Paperback Spotlight

The Shortest Way Home by Juliette Fay

Sean has spent 20 years in Third World war zones and natural disaster areas, fully embracing what he’d always felt was his life’s mission. But when burnout sets in, Sean is reluctantly drawn home to Belham, Massachusetts, the setting of Fay’s much-loved SHELTER ME. There, he discovers that his steely aunt, overly dramatic sister and quirky nephew are having a little natural disaster of their own. When he reconnects with a woman from his past, Sean has to wonder if the bonds of love and loyalty might just rewrite his destiny.

Dead Asleep by Jamie Freveletti

Biochemist Emma Caldridge comes to a remote tropical island in the Caribbean in search of minerals believed to reverse the aging process. What she finds instead are the bloody remnants of a bizarre religious ritual. And here, where the local people speak in whispers about sea monsters, ancient voodoo curses, and rampaging evil, she discovers something far more real...and more terrifying. One by one the island's innocent inhabitants are descending into a paralyzing sleep of the dead --- victims of a long-dormant, terrifying and incurable pandemic that could once again wreak unimaginable havoc if it escapes from the island to spread like wildfire across the globe.

The Magic Room: A Story About the Love We Wish for Our Daughters by Jeffrey Zaslow

Thousands of women have stepped inside Becker’s Bridal, in Fowler, Michigan, to try on their dream dresses in the Magic Room, a special space with soft lighting, a circular pedestal, and mirrors that carry a bride’s image into infinity. The women bring with them their most precious expectations about romance, love, fidelity, permanence and tradition. Each bride who passes through has a story to tell --- one that carried her there, to that dress, that room, that moment.

Holy Ghost Girl: A Memoir by Donna M. Johnson

Long before the Blues Brothers coined the term, Donna M. Johnson’s family was on a mission from God. She was just three years old when her mother signed on as the organist for tent revivalist David Terrell. Before long, Donna and her family were part of the hugely popular evangelical preacher’s inner circle. At 17, she left the ministry for good, with a trove of stranger-than-fiction memories. A homecoming like no other, HOLY GHOST GIRL brings to life miracles, exorcisms, and face-offs with the Ku Klux Klan. And that’s just what went on under the tent.

The Secret Lives of Wives: Women Share What it Really Takes to Stay Married by Iris Krasnow

America’s high divorce rate is well known. But little attention has been paid to the flip side: couples who creatively manage to build marriages that are lasting longer than we ever thought possible. What’s the secret? To find out, bestselling journalist Iris Krasnow interviewed more than 200 wives whose marriages have survived for 15 to 70 years.

The House I Loved by Tatiana de Rosnay

Paris, France: 1860s. Hundreds of houses are being razed, whole neighborhoods reduced to ashes. By order of Emperor Napoleon III, Baron Haussmann has set into motion a series of large-scale renovations that will permanently alter the face of old Paris, molding it into a “modern city.” The reforms will erase generations of history --- and in the midst of the tumult, one woman will take a stand.

The Underwater Window by Dan Stephenson

Two swimmers, close friends and archrivals, chase after the same Olympic gold medal.

Archie Hayes is the best swimmer in the world. Talent and luck have brought him Olympic medals, fame, money and women. Doyle Wilson has reached the end of his career with dreams unfulfilled, but he has a final chance in the 400 freestyle, in which Archie owns the world record. Doyle bets that hard work will enable him to beat Archie just once. He burns all his bridges to focus on his lone goal.

Rules of Civility by Amor Towles

Set in New York City in 1938, RULES OF CIVILITY tells the story of an uncompromising 25-year-old named Katey Kontent. Armed with little more than a formidable intellect, a bracing wit, and her own brand of cool nerve, Katey embarks on a journey from a Wall Street secretarial pool through the upper echelons of New York society in search of a brighter future.

The Woman at the Light by Joanna Brady

One afternoon in 1839, Emily Lowry’s husband vanishes from Wreckers’ Cay, an isolated island off the coast of Key West where he tends to the lighthouse. Unexpected help arrives when a runaway slave named Andrew washes up on their beach. At first, Emily is intensely wary of this strange, charming man, but Andrew proves himself an enormous help and soon wins his place in Emily’s life.

Thoughts Without Cigarettes: A Memoir by Oscar Hijuelos

Born in Manhattan’s Morningside Heights to Cuban immigrants in 1951, Oscar Hijuelos introduces readers to the colorful circumstances of his upbringing. The son of a Cuban hotel worker and exuberant poetry-writing mother, his story, played out against the backdrop of a working-class neighborhood, takes on an even richer dimension when his relationship with his family and culture changes forever. During a sojourn with his mother in pre-Castro Cuba, he catches a disease that sends him into a Dickensian home for terminally ill children. The yearlong stay estranges him from the very language and people he had so loved.

You are here:

Vote in Our Poll

Word of Mouth

A Note from Carol

Coming Soon

Bookreporter.com Bets On

New in Paperback

Books On Screen

Reading Group Guides