Similar to the best-selling Eat, Pray, Love, this is a memoir that follows the personal quest for meaning and for a spirituality that makes sense. The author begins this quest after her son asks her questions about death and she realizes that she is ill-prepared to answer them. She decides to interview a yogi and a rabbi and so on. Deeply moving and lovely.

 Elizabethe Plante's pick

This sweeping novel is the story of two British families living in Sheffield, in Northern England. Each character's story is thoroughly developed, and the lives of the families carefully diagrammed, as they grow together and apart, settling, or not settling, into their own stories. Each character is uniquely compelling-- this isn't one of those books where you can't wait to get back to a certain character's story, they're all really fascinating. Hensher writes with a disctinctly British tone, both in his writing and in the telling of the story. His insight into the families is both quiet and frequently profound. A compelling story which wraps up with subtlety and which truly stayed with me.

Stef Kiper's Pick

Each of these stories is truly a jewel. Meloy writes simply and beautifully, about ranchers, small-town men and women, disappointed lovers, grieving fathers, and regular people experiencing small but important crises of faith. The phrase "Both ways is the only way I want it," a line from a poem read to one of the characters by his daughter, can be seen in some way in each story. Meloy poignantly demonstrates in her stories how difficult it can be in life to choose one path over another.

Stef Kiper's Pick

Stef Kiper's pick

This new memoir is written in a similar style to her first book, Here If You Need Me, with a thoughtful meditation elaborated in each chapter. Some of them are heartwarming, some are heartbreaking, but each chapter is worth a good dose of thought afterward. Kate is funny, inspirational and completely relatable. Charity, love, agape-- no matter what you call it, it's what life is all about.

Elizabethe Plante's Pick

A deeply engrossing set of stories filled with unforgettable characters and poetic, gorgeous writing. Two sets of connected stories are the stars here-- "William and Clare" and "Lionel and Julia"-- but all of Bloom's stories are honest, deeply felt, and unexpected. She writes convincingly about what we all do for love, acceptance, and a measure of sanity and normalcy. Bloom uses lovely poems by Jane Hirshfield to glue the stories together. Excellent-- it met my high expectations!

Stef Kiper's Pick

Thanks to Doug Fanning, "Union Atlantic" became an international leading bank. To reward himself, Doug built an enormous mansion on land that originally was donated to the town of Finden, MA for preservation. Charlotte Graves, a former teacher, dismissed for her "rebellious" teaching, is fighting Doug and the town to restore his property to the original state. Nate, a failed high school student being tutored by Charlotte, is having sexual encounters with Doug. Nate proves to be a stirring catalyst in their ongoing fight. This is a very engaging novel about human interactions, mental instability, and the banking industry.

Jean Paul Adriaansen's  pick

By far the most challenging, poetic, and rewarding read I've ever experienced. Mossman's novel was published in 1972 to rave reviews, but quickly faded into obscurity as the author suffered a nervous breakdown and withdrew from the public eye. Director mark Moskowitz tracked him down and got the book re-published for a new generation to enjoy. A rip-roaring, Beat-esque coming-of-age tale that will push you to the brink of insanity and you'll love every minute of it!

Ryan McLellan's pick

What a perfect book for history lovers! The basic subject of this work is the discovery of a map dated 1507 on which for the first time the continent of North America appears with the name "America." More fascinating even is the fact that on this map America is surrounded by oceans...how could they have known? In search for the origins of this knowledge, Toby Lester shows us not only the whole history of cartography (even going back to Ptolemy) but he describes also the entire political and religious spirit of the time in which scientists and cartographers were working. If you're into history, you have to go for it.

Jean Paul Adriaansen's Pick