A Christmas Visitor

A Christmas Visitor

by Anne Perry

This book is a murder mystery set in the Lake District of England during Victorian times. The joyful tranquility of a snowbound estate is overturned in a moment by a shocking murder. A renowned mathematician and inventor, Henry Rathbone, puts his creative and analytical capacities to the test as he assumes the role of amateur investigator and cracks the case.

As an audio book, I very much enjoyed listening to Terrance Hardiman's voice, a well-known actor with BBC-TV!

- Ann

If Today Be Sweet

If Today Be Sweet

by Thrity Umrigar

Recently widowed Tehmina Sethna of Bombay is visiting her son, Sorab, and his family, in his Cleveland, Ohio home. Now she has to choose between her old, comfortable life in India and a new one in Cleveland with Sorab and his family. If Today Be Sweet is an entertaining and very enjoyable book.

-Lynn

This Matter of Marriage

This Matter of Marriage

by Debbie Macomber

Best-selling author Debbie Macomber is always a pleasure to read. Although not a new release, This Matter of Marriage was delightful. The book depicts the lighthearted story of a 29-year-old woman who has devoted her entire adult life to her self-made business. She realizes that it's time to find a husband and the resulting attempts are something else.

This book is a great read and you'll love the conclusion.

- Beckie

Summer Breeze

Summer Breeze

by Catherine Palmer & Gary Chapman

Summer Breeze is the second book of a four-part series entitled Four Seasons.

Readers meet the blended families of Derek and Kim Finley.

Kim's mother-in-law has come to town to stay . . . permanently! Other changes happen to Deepwater Cove, bringing the community together: there's a mystery to solve and a romance to follow. Read on!

- Ann

The Tipping Point

The Tipping Point: how little things can make a big difference

by Malcolm Gladwell

The Tipping Point is a book about how change happens. Tipping points happen when people act as connectors, mavens and salesmen and ideas become "sticky". In practical language, Malcolm Gladwell picks apart the notion of the epidemic using sociology & psychology. From Hush Puppy shoes to Sesame Street, he shows how ideas can take hold & why.

Malcolm describes this book as an intellectual adventure story. It is. It has an interesting and surprising way of making sense of things.

- Holly

Perennials for Ohio

Perennials for Ohio
by Debra Knapke and Alison Beck

Perennials for Ohio is an excellent reference book for any gardener. The book is small but packed with information and photos. It contains a chart listing the colors for the different species, blooming season, height, partiality to light, and soil conditions. There are tips how to use species in the landscape, problems or pests, and other pertinent information helpful to any gardener.

A must-read during the winter months while planning the special garden or renovating the landscape.

- Rosie

Shakespeare Retold

Shakespeare Retold
DVD

This BBC production of modern day re-tellings of 4 Shakespeare plays is brilliant. If you only get to see one, let it be Taming of the Shrew. Shirley Henderson & Rufus Sewell steal the show as a modern day Kate Minola & Petruchio with a feminist twist. James McElvoy is Macbeth, the brilliant chef who wants the restaurant. Much Ado about Nothing takes place in a newsroom and Midsummer Night's Dream at a British vacation resort.

Some of the endings are different than the plays (I won't tell you which) but they always work. Even if you don't get Shakespeare, you'll love it. Honestly, there's nothing better on the telly.

- Holly

The Wedding

The Wedding
by Nicholas Sparks

Wilson Lewis has been married for 30 years and is afraid he is losing his wife. He tries to bring the romance back into their marriage but his wife is preoccupied planning their daughter’s wedding.

Wilson was brought up differently than his wife Jane, whose parents were happily married for 50 years and showed their love for one another. He uses their marriage as a guide to heal his marriage, hoping his wife will fall back in love with him.

The Wedding is a tender and romantic love story and sequel to The Notebook, the love story of Noah and Allie Calhoun, Jane’s parents.

- Rosie

The Star Garden: A Novel of Sarah Agnes Prine

The Star Garden: A Novel of Sarah Agnes Prine

by Nancy E. Turner

Inspired by the author’s original family memoirs, this book, the third in the trilogy (which includes These Is My Words and Sarah’s Quilt), is told in diary form. It tells the extraordinary story of Sarah Prine, a feisty pioneer woman struggling to make a life for herself and her family in the harsh Arizona Territory in 1906. This engaging, well-researched novel is part historical fiction, part western and part romance, and thoroughly entertaining.

- Lynn

Thirst

Thirst
by Mary Oliver

Mary Oliver has been known as the quintessential nature poet for decades. Her observations of the the most common occurrence in nature have always been revelations. In Thirst, Mary's poetry takes an important turn. Following the death of her partner of 40 years, Mary has a long dark year of the soul. The poems that are the result are nothing short of beautiful.

An Ohio native, Mary Oliver is one of our finest living poets. Her poems can be appreciated by anyone who reads poetry.

-Holly

School's Out!

School's Out!

by Wanda E. Brunstetter

Rachel Yoder is an energetic nine-year-old Amish girl from Lancaster County. School is out and Rachel is looking forward to having fun this summer, but she is full of mischief, and trouble often follows her. Will her family survive the many adventures along the way? Check out this book to find out!

- Debbie

It Happens Every Spring

It Happens Every Spring

Four Seasons Series, Book 1
by Gary Chapman & Catherine Palmer

Welcome to Deepwater Cove in Tranquility, Missouri! This first of four books follows four couples moving in and out of their different seasons; spring, summer, fall, and winter. It has the "Mitford" feel to it that Jan Karon portrays so well in the happenings of small-town life. You will meet newlyweds, blended families, couples who are deep in the throes of empty-nest adjustment, and senior couples. If you like this book, follow it up with Summer Breeze, the second in the series. Enjoy!

-Ann

Nineteen Minutes

Nineteen Minutes

by Jodi Picoult

Lots can happen in nineteen minutes. Jodi Picoult shows just how suddenly lives can be altered in this story of a school massacre that is told through not only from the point of view of the victims but also of the shooter. Very thought-provoking, Nineteen Minutes is yet another good book by this author.

-Lynn

This I Believe

This I Believe

by Jay Allison

NPR invited listeners to write a personal credo - a few hundred words explaining the principles that guide one's life. This book is a compilation of essays from those who accepted the invitation. People from all walks of life are included - famous and unknown alike.

It is inspiring to read the thoughts expressed; people's diverse writings of their most closely held convictions. You can't help but be led to the question - what do I believe?

This I Believe is also available as an audio book with each writer reading his own essay.

- Kathy S.

The Secret of Lost Things

The Secret of Lost Things

by Sheridan Hay

Rosemary, a lovely & naive woman from Tasmania, is thrust into the New York City world of eccentric book dealers & collectors following the death of her mother. Set in the Arcade (aka NYC's The Strand), she becomes entangled in a mystery involving a lost manuscript of Herman Melville. The plot thickens as staff manipulate her for clues to its whereabouts by using her as a ploy.
Full of intrigue & quirky characters, this is a novel for bibliophiles who dream of acquiring rare books.

-Holly