Bookmark the Blog


AND THE BRIDE CLOSED THE DOOR

One of our recommended books for 2019 is And the Bride Closed the Door by Ronit Matalon

A young bride shuts herself up in a bedroom on her wedding day, refusing to get married. In this moving and humorous look at contemporary Israel and the chaotic ups and downs of love everywhere, her family gathers outside the locked door, not knowing what to do. The bride’s mother has lost a younger daughter in unclear circumstances. Her grandmother is hard of hearing, yet seems to understand her better than anyone. A male cousin who likes to wear women’s clothes and jewelry clings to his grandmother like a little boy.

The family tries an array of unusual tactics to ensure the wedding goes ahead,

read more

A DOG’S PROMISE

One of our recommended books is A Dog Promise by W. Bruce Cameron

A Dog’s Promise continues the story of Bailey, the good dog whose journey started in A Dog’s Purpose and continued in A Dog’s Journey (both major motion pictures).

This time, Bailey is joined by Lacey, another very special dog, who helps Bailey fulfill his promise over the course of several lives. This charming, wise canine soul brings joy, laughter, and comfort as he unites a family fractured by life’s inevitable obstacles.

The love and loyalty of these two memorable dogs shows us the incredible power of hope, truth, and unending devotion in this moving novel by award-winning,

read more

BEVERLY, RIGHT HERE

One of our recommended books for 2019 is Beverly, Right Here by Kate DiCamillo

Beverly put her foot down on the gas. They went faster still.
This was what Beverly wanted — what she always wanted. To get away. To get away as fast as she could. To stay away.

Beverly Tapinski has run away from home plenty of times, but that was when she was just a kid. By now, she figures, it’s not running away. It’s leaving. Determined to make it on her own, Beverly finds a job and a place to live and tries to forget about her dog, Buddy, now buried underneath the orange trees back home;

read more

RIDGE STORIES

One of our recommended books for 2019 is Ridge Stories by Gary Jones

Straight talk from up on the farm.

Raised on a small dairy farm in the Driftless Area in the mid-twentieth century, Gary Jones gets real about his rural roots. In this collection of interrelated stories, Jones writes with plainspoken warmth and irreverence about farm, family, and folks on the ridge.

Readers will meet Gramp Jones, whose over-sized overalls saved him from losing a chunk of flesh to an irate sow; the young one-room-school teacher who helped the kids make sled jumps at recess; Charlotte, the lawn-mowing sheep who once ended up in the living room; Victor the pig-cutter,

read more

WILD GAME

One of our recommended books for 2019 is Wild Game by Adrienne Brodeur

A daughter’s tale of living in the thrall of her magnetic, complicated mother, and the chilling consequences of her complicity.

On a hot July night on Cape Cod when Adrienne was fourteen, her mother, Malabar, woke her at midnight with five simple words that would set the course of both of their lives for years to come: Ben Souther just kissed me.

Adrienne instantly became her mother’s confidante and helpmate, blossoming in the sudden light of her attention, and from then on, Malabar came to rely on her daughter to help orchestrate what would become an epic affair with her husband’s closest friend.

read more

THE WATER DANCER

One of our recommended books for 2019 is The Water Dancer by Ta-Nehisi Coates

From the National Book Award–winning author of Between the World and Me, a boldly conjured debut novel about a magical gift, a devastating loss, and an underground war for freedom.

Young Hiram Walker was born into bondage. When his mother was sold away, Hiram was robbed of all memory of her—but was gifted with a mysterious power. Years later, when Hiram almost drowns in a river, that same power saves his life. This brush with death births an urgency in Hiram and a daring scheme: to escape from the only home he’s ever known.

So begins an unexpected journey that takes Hiram from the corrupt grandeur of Virginia’s proud plantations to desperate guerrilla cells in the wilderness,

read more