, sand, and surf have been replaced by madness, mayhem, and murder – and his friend’s death was just a warm-up.Going home again can literally be murder – especially when your home has changed from Heaven on Earth… to a Dark Paradise.#1 Bestseller in Hard-Boiled Fiction."Dark Paradise is the kind of island murder mystery that easily keeps the reader captivated, guessing, on their toes, and wanting more!" -- Jersey Girl Sizzling Book ReviewsDark Paradise is the first book in the hardboiled Boise Montague series by bestselling author Gene Desrochers. Readable as part of the series or a standalone story, Dark Paradise is perfect for fans of Agatha Christie, Michael Connelly, and Nick Sullivan looking for their next addictive beach read. Click “Buy Now” and grab your copy today!

The More or Less Definitive Guide to Self-Care: From A to Z


Anna Borges - 2019
    “For most of us,” writes Anna Borges, “self-care is a wide spectrum of decisions and actions that soothe and fortify us against all the shit we deal with.” You may already practice some form of self-care, whether it’s taking an extra-long shower after a stressful day, splurging on a ~fancy~ dinner, or choosing Netflix over that friend-of-a-friend’s birthday party. But when life gets so overwhelming that you want to stay in bed, some more radical care is crucial to maintain your sanity.The More or Less Definitive Guide to Self-Care is here to help you exist in the world. Borges gathers over 200 tips, activities, and stories (from experts and everyday people alike) into an A-to-Z list—from asking for help and burning negative thoughts to the importance of touch and catching some Zzz’s. Make any day a little more OK with new skills in your self-care toolkit—and energy to show up for yourself.

Cold Snap: A Viking Cat Mystery


Codi Schneider - 2021
    In this village lives a cat named Bijou. But she’s no ordinary house cat; her ancestors were mousers on Viking longships, and their blood runs through her veins. Since her battle skills are hardly needed in this modern age, however, she spends her energies running the Fox Burrow Pet Inn with her human, Spencer, and her assistant, Skunk, a mentally negligible Pomeranian. Together, the happy trio has created a safe haven for their four-legged guests.But when Eddy Line, a handsome baker from California, comes to the inn―along with his piglet and pit bull puppy―everything changes. Spencer falls for Eddy, Bijou is unhappy with the sudden changes to her clan, and the townspeople are anything but welcoming; in fact, threats are made against Eddy when he buys the town’s historic firehouse in order to open a bakery.Then a shocking murder/dognapping occurs on the night of the bakery’s grand opening, and Bijou finds herself thrust into a tangled mystery. To solve it, she will have to summon her inner Viking―and fight tooth and claw for her new clan.

Above the Ether


Eric BarnesEric Barnes - 2019
    John Mandel's Station Eleven and Margaret Atwood's The Year of the Flood.In this prequel to Eric Barnes's acclaimed cli-fi novel The City Where We Once Lived, six sets of characters move through a landscape and a country just beginning to show the signs of cataclysmic change.A father and his young children fleeing a tsunami after a massive earthquake in the Gulf. A woman and her husband punishing themselves without relent for the loss of both their sons to addiction, while wildfires slowly burn closer to their family home. A brilliant investor, assessing opportunity in the risk to crops, homes, cities, industries, and infrastructure, working in the silent comfort of her office sixty floors up in the scorching air. A doctor and his wife stuck in a refugee camp for immigrants somewhere in a southern desert. Two young men working the rides for a roadside carnival, one escaping a brutal past, the other a racist present. The manager of a chain of nondescript fast-food restaurants in a city ravaged by the relentless wind.While every night the news alternates images of tsunami destruction with the baseball scores, the characters converge on a city where the forces of change have already broken—a city half abandoned, with one part left to be scavenged as the levee system protecting it slowly fails—until, in their vehicles on the highway that runs through it, they witness the approach of what looks to be just one more violent storm.