Category
Small Town Communities / Small Town Life
Beartown 2018
Beartown, Book 1
By the lake in Beartown is an old ice rink, and in that ice rink Kevin, Amat, Benji, and the rest of the town’s junior ice hockey team are about to compete in the national semi-finals—and they actually have a shot at winning. All the hopes and dreams of this place now rest on the shoulders of a...
Solace Springs, Book 1
A bookshop, a boathouse, and a budding new romance . . . When Sophie Bennett gets fired from her high-profile marketing job and dumped by her boyfriend for being “too boring,” she decides to take a risk—fueled by wine—and launches a crowdfunding campaign called “Help a Boring Girl Buy a Bookshop.”...
Foster 2022
It is a hot summer in rural Ireland. A girl is sent to live with foster parents on a farm, not knowing when she will return home. In the strangers’ house, she finds a warmth and affection she has not known before and slowly begins to blossom in their care. But in a house where there are meant to be...
Esther Larson has been cooking for funerals in the Northwoods of Wisconsin for seventy years. Known locally as the “funeral ladies,” she and her cohort have worked hard to keep the mourners of Ellerie County fed—it is her firm belief that there is very little a warm casserole and a piece of cherry...
The Guts 2015
Full of the great joy in storytelling that characterizes Roddy Doyle’s novels, The Guts catches up with Jimmy Rabbitte—the man who in the 1980s formed the Commitments, a band composed of working-class Irish youths whose mission was to bring soul music to Dublin. Jimmy is now forty-seven, with a...
The Horse 2024
Al Ward lives on an isolated mining claim in the high desert of central Nevada fifty miles from the nearest town. A grizzled man in his sixties, he survives on canned soup, instant coffee, and memories of his ex-wife, friends and family he’s lost, and his life as a touring musician. Hampered by...
When a young librarian discovers hidden historic dollhouses in her library, she embarks on an unexpected journey that reveals surprising secrets about the lost miniatures.
Tildy Barrows, Head Curator of a beautiful archival library in San Francisco, is meticulously dedicated to the century’s worth...
Manazuru 2017
Twelve years have passed since Kei’s husband, Rei, disappeared and she was left alone with her three-year-old daughter. Her new relationship with a married man―the antithesis of Rei―has brought her life to a numbing stasis, and her relationships with her mother and daughter have spilled into...
Mohawk 1994
Mohawk, New York, is one of those small towns that lie almost entirely on the wrong side of the tracks. Dallas Younger, a star athlete in high school, now drifts from tavern to poker game, losing money, and, inevitably, another set of false teeth. His ex-wife, Anne, is stuck in a losing battle with...
The Neon Bible 1994
The Neon Bible is a short novel by John Kennedy Toole, written when he was very young and published after his death. The story is told by a boy named David, who grows up in a small, rigid Southern town marked by poverty, intolerance, and strict religious values. From the beginning, David feels out...
Nobody's Fool 1994
North Bath, Book 1
Divorced from his own wife and carrying on halfheartedly with another man's, saddled with a bum knee and friends who make enemies redundant, Sully now has one new problem to cope with: a long-estranged son who is in imminent danger of following in his father's footsteps. With its uproarious humor...
The Orchard Keeper 1993
The boy, John Wesley Rattner, and the outlaw, Marion Sylder–together with Rattner's Uncle Ather, who belongs to a former age in his communion with nature and his stoic independence–enact a drama that seems born of the land itself. All three are heroes of an intense and compelling celebration of...
The Partnership 2001
Foley and Moss are partners in a successful small business, making plaster pixies for the tourist trade. Foley is the artistic member of the partnership; he thinks up the ideas and designs and has pretensions to even greater artistry in his cherub lamps and fixtures. Moss, the seemingly quiet one...
Reservation Blues 2005
One day legendary bluesman Robert Johnson appears on the Spokane Indian reservation, in flight from the devil and presumed long dead. When he passes his enchanted instrument to Thomas-Builds-the-Fire—storyteller, misfit, and musician—a magical odyssey begins that will take them from reservation bars...
Somebody's Fool 2024
North Bath, Book 3
Ten years after the death of the magnetic Donald “Sully” Sullivan, the town of North Bath is going through a major transition as it is annexed by its much wealthier neighbor, Schuyler Springs. Peter, Sully’s son, is still grappling with his father’s tremendous legacy as well as his relationship to...
The Stonemason 1995
The setting is Louisville, Kentucky, in the 1970s. The Telfairs are stonemasons and have been for generations. Ben Telfair has given up his education to apprentice himself to his grandfather, Papaw, a man who knows that "true masonry is not held together by cement but...by the warp of the...
This Other Eden 2023
This Other Eden by Paul Harding is a lyrical historical novel inspired by the true story of Malaga Island, a racially mixed community off the coast of Maine. Set in the early twentieth century, the novel follows the isolated residents of Apple Island, descendants of former slaves, Irish immigrants,...
Tortilla Flat 1997
Adopting the structure and themes of the Arthurian legend, John Steinbeck created a “Camelot” on a shabby hillside above the town of Monterey, California, and peopled it with a colorful band of knights. At the center of the tale is Danny, whose house, like Arthur’s castle, becomes a gathering place...
When She Was Good 1995
When she was still a child, Lucy Nelson had her alcoholic failure of a father thrown in jail. Ever since then she has been trying to reform the men around her, even if that ultimately means destroying herself in the process. With his unerring portraits of Lucy and her hapless, childlike husband,...
When the Light Goes 2008
Back from a two-week trip to Egypt, Duane finds he cannot readjust to life in Thalia, the small, dusty West Texas hometown in which he has spent all of his life. In the short time he was away, it seems that everything has changed alarmingly. His office barely has a reason to exist now that his son...
The Winners 2023
Beartown, Book 3
Over the course of two weeks, everything in Beartown will change.
Two years have passed since the events that no one wants to think about. Everyone has tried to move on, but there’s something about this place that prevents it. The destruction caused by a ferocious late-summer storm reignites the...
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The Cherry Blossom Boathouse May 26, 2026
Solace Springs, Book 1
A bookshop, a boathouse, and a budding new romance . . . When Sophie Bennett gets fired from her high-profile marketing job and dumped by her boyfriend for being “too boring,” she decides to take a risk—fueled by wine—and launches a crowdfunding campaign called “Help a Boring Girl Buy a Bookshop.”...
The Library of Lost Dollhouses April 1, 2025
When a young librarian discovers hidden historic dollhouses in her library, she embarks on an unexpected journey that reveals surprising secrets about the lost miniatures.
Tildy Barrows, Head Curator of a beautiful archival library in San Francisco, is meticulously dedicated to the century’s worth...
The Horse July 30, 2024
Al Ward lives on an isolated mining claim in the high desert of central Nevada fifty miles from the nearest town. A grizzled man in his sixties, he survives on canned soup, instant coffee, and memories of his ex-wife, friends and family he’s lost, and his life as a touring musician. Hampered by...
Somebody's Fool June 11, 2024
North Bath, Book 3
Ten years after the death of the magnetic Donald “Sully” Sullivan, the town of North Bath is going through a major transition as it is annexed by its much wealthier neighbor, Schuyler Springs. Peter, Sully’s son, is still grappling with his father’s tremendous legacy as well as his relationship to...
The Funeral Ladies of Ellerie County March 12, 2024
Esther Larson has been cooking for funerals in the Northwoods of Wisconsin for seventy years. Known locally as the “funeral ladies,” she and her cohort have worked hard to keep the mourners of Ellerie County fed—it is her firm belief that there is very little a warm casserole and a piece of cherry...
This Other Eden December 19, 2023
This Other Eden by Paul Harding is a lyrical historical novel inspired by the true story of Malaga Island, a racially mixed community off the coast of Maine. Set in the early twentieth century, the novel follows the isolated residents of Apple Island, descendants of former slaves, Irish immigrants,...
The Winners September 12, 2023
Beartown, Book 3
Over the course of two weeks, everything in Beartown will change.
Two years have passed since the events that no one wants to think about. Everyone has tried to move on, but there’s something about this place that prevents it. The destruction caused by a ferocious late-summer storm reignites the...
Foster August 18, 2022
It is a hot summer in rural Ireland. A girl is sent to live with foster parents on a farm, not knowing when she will return home. In the strangers’ house, she finds a warmth and affection she has not known before and slowly begins to blossom in their care. But in a house where there are meant to be...
Beartown February 6, 2018
Beartown, Book 1
By the lake in Beartown is an old ice rink, and in that ice rink Kevin, Amat, Benji, and the rest of the town’s junior ice hockey team are about to compete in the national semi-finals—and they actually have a shot at winning. All the hopes and dreams of this place now rest on the shoulders of a...
Manazuru November 14, 2017
Twelve years have passed since Kei’s husband, Rei, disappeared and she was left alone with her three-year-old daughter. Her new relationship with a married man―the antithesis of Rei―has brought her life to a numbing stasis, and her relationships with her mother and daughter have spilled into...
The Guts January 27, 2015
Full of the great joy in storytelling that characterizes Roddy Doyle’s novels, The Guts catches up with Jimmy Rabbitte—the man who in the 1980s formed the Commitments, a band composed of working-class Irish youths whose mission was to bring soul music to Dublin. Jimmy is now forty-seven, with a...
When the Light Goes March 18, 2008
Back from a two-week trip to Egypt, Duane finds he cannot readjust to life in Thalia, the small, dusty West Texas hometown in which he has spent all of his life. In the short time he was away, it seems that everything has changed alarmingly. His office barely has a reason to exist now that his son...
Reservation Blues February 7, 2005
One day legendary bluesman Robert Johnson appears on the Spokane Indian reservation, in flight from the devil and presumed long dead. When he passes his enchanted instrument to Thomas-Builds-the-Fire—storyteller, misfit, and musician—a magical odyssey begins that will take them from reservation bars...
The Partnership August 17, 2001
Foley and Moss are partners in a successful small business, making plaster pixies for the tourist trade. Foley is the artistic member of the partnership; he thinks up the ideas and designs and has pretensions to even greater artistry in his cherub lamps and fixtures. Moss, the seemingly quiet one...
Tortilla Flat June 1, 1997
Adopting the structure and themes of the Arthurian legend, John Steinbeck created a “Camelot” on a shabby hillside above the town of Monterey, California, and peopled it with a colorful band of knights. At the center of the tale is Danny, whose house, like Arthur’s castle, becomes a gathering place...
The Stonemason August 1, 1995
The setting is Louisville, Kentucky, in the 1970s. The Telfairs are stonemasons and have been for generations. Ben Telfair has given up his education to apprentice himself to his grandfather, Papaw, a man who knows that "true masonry is not held together by cement but...by the warp of the...
When She Was Good January 31, 1995
When she was still a child, Lucy Nelson had her alcoholic failure of a father thrown in jail. Ever since then she has been trying to reform the men around her, even if that ultimately means destroying herself in the process. With his unerring portraits of Lucy and her hapless, childlike husband,...
Nobody's Fool April 12, 1994
North Bath, Book 1
Divorced from his own wife and carrying on halfheartedly with another man's, saddled with a bum knee and friends who make enemies redundant, Sully now has one new problem to cope with: a long-estranged son who is in imminent danger of following in his father's footsteps. With its uproarious humor...
Mohawk April 12, 1994
Mohawk, New York, is one of those small towns that lie almost entirely on the wrong side of the tracks. Dallas Younger, a star athlete in high school, now drifts from tavern to poker game, losing money, and, inevitably, another set of false teeth. His ex-wife, Anne, is stuck in a losing battle with...
The Neon Bible January 12, 1994
The Neon Bible is a short novel by John Kennedy Toole, written when he was very young and published after his death. The story is told by a boy named David, who grows up in a small, rigid Southern town marked by poverty, intolerance, and strict religious values. From the beginning, David feels out...
The Orchard Keeper February 2, 1993
The boy, John Wesley Rattner, and the outlaw, Marion Sylder–together with Rattner's Uncle Ather, who belongs to a former age in his communion with nature and his stoic independence–enact a drama that seems born of the land itself. All three are heroes of an intense and compelling celebration of...