Come Rain or Come Shine by Jan Karon
I always get homesick when I read this author. This book has all of the small town characters I love, plus a wedding. I always recommend her. (adult fiction)
Available in the following formats:
Print
Large Print
eBook
Audiobook (CD) (Playaway) (Stream/Download)
Greater
As football season is upon us, I highly recommend the movie Greater. It is a very inspirational, uplifting story of determination. Brandon Burlsworth was determined to play college football. The odds seemed to be against him, but he overcame adversity and was a walk on player for the Arkansas Razorbacks in 1994. This movie will appeal to almost everyone, even if you are not a sports fan. (DVD)
Available in the following formats:
DVD
Blu-Ray
The Glassblower Trilogy by Petra Durst-Benning
These are great historical fiction stories, with some interesting non-fiction details about the art of glassblowing. (adult ficton)
Available in the following formats:
Book 1: Print / MP3 disc
Book 2: Print / MP3 disc
Book 3: Print / Audiobook
Mulberry Park by Judy Duarte
This beautiful story is a help to anyone who has lost a loved one. Just listen to the little boy’s voice. To walk in the glory of the Lord.
Book description: Claire Harper goes to Mulberry Park each day to find a respite from sadness. One day she finds a letter to God written by Analisa, a 7-year-old girl who has lost her parents. Claire writes back to Analisa to preserve Analisa’s innocence. Before finding Analisa’s letter, Claire’s life had fallen apart after the death of her young son. By helping Analisa and other persons coming to the park, Claire finds a meaning to her life. (adult fiction)
Available in the following formats:
Print
Large Print
eBook
Any title written by Nora Roberts
I recommend anything written by Nora Roberts. She includes a little of everything in her books.–a little suspense, a little romance– and always a good story line.
Nora Roberts’ titles are available in the following formats:
Print
Large Print
Audiobook (CD) (MP3 disc) (Playaway)
Overdrive eBooks & audiobooks
Bellman & Black by Diane Setterfield
This book is an exploration through magical reality of the course of events created by a single incident. I read it because I enjoyed the author’s previous book, The 13th Tale, very much. I liked this one just as well. It made me feel at home in its surreal, gothic world–as if I had lived the life it describes, too. (adult fiction)
Available in the following formats:
Print
Large Print
Audiobook (CD) (Download/stream)
The Lost Letter by Jillian Cantor
I would give this book 10 stars, if I could! I read it in in one day. Needless to say, I didn’t accomplish much else. I was riveted from the Prologue to the very last page. If you love historical fiction, stories of love, loss, and self-discovery…this book is for you. (historical fiction)
Available in the following formats:
Print
Large Print
eBook
First Day Jitters by Julie Dunneberg
Last week my girls went back to school (5th grade, 2nd grade and Kindergarten!). The night before school started, we read the book First Day Jitters, by Julie Dunneberg. The book is a fun story about the first day of school for Sarah. Throughout the story, you think Sarah is a new student starting in a new school…. when she is actually a new teacher starting at a new school. My girls thought it was funny that a teacher could be as nervous for the first day as a student. First Day Jitters was a fun story that helped to ease the anxiety of starting school for my girls, especially my Kindergartner! (picture book)
Available in the following formats:
Print
eBook: Overdrive / Hoopla
God’s Not Dead 2
It’s a great movie to watch with family, friends, or neighbors. It is very inspirational and a solid reminder that Jesus is real, and to never compromise our Faith! (DVD)
Available in the following formats:
DVD
Blu-Ray
Novelization
Soundtrack
Look! I’m a Scientist by DK
This has become a favorite in our house. It is perfect for ages 3 – 6 and will get little ones excited about discovering amazing everyday science as they play their way through the experiments inside. (children’s non-fiction)
Available in the following format:
Print
DIY Science by Nick Arnold
DIY Science has 88 and 1/2 quick and easy step by step experiments. It has a nice, clean layout with a great breakdown of different types of experiments. A great book for future scientists in the elementary grades. (children’s non-fiction)
Available in the following format:
Print
City of Lies: A Counterfeit Lady Novel by Victoria Thompson
An exciting new series featuring woman-on-the-run Elizabeth Miles—from the beloved national bestselling author of the Gaslight Mysteries. Set in New York City in the 1920s, the storyline combines the art of the con with women’s suffrage. A very well-written historical thriller.
Available in the following formats:
Print
Large Print
eBook
Once There Was a Story: Tales from Around the World, Perfect for Sharing by Jane Yolen, Illustrated by Jane Dyer.
This collection of well-known and not-so-well known stories, fairy tales, folk tales, and fables from Russia to Africa to Korea and beyond includes magic tales, homey tales, and animal tales. They’re beautifully illustrated and would make a great addition to any bedtime reading list.
Available in the following format:
Print
Doc by Mary Doria Russell
This novel sheds light on the many people intertwined in the life of Dr. John Henry Holliday. They live in a world of gambling, alcohol, prostitution, and horses. The author shows the reader the real man, not just the gunslinger from the OK Corral. He was an educated, thoughtful, cultivated, and competent dentist. It is better than any western. A great follow-up is her new book called Epitaph: A Novel of the OK Corral. Ms. Russell lives here in northeast Ohio and often speaks at local venues.
Available in the following formats:
Print
Large Print
eBook
Audiobook (CD Playaway Stream/Download)
A Column of Fire by Ken Follett
This is the third book of the series Pillars of the Earth takes place in 1558, The Kingsbury Cathedral looks down on a city torn apart by religious conflict. The power in England shifts between Catholics and Protestants. The royalty and commoners clash testing friendship, loyalty, and love. Ned Williams wants to marry Margery Fitzgerald, but the lovers find themselves on either side of the conflict. Ned goes to work for Princess Elizabeth. When she becomes queen, all Europe turns against her. The young monarch sets up the country’s first secret service to give her warning of assassination plots, rebellions, and invasions. The extremism sparks violence from Edinburgh to Geneva. What happens to Ned and Margery?
Available in the following formats:
Print
Large Print
eBook
Audiobook
I Know a Secret (Rizzoli and Isles #12) by Tess Gerritsen
The crime scene is unlike any that Detective Rizzoli and medical examiner Maura Isles have ever encountered. The female victim lies peacefully in her bed with no apparent cause of death. Her eyes have been removed and placed in the palm of her hand. These books have a wonderful interplay between two women which is rare and quite unusual.
Available in the following formats:
Print
Large Print
eBook
Audiobook (CD MP3 Discs Playaway)
Angela’s Ashes by Frank McCourt.
Frank was born in Brooklyn, New York during the depression era. His family was originally from Limerick, Ireland and returned when Frank was 4 years old. Frank”s mother, Angela, is the one that holds the family together during utter poverty, hardship, death and starvation. At times there’s a lot of humor as Frank describes his Irish Catholic childhood. Through everything, Frank holds on to his dream of going to America.
Available in the following formats:
Print
Large Print
eBook
Audiobook (CD Playaway Stream/Download)
See also: DVD of the movie adaptation
The Girl in the Garden by Kamala Nair
I decided to read this book because the cover spoke of India, and the title suggested mystery. I was pleased when I soon felt at home in the shoes of a ten year old girl visiting her extended family in Kerala. There is a girl, and there is a garden, and along the way there is a peculiar family to get to know, and a decaying mansion… and many secrets. An enthralling story, interesting characters, an exotic setting make it a winner. And the descriptions of the heat of summer days in India make it a perfect read for a frigid Ohio evening!
Available in the following formats:
Print
Large Print
eBook
Audiobook (CD Overdrive/Libby Hoopla)
1491: New Revelations of the Americas before Columbus by Charles C. Mann
I always knew that 1492 brought dreadful things to the Western Hemisphere, but until I read this book I didn’t realize the profundity of this catastrophe. Scholars are in the process of re-evaluating the numbers of people who lost their lives, and it makes me shudder with sadness. The immorality of the Europeans who came to this land should never be forgotten, but it seems that biochemistry was by far the heaviest hand in what happened. So much promise was snuffed out in the years that followed Columbus. Read this book as a first step in appreciating what was lost, and what survives.
Available in the following formats:
Print
eBook
Audiobook
House of Echoes by Brendan Duffy
I love a good scary story, and this book delivered. A young family relocates to a gothic mansion in a closed community within the wilderness of upstate New York, and are soon caught up in a series of supernatural events. A horror story, unmistakably, and an entertaining one. But what will make this book unforgettable to me is the description of what one of the characters experiences as he lies dying on the ice. I have never died, so I don’t know what it’s like, but I think this description rings true.
Available in the following formats:
Print
eBook
Audiobook
A Piece of the World by Christina Baker Kline
This was an interesting fact and fictional view of the relationship of Andrew Wyeth (the famous artist) and Christina Olson who would become the subject of his painting “Christina’s World”). Note: You can Meet Christina Baker Kline and many authors at our Northcoast Writers’ Expo on Apr. 28 (off-site). Register here.
Available in the following formats:
Print
Large Print
eBook
Audiobook (CD Stream/Download)
