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A Tremendous Amount of Normal by Chase Connor Noah is normal. He’s full of normal. His older brother Will tells everyone all of the time. Even if they don’t believe him. Noah doesn’t understand why kids in school call him a “retard." He’s not intellectually disabled. In fact, he’s very smart. But a lot of people call Will a fag—so maybe it’s kind of like that. Neurotypical people don’t always make sense. Noah doesn’t understand love in the same way that his brother Will does. But maybe that’s because neurotypical people don’t understand love as deeply as Noah does? Noah is full of understanding. And so is Will. Noah wants a girlfriend. His brother Will may never be able to have a boyfriend. Maybe they need to redefine normal? |
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Between Enzo & the Universe by Chase Connor If Enzo listed his problems, being single wouldn't be anywhere near the top of the list. It might not even be in the top twenty list of problems that he faces on a daily basis. His grandmother is dead. His parents are dead. His sister and brother are dead. He has no money. No friends. No job. He's all alone in a country that will always seem strange. Soon, he might not even have a home. And he's so angry. At life. Himself. God. The universe. Everyone. Except for the man he sees in the market. Something about the man with the red hair (who only speaks English) tells Enzo that the universe might not be completely against him for once. 'Between Enzo & the Universe' is a story about a boy who emigrates from France with his family to Canada in the hopes that a better life might be found. Enzo arrives in Canada as a boy with a happy, healthy family...and ends up a young man with no one left in the world. How does the universe apologize for that? Enzo meets an American at the autumn festival and over the course of a night, they will share their dreams, their passions, and the events that made them the people they are. They will eat, laugh, talk...and come to realize that they both share a dream for the future. |
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NOW I SAY GOODBYE TO YOU by Brooks Wright The story of a man who tries to lose himself during the recent Great Recession only to discover how hard it is not to care. KIRKUS REVIEW A homeless man comes tantalizinglyclose to his old life and happiness only to question that joy. In this novel, Wright (The Sky IsFar Away, 2018, etc.) gives readers a homeless, nameless man trying tosurvive after the Mother of All Housing Bubbles has burst. He is somewhere inFlorida, breaking into foreclosed houses in search of food. He has bottomedout: He's lost his job and his family and even spent a year in prison. He hasalso lost all hope and wants only to be left alone. Then he comes upon a littlegirl--as hungry and thirsty as he is--in an abandoned house. Try as he might, hecannot bring himself to desert her. He finds an abandoned cabin and a job witha guy who is scrapping a nearby defunct amusement park, Fun-O-Rama (a wonderfulmetaphor). The girl, whose name readers finally learn is Jessie, is severelytraumatized and mute. Ever so slowly, she begins to trust the man (her firstwords to him: "Are you Jesus?"). When she falls sick, he gets her to ahospital. She recovers, but now the police are very interested in hisrelationship with this kid and with his past. Many more things happen, but itis his need for Jessie that drives it all. The ending is artistically risky buttruer than the conclusion readers will probably crave. Wright is a flat-outwonderful writer. The prose is crisp ("Unhappy should be a weather forecast like rainor snow"), the details spot on, and the slowdevelopment meticulous. The nameless man--the first-person narrator--is anunforgettable character, always talking about the stories in life, like the "IWork Out and Exercise" and "Never Feed a Stray Animal" tales. He is in lovewith his bitterness but, try as he might, can't excise his basic decency. Thispainful novel delivers heartbreak--but no sentimentality--and consummatethaumaturgy or, in the narrator's words, "I'm both the magician and the trick." This tale of two survivors shouldmove you, cajole you, upset you, and seduce you. |
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The Spirit of the Waynes (The Business Cycle) (Volume 5) by Ethan Cooper At the behest of his stepmother, Charlie Wayne, an unemployed banker and baby boomer, visits his 93 year-old father in Florida. Initially, the wealthy and independent Wriston Wayne, the former CEO of a major regional bank, seems as sharp and tenacious as ever. But then Wriston, while parking his Cadillac, loses control and the tippling Charlie, a dutiful son, is obliged to raise this issue: Should his father continue to drive? Subsequent interaction in the Wayne family reveals patterns of tenacity, chicanery, love, and denial, as the men and their wives bargain about the future. This family interaction is The Spirit of the Waynes. Recommended to readers coping with the gradual diminishment of elderly parents or who wonder about the stress of revitalizing a stalled career. |
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Eisenstein's Monster by A.V. Bach A novel in montage, Eisenstein’s Monster is a wild romp through the terrains of our consciousness. A man with terminal cancer in the language centers of his brain meets a young woman he hopes will facilitate an existence beyond the dwindling limits of his body. What follows is a psychedelic odyssey exploring consciousness and identity through language and montage, placing seemingly disparate chapters together to create a stitched-together being and a one-of-a-kind reading experience: The Tibetan Book of the Dead for the Information Generation. Spanning a wide array of locales—from Eden to Ingolstadt, Soviet Odessa to Los Angeles circa 2025, the Pacific Islands of WWII to an Alaskan mountain expedition, a Hellish Chicago to a lonely space station—and featuring a cavalcade of unforgettable characters—from amateur dentists to Tokyo Rose, from an aging cowboy film composer to a four-legged space spider—the novel is a meeting of East & West, light & dark, the comic & the tragic, using ancient symbolism and new-age signs to explore the familiar, the strange, and the strangely familial, with brows high, low, and shaved. And at the Monster’s heart is a novel about our own humanity—always forced to define itself in the space between birth and death, while contemplating the spaces tangential and beyond. A little dangerous, a little mystical, and entirely an adventure: Eisenstein’s Monster is like a new drug whose trip will take you to the edges of the universe or the fringes of your soul, and one whose effects will last long after the final page is turned. One thing’s for sure: you’ll never look at a tow truck or microphone quite the same. |
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Merchant of Dreams by Anita Tsianina Briggs Walking up a lonely moonlit road over the moor, young musician Felicity Godwin has no premonition of the radical changes coming to her life. Devastated by the loss of her parents, unexplained cancellations of professional engagements, and the boating death of her famous aunt Ciara Rossi, she flees to Yorkshire to seek an elusive comfort in Rossi’s final home. Here she finds kindness, companionship, and an intriguing but uneasy relationship with Richard D’Annunzio, one of the great pianists of the age. But what was intended as a journey of memories and healing turns to chilling nightmare as the warm intimacy of like minds morphs into duplicity and terror. Felicity must call upon all her courage and intellect to save her music - and her life. |
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Damnable, broom-handle-sized sticks keep tumbling out of Nowhere and materializing into wretched Barbara's, Spartan apartment. But why? Before the appearance of the sticks, Barbara, was already far too anxious. Now she is losing sleep and, as a consequence, has grown decidedly snappish at work. Barbara's boss directs her to the "company" psychiatrist, a charming man, who, quite predictably, prescribes talk therapy and a dose of anti-depressants. Nevertheless, other pestering apparitions begin to present themselves--even in spite of Barbara's determination to live a quiet, utterly predictable, and rigidly unvaried life. Ultimately, the ghost of Barbara's father appears, rapping on the walls of Barbara's apartment, issuing orders via the "Ouija Board," and worse, using Barbara as a means of satisfying its own carnal appetites. Then one night unexpectedly, Father declares that he had never ever engineered his own presumptive suicide. Now had he? Father demands, therefore, that Barbara uncover his murderer. As Barbara begins to unmask the past, Barbara is faced with disturbing realities. In fact, one of these, in human form, is plotting to bludgeon Barbara to death... |
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Until My Soul Gets It Right (The Bibliophiles Book 2) by Karen Wojcik Berner From the author of "A Whisper to a Scream" comes a story about growing up, making peace with your past, and finding a little love along the way. In her first novel, Karen Wojcik Berner introduced book club members Sarah and Annie. Now, it’s time for another bibliophile to take center stage. Catherine Elbert has never been good at making decisions, whether it was choosing an ice cream flavor as a small child, or figuring out what she wanted to be when she grew up. The only thing Catherine knew for sure was there had to be more to life than being stuck on her family’s farm in Wisconsin. While watching a PBS travel show, Catherine becomes entranced by Portland, Maine. The ocean. The lobsters. The rugged coast. Nothing could be more different from the flat, nondescript farmlands of Burkesville. Despite her parents threatening to disown her and her brothers taking bets on how many days until she comes home, Catherine settles on Peaks Island, off the coast of Portland. She was finally free. Or so she thought. “Until My Soul Gets It Right” is the second book in Berner’s Bibliophiles series. Unlike most series that follow one character through various adventures, each Bibliophiles novel focuses on one or two members of a fictional suburban classics book club, revealing their personal stories while the group explores tales spun by the masters. This edition contains a Reader's Guide and book club discussion questions. |
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The Lies We Live - A Corner Confessions Novel (book 2 of 3-book series) by Kiersten Hall Meet 16 more people who have the need to rid their closets of at least one skeleton... if not more. Some people are still living their confessions although they know it’s very unethical. Others will share how they were done wrong by the people they love and aren’t sure if they should reveal the information they know to their ne’er do well family member or friend, or simply keep living the lie. While still others have discovered absolute down and dirty secrets about other people and are wondering what they should do with the premium gossip they possess? Confessions include divisive religious issues, government scandals, and greed that could literally blow a small town off the map. Make a new pot of coffee and get ready for another round of jaw-dropping confessions from The Lies We Live. Everyone has a secret. What’s yours? **THE CORNER CONFESSIONS 3-BOOK SERIES** Corner Confessions - A Novel (2016) The Lies We Live (2018) 'Final Book' (2021) |
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Corner Confessions - A Novel (book 1 of 3-book series) by Kiersten Hall Everyone has that one secret… that one skeleton in their closet… which will never see the light of day. No psychiatrist, priest, spouse, or best friend will ever hear this secret, yet the urge to share this information can be found in most people's natural psyche… People want to share their experience with others… They want to tell someone their deep, dark secret. Although this secret rides on the subconscious - scratching at the surface to be revealed, it’s most often too embarrassing, or horrifying, or scandalous... What better way to get that secret off the mind, and out of the closet than to tell someone who is a complete stranger? Someone who will not judge what has been said, and what has been done? This method is safe, anonymous, and there is no accountability or judgment - and if there is, the keeper of the secret can simply walk away. Meet fourteen individuals who have decided to clean at least one skeleton out of their closet by confiding in a complete stranger whom they meet at a local coffee shop. Unassuming and safe with no judgments passed, learn about these secrets first hand, as if you were a fly on the wall listening in during their confession. Everyone has a secret. What’s yours? |