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THE BOOK OF CAROLSUE

One of our recommended books is The Book of CarolSue by Lynne Hugo

Brimming with wit and warmth, award-winning author Lynne Hugo’s life-affirming new novel balances hardship and humor in a story about how a family gets on…and goes on.

CarolSue and her sister, Louisa, have always been best friends, though they haven’t had much in common since CarolSue married Charlie, moved to Atlanta, and swapped shoes covered with Indiana farm dust for pedicures and afternoon bridge. But when her husband dies in front of the TV while eating blueberry pie in his favorite recliner, CarolSue is left adrift and Louisa, the ever-officious retired schoolteacher, swoops in with a plan.

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AMERICAN GOSPEL

One of our recommended books is American Gospel by Lin Enger

On a small farm beside a lake in Minnesota’s north woods an old man is waiting for the Rapture, which God has told him will happen in two weeks, on August 19, 1974. When word gets out, Last Days Ranch becomes ground zero for The End, drawing zealots, curiosity seekers, and reporters—among them the prophet’s son, a skeptical New York writer suddenly caught between his overbearing father and the news story of a lifetime, and Melanie Magnus, a glamorous actress who has old allegiances to both father and son.

Writing with clear compassion and gentle wit, Lin Enger draws us into these disparate yet inextricably linked lives.

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AFTER FRANCESCO

One of our recommended books is After Francesco by Brian Malloy

Acclaimed author Brian Malloy brings insight, humor, and the authenticity of his own experiences as a member of the AIDS generation to this universal story of love and loss set in New York City and Minneapolis at the peak of the AIDS crisis. Published on the 40th anniversary of the disease’s first reported cases, After Francesco is both a tribute to a generation lost to the pandemic as well as a powerful exploration of heartbreak, recovery and how love can defy grief.

The year is 1988 and 28-year-old Kevin Doyle is bone-tired of attending funerals. It’s been two years since his partner Francesco died from AIDS,

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THE WOMAN IN RED

One of our recommended books is The Woman in Red by Diana Giovinazzo

Destiny toys with us all, but Anita Garibaldi is a force to be reckoned with. Forced into marriage at a young age, Anita feels trapped in a union she does not want. But when she meets the leader of the Brazilian resistance, Giuseppe Garibaldi, in 1839, everything changes.

Swept into a passionate affair with the idolized mercenary, Anita’s life is suddenly consumed by the plight to liberate Southern Brazil from Portugal — a struggle that would cost thousands of lives and span almost ten bloody years. Little did she know that this first taste of revolution would lead her to cross oceans,

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HAMNET

One of our recommended books is Hamnet by Maggie O'Farrell

England, 1580: The Black Death creeps across the land, an ever-present threat, infecting the healthy, the sick, the old and the young alike. The end of days is near, but life always goes on.

A young Latin tutor—penniless and bullied by a violent father—falls in love with an extraordinary, eccentric young woman. Agnes is a wild creature who walks her family’s land with a falcon on her glove and is known throughout the countryside for her unusual gifts as a healer, understanding plants and potions better than she does people. Once she settles with her husband on Henley Street in Stratford-upon-Avon,

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LAKEWOOD

One of our recommended books is Lakewood by Megan Giddings

A startling debut about class and race, Lakewood evokes a terrifying world of medical experimentation—part The Handmaid’s Tale, part The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks.

When Lena Johnson’s beloved grandmother dies, and the full extent of the family debt is revealed, the black millennial drops out of college to support her family and takes a job in the mysterious and remote town of Lakewood, Michigan.

On paper, her new job is too good to be true. High paying. No out of pocket medical expenses. A free place to live.

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