One Day

by David Nicholls

It’s 1988 and Dexter Mayhew and Emma Morley have only just met. But after only one day together, they cannot stop thinking about one another. Over twenty years, snapshots of that relationship are revealed on the same day - July 15th - of each year. Dex and Em face squabbles and fights, hopes and missed opportunities, laughter and tears. And as the true meaning of this one crucial day is revealed, they must come to grips with the nature of love and life itself.

Cutting for Stone

by Abraham Verghese

Marion and Shiva Stone are twin brothers born of a secret union between a beautiful Indian nun and a brash British surgeon. Orphaned by their mother’s death and their father’s disappearance, bound together by a preternatural connection and a shared fascination with medicine, the twins come of age as Ethiopia hovers on the brink of revolution. Moving from Addis Ababa to New York City and back again, Cutting for Stone is an unforgettable story of love and betrayal, medicine and ordinary miracles—and two brothers whose fates are forever intertwined.

The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest

by Stieg Larsson

A Dog's Purpose

by W. Bruce Cameron

his is the remarkable story of one endearing dog’s search for his purpose over the course of several lives. More than just another charming dog story, A Dog’s Purpose touches on the universal quest for an answer to life's most basic question: Why are we here? It is not only the emotional and hilarious story of a dog's many lives, but also a dog's-eye commentary on human relationships and the unbreakable bonds between man and man's best friend. This moving and beautifully crafted story teaches us that love never dies, that our true friends are always with us, and that every creature on earth is born with a purpose.

The Girl Who Played With Fire

by Stieg Larsson

Little Bee

by Chris Cleave

Little Bee, the title character, first meets Sarah and Andrew on a beach in Nigeria, where they are vacationing, and she and her sister are running away from their village where all the rest of the people have been massacred.  The pursuers catch up to them and what happens is horrific and awful.  Their next encounter is two years later, in England, where Little Bee has fled and where she has been in a refugee camp for all that time.  She arrives on the day of Andrew’s funeral, and the memory of what happened on the beach is overwhelming for each of the women, as they try to sort things out for the future.  They travel back to Nigeria, also attempting to write a book about survivors and immigrants and refugees and camps.  This novel is enthralling and witty and haunting and beautiful.  (Connie’s Pick)

The Imperfectionists

by Tom Rachman

Set against the gorgeous backdrop of Rome, The Imperfectionists follows the private lives of the reporters, editors, and executives of an international English language newspaper as they struggle to keep it - and themselves - afloat. As the era of print news gives way to the Internet age and this imperfect crew stumbles toward an uncertain future, the paper’s rich history is revealed, including the surprising truth about its founder’s intentions.

Eat, Pray, Love

by Elizabeth Gilbert

Part romantic fiction, part travelogue, this is the story of soul-searching and self-discovery with a heavy dose of humor. Plagued with despair after a nasty divorce, the author, in her early 30s, embarks on a yearlong trip of recovery, dividing her time equally among three dissimilar countries: Italy to explore pleasure, India to explore devotion, and Indonesia to explore the balance between the two in her life. Sustaining a chatty, conspiratorial tone, Gilbert fully engages the readers in the year's cultural and emotional tapestry - conveying rapture with infection brio and recalling anguish with touching candor. Gilbert's exuberance and her self-deprecating humor enliven the journey. Recalling the first time she attempted to speak directly to God, she says, "It was all I could do to stop myself from saying, 'I've always been a big fan of your work,'"  Order now.

Both Ways Is the Only Way I Want It

by Maile Meloy

Award-winning writer Maile Meloy’s return to short stories explores complex lives in an austere landscape with the clear-sightedness that first endeared her to readers. Eleven new stories demonstrate the emotional power and the clean, assured style that have earned Meloy praise from critics and devotion from readers. Set mostly in the American West, the stories feature small-town lawyers, ranchers, doctors, parents, and children, and explore the moral quandaries of love, family, and friendship. Named as one of the Ten Best Books of the Year by The New York Times.