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"Paranormal," Volk reminds us in the introduction, is a word that means "experiences or events that cannot be explained by science." Volk takes pains to carefully point out that this may mean "paranormal events" actually have a scientific explanation that we have not found yet, either by chance or because it is beyond our current scientific capabilities. Or it could mean that paranormal events actually have a supernatural cause. Human beings, Volk accurately writes, do not sit well with not knowing. We don't say "we're not sure yet" and let it go for the time being, or continue open-mindedly

Forty-two people were killed in the 1929 dance hall explosion in the fictional Ozark town of West Table, Missouri. Alma, a maid for one of West Table's richest families, knows just how it happened. For being such a slim book, Alma's story spans many decades, and weaves in numerous suspects; mobsters from St. Louis, persecuted local gypsies, or maybe an overzealous preacher. Alma’s memory of the event drifts in and out of focus as she ages, jumping back and forth in time, while either leading the reader to the culprit or describing another victim of the horrible explosion.   

The Maid’s

Growing up, Vinnie Warren Bump longed to see the world, but her parents were concerned that the world would be cruel to Vinnie who was only 32 inches tall. Determined to make a name for herself, Vinnie signed a contract with Colonel Wood who promised to make her a singing sensation. Instead, Vinnie was exhibited as one of his “oddities” on a shabby showboat on the Mississippi River. Vinnie returned home humiliated. She reached out to P. T. Barnum who agreed to hire her to sing at his American Museum. Thus began a long, mutually respectful friendship. Barnum introduced Vinnie to General Tom

Brett Bohlinger is devastated. Not only has her beloved mother passed away, but she is shocked to learn she won't become president of the family's cosmetics firm. To make matters worse, her sister-in-law is appointed president in the will, and Brett is fired from the company. While Brett's two brothers receive millions from their mother, Brett cannot receive an inheritance until she completes a 'life list' she composed when she was 14... and she needs to complete all items in only a year! She doesn't see any way she can finish the list since it includes items like buy a horse, have a baby

Beautiful ruins is a remarkable love story that spans decades and two continents. Pasquale, a young Italian who is trying to make his family's humble hotel marketable to American tourists, is struck by a beautiful American tourist who comes to stay. Her name is Dee Moray and she has been diagnosed with stomach cancer while filming Cleopatra and has been sent to Porto Vergogna - Pasquale's small fishing village - to rest before going for treatment in Switzerland. She is waiting for another man to come take care of her but finds a much-needed friend and confidante in Pasquale. A friendship that

Maud, in her eighties and suffering from dementia, can't find her dear friend Elizabeth. She knows Elizabeth is missing because her phone calls go unanswered, she's never home when Maud visits, and Maud has left herself notes in her pockets and throughout the house to remind herself that Elizabeth is missing. 

Maud retains the ability to recall details of her past with unfailing clarity. She often forgets what has happened five minutes ago, but constantly brings up details surrounding her sister Sukey's disappearance years ago. 

Maud tries to figure out the two mysteries, Sukey's

This book is about love, racism, the immigrant experience and hair. Nigerian born Ifemelu arrives in America and blogs about her experiences as a non-American black person in the US. She leaves behind the love of her life, Obinze who has his own immigrant experience in England. In the end, she returns to Nigeria and to Obinze.

Most zombie stories have more to do with braaaaains than heart, but Isaac Marion’s Warm Bodies is different—quirky, poetic by spells, and lovely.

R has been shambling around as a zombie for an indeterminate amount of time—not that it matters how long since little matters to the undead. One day, R devours the brains of a young man named Perry and gets full memories, more powerful than any he’s experienced before during the course of devouring brains—including memories of the lovely Julie. R makes the decision to save Julie from the ambush, protect her, and eventually love her, bringing

Burial Rites is a fiction book based on real events that occurred in Iceland in the early 1800s. Agnes Magnusdottir is charged with the brutal murder of two men and is ordered to reside with a family and serve as their maid until her execution. Agnes is treated harshly by the townspeople and the family. She is viewed as a monster and they fear her.  Young Reverend Thorvardur has been assigned to council Agnes and he is hopeful that he can steer her toward repentance before her death. It is during the many conversations with the reverend that Agnes shares her version of events that occurred

The newest book in The Dresden Files picks up about a year after Cold Days, and Mab is calling in her Knight once again.  This time he's being blackmailed into helping Nicodemus break into a secure vault, all the while upholding the good name of Winter, watching his back against a Fallen with a grudge, and hopefully managing to sabotage the project to keep old Nick from getting his ancient paws on an insanely powerful magical artifact.

Unlike previous novels, where there are usually multiple plot threads that are intertwined, this is a fairly straight-forward action-adventure novel with a

Single mom Jess is having a hard time of it. Working by day as a cleaner and by night as a barmaid, she is doing her best to support her young daughter, Tanzie, and stepson, Nicky—not to mention Norman the dog. But it’s not just making ends meet that is the problem. Jess’ husband, Marty, is living with his mother while recovering from a breakdown and seems to have forgotten that he has a family to support. One of Jess’ cleaning clients, Ed, is a software genius running his own company with pal Ronan.  But Ed has just made the biggest mistake of his career, a mistake that is threatening to send

Child 44 by Tom Rob Smith is historical fiction set in Stalinist Russia when the Government was all powerful and all were constantly watched over by officials. One wrong move could send you to a work camp in Siberia, never to be seen again. Life was hard, and on top of that Smith throws in a serial killer that moves throughout Russia killing children and women at will. Defending this system is idealistic security officer Leo Demidov, a war hero who believes in the iron fist of the law. But when Leo begins to investigate the serial murders he makes a wrong move and becomes disliked by a higher

What happens when "a Peruvian playgirl, a tiny Polish fighter pilot, a mercurial Frenchwoman, a Serbian seducer and a deeply eccentric Spaniard" come together to work for MI5?  Only one of the most important deceptions in modern history.  Ben Macintyre's latest book chronicles the machinery of the pivotal Operation Fortitude, a massive undertaking in misinformation and misdirection that led the Germans to believe that the Pas de Calais, not Normandy, would be the beachhead from where the Allies would launch their European invasion.  Macintyre documents the circuitous and often borderline

This is the first book in the Phryne Fisher Mystery series, a charmingly written series set in in early 20th century Melbourne, Australia. The atmospheric and well-researched details in these novels create an engrossing view into 1920s Melbourne society at all levels. The cast has its regulars, like Jack Robinson, the long-suffering and orchid-loving policeman, Cec and Burt, the wharfies who hope for a socialist revolution, and Lin Chung, the well-to-do son of Chinese immigrants. Included in each book is an ever-changing variety of folks from all walks of Australian life, who round out the

The year: 2044. Wade Watts is among the millions across the globe searching for an Easter egg hidden within a massive multiplayer online game known as the OASIS. The game's deceased creator has left 240 billion dollars to be awarded to the first person who can find it. Players must have an extensive knowledge of 80s pop culture to have a chance at winning. Wade competes against opponents willing to kill in order to obtain the lucrative prize.

I do not generally read science fiction novels, but I stepped outside of my genre comfort zone to read Ready Player One and am glad I did. The storyline

The White Princess is the fifth of Philippa Gregory's Cousins' War series, this one focusing on Elizabeth, daughter of Edward IV and Elizabeth Woodville.  Henry Tudor defeated Richard III at the Battle of Bosworth Field, ending the War of the Roses, to become Henry VII.  To unite the York and Lancastrian families, Princess Elizabeth was forced to marry Henry VII, whom she believed to be the murderer of her love, Richard III.  Henry VII was suspicious of everyone and everything around him, making one wonder how anyone could have had a very satisfactory life. 

Ms. Gregory has created fear and

I grew up reading Terry Brooks and have loved his books for a long time. As I read this new addition to the world of Shannara, The High Druid's Blade, I couldn't help compare it to my absolutely favorite story, The Wishsong of Shannara. It is in Wishsong where we are first introduced to the powerful magic of the Sword of Leah, a talisman that has become just as important to this series as the Omhsfords themselves. I was thrilled that here was finally a tale that would allow us to learn more about this enchanted and dangerous blade.

The High Druid's Blade didn't quite live up to my

"It can be too sad here.  We often lose our way."  Anne Lamott's latest musing on faith focuses on the thorny parts of life and love—grief, anger, pain—and how to keep living throughout it all.  Stitching together the ripped shreds of ourselves, she says, is the answer.  Community, faith, music, even something as mundane as replacing smelly, stained floorboards—all of these help us sew our lives together and move on, stronger for the scar tissue that has knitted us whole again.   Like many of Lamott's works on faith, Stitches blends deep and insightful theological musings with personal (and

I'm not a writer but Anne Lamott makes me believe that I could be a great one.  Bird by Bird is a writing manual that reads like a memoir, a very funny, life affirming, let's get real memoir.  She reminds me a bit of Cheryl Strayed in her clarity and insight not only about writing but about relationships and priorities.  Lamott says, "if you want to know your characters, you have to hang out with them for awhile."   I highly recommend hanging out with Lamott.

Ted Hall is a San Francisco blogger suddenly hit by strange events. After a fortune cookie explodes in his face in a Chinatown restaurant, he starts having restless sleep, apparently sleepwalking. Even worse, his sleepwalking seems to coincide with the actions of the Hang Wire Killer, a serial killer that's been hitting the city, murdering people and stringing them up with wires like puppets. Meanwhile, a circus has come to Golden Gate Park, and the Celtic dance troupe is practicing eerie rituals in the off hours. A masked acrobat with no name has joined the circus. A beach bum who gives

A few years after losing his wife and daughter in an automobile accident, Michael Reed finds himself working at a university for a nameless humanities department with a specialty so vague it’s impossible to imagine what he does for income, if anything.  Not that Mr. Reed isn’t busy.  His insights into humanity’s rougher edges are realized by a relentless labor of the mind. He’s strenuously alert to the injustices of middle age, the sublime beauty of reckless youth and the absence of the two people who once defined his life.

Acute physiological awareness is something author Denis Johnson does

This memoir explores the life of Waris Dirie, recognized by many for her work as a model, and by others for her advocacy for human rights and a battle against female genital mutilation. The reader follows her from her early life as a nomad in the deserts of Somalia, to her difficult and sometimes dangerous journey to Mogadishu and eventually London. Working there as an underappreciated maid for her own family, she is "discovered", and sets off on an equally nomadic life as a model. Throughout her journey, Waris has to face the world with her own wits and tenacity. The best part of this story

In the very near future, Trent McCauley is a 16-year-old in northern England who makes videos by cutting, pasting, and editing movies starring a dead actor he's obsessed with. This isn't just a hobby of Trent's, it's his passion (much like writing Simon Snow fanfic is a passion for Cath in Rainbow Rowell's Fangirl). But it violates copyright and pirating laws, which is why the state cuts off his family's internet access for a year. Trent's mother is now unable to apply for her disability benefits, his father loses his telephone support job, and his high-achieving younger sister can't do her

Nothing funnier than a cross-dressing slave boy riding the circuit with crazy ole John Brown.  Offensive, hilarious, violent and sad, James McBride fills the Kansas Territory with characters straight out of a Mel Brooks movie and then throws in a dash of Quentin Tarantino for good measure.  How McBride managed to weave Harriet Tubman in to the buffoonery without offending the reader is beyond me.  I highly recommend!

Jordan Romero was fascinated by a poster in his elementary school of the Seven Summits, the highest mountain peaks on each of the seven continents. When he was nine years old, he announced to his parents that he wanted to climb the Seven Summits and he wanted to start training immediately. Jordan was familiar with what training involved; his father and stepmother were adventure racers. They traveled the world racing by foot, bike, canoe, kayak and even camel!  After much discussion and consideration, his parents eventually gave their stamp of approval.  On July 22, 2006 Jordan ascended his

I am generous with 4 star ratings, but I don't give out a lot of 5 stars; I reserve those for the most exceptional books. This was an exceptional book!

Cadence Sinclair is the oldest granddaughter in the wealthy Sinclair family. The grandfather owns a private island where the family gathers each summer. Four of the teenagers refer to themselves as The Liars and are especially close. Cadence is one of the Liars and the main character of this story. The summer Cadence turned 15, a tragedy occurred; she was found on the beach alone, in her underwear, nearly drowned with a head injury. She can't

Despite the blurbs on the back cover, Bret Anthony Johnston’s debut novel, Remember Me Like This, is not a thriller in the traditional sense. The elements are all here: a kidnapping, a possible murder, a family in turmoil. But to Johnston’s credit,  his novel is partly about  thwarting expectations—mostly the reader’s, and not always in ways that we’re accustomed to.

The story begins in noir mode with the happenstance discovery of a floating body in Corpus Christi, Texas, and its possible connection to a long-forgotten kidnapping. It soon becomes apparent, however, that Johnston is not

Elizabeth Hobbs Keckley may have been born a slave, but she was not destined to remain one.  Her exceptional skill as a seamstress won for her both freedom and the acquaintance of many of society's elite, the most notable of these, Mrs. Mary Todd Lincoln.  The focus of Mrs. Lincoln's Dressmaker is on Elizabeth's life and that of her family, then turns to the relationship between she and Mrs. Lincoln as they navigate the stormy waters of Lincoln's presidency.  An up close and personal look at the White House and behind-the-scenes dealings while the Lincolns were in residence, this book is

Things are going pretty well for Colleen O'Rourke:  she co-owns a tavern with her twin brother, Conner; has made more than a few love matches between the good people of Manningsport, NY; and is great at giving advice. Well, things were going well until Lucas Campbell comes back to Manningsport to see his dying uncle. Ten years ago they were in love—​Lucas living in Chicago gearing up to go to law school, Colleen in Manningsport to be close to her family while becoming a nurse. They had their life together planned out until secrets damaged their four-year relationship beyond repair. In their

If you’ve ever felt uncertain or uncomfortable about giving or serving in your community or abroad, but could never quite put your finger on why, this book is for you. Toxic Charity explores how charity can often be detrimental to those it purports to benefit. Featuring stories of organizations’ and people’s successes and failures, it offers both negative and positive examples of where community service and giving can help or harm, what some rules of thumb are, and best practices. Whether your focus is secular or religious, this book addresses what’s working in charity, what isn’t, and gives