January 3, 2006

Savannah Blues
by Mary Kay Andrews

When Eloise "Weezie" Foley marries rich, old-money Talmadge Evans II, she gets the house of her dreams and spends a fortune decorating it. Then Weezie's marriage ends in divorce and her ex-husband exiles her to the small carriage house. Scorned and degraded, she plots his and his new fiancee's downfall, but does her plans include murder?
   

February 7, 2006

Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass
by Frederick Douglass

He was born a slave, but hardships and lack of education could not keep Douglass down. As a young man, he ran away from his master, educated himself, and grew to become a highly-acclaimed, prolific orator.
   

March 7, 2006

The Kite Runner
by Khaled Hosseini

Amir's father is a wealthy businessman and Hassan is the son of a servant. Their friendship should have never blossomed, but it did, even in midst of the turmoil and war in Iraq. Then an unspeakable evil touched their young lives.
   

April 4, 2006

St. Dale
by Sharyn McCrumb

An unlikely group of racing car fans set out on a bus tour of Southern speedways to pay homage to their idol NASCAR champion Dale Earnhart. Among those on this pilgrimage: a dying orphan, an Episcopalian priest, a Nebraskan farmer, and a young couple, hoping to get hitched at their first stop. Whether you're a racing fan or not, you will probably love the characters Sharyn McCrumb has created for this book.
   

May 2, 2006

Miss Julia Meets Her Match
by Ann Ross

70-something, widowed, well-to-do Miss Julia has a house full of problems. First, she has invited her late husband’s mistress, Hazel Marie, and son, Little Lloyd to live with her. Next, her new beau, Sam Murdoch is pressuring her to marry him. Then, there’s her housekeeper’s precocious 5-year-old great granddaughter. And to top it off there’s a rumor that another of her late husband’s paramours is in town. With so many problems has Miss Julia finally met her match?
   

June 6, 2006

Me Talk Pretty One Day
by David Sedaris

Sedaris draws on the poignant comedy of his peculiar North Carolina childhood, his unusual career path and his time spent in France to create this uproariously funny autobiography. The title is mined from his English translation of how he and his fellow students of French in Paris mangled the Gallic language.
   

July 11, 2006

Getting Mother's Body
by Susan-Lori Parks

Sixteen, pregnant and in desperate need of money, Billy Beede is convinced her only salvation is a trip from Texas to Arizona to claim jewels owned by her late mother. But Billy has three obstacles to overcome: 1) She has absolutely no money for travel, 2) no way to get there, and 3) she has to dig up her mother’s grave to claim the jewels since they were buried with her mother. How Billy solves her problems makes for a very funny read.
   

August 1, 2006

The Time Traveler's Wife
by Audrey Niffenegger

Meet Henry, a Chicago librarian and his wife, Clare, an artist. On the outside the might look like your average couple; however, Henry suffers from CDP (Chrono-Displacement Order) which means at any given moment he could be whisked away to any period in time. And Henry has no control over this condition. The title suggests a sci-fi thriller, in the hands of talented author Audrey Niffenegger, we are treated to a rare and beautiful love story.
   

September 5, 2006

Catcher in the Rye
By J. D. Salinger

Holden Caulfield has been called the personification of a troubled, cynical, misunderstood teen. This book was banned from most public libraries because of Salinger's use of slang and profanity. But despite its controversy, Catcher in the Rye has been dubbed (and still remains) a literary treasure.
   

October 3, 2006/October 23, 2006

As I Lay Dying
by William Faulkner

Through the voices of fifteen characters (most of them family members) Faulkner relates a tale of life, death, despair, hope, solidarity, and endurance.
   

November 7, 2006

The Stories & Poetry of Edgar Allan Poe
By Edgar Allan Poe

Edgar Allan POE is considered to be among the great masters of the short story and the father of the detective story. Long before Arthur Conan Doyle introduced us to Sherlock Homes, POE had already given us his genius of scientific deduction in the character of Monsieur C. Auguste Dupin in Murder in the Rue Morgue.
   

December 5, 2006

Farmer Giles of Ham and Smith of Wootton Major
by J.R.R. Tolkien

Though best known for his classic tales about Middle Earth (Lord of the Ring), Tolkien also penned these two delightful novelettes. Farmer Giles is a story about a reluctant hero who has been called upon to vanquish a dragon; and Smith is a boy who accidentally swallows a faery star, which enables him to wander into the Faery Realm.