Fiction Recommendations

Superheroes populate the skies, fighting knock-down-drag-out battles with supervillains–but the civilians below pay the price. The secret, deadly team known only as “the Boys” are there to remind the “supes” that they’re not gods. The Boys still carry hope for the simple goodness of humanity, as we follow “Wee” Hughie, who discovers the truths and limits of his world.

The hot-blooded passion of love is as mysterious and powerful as the magic promised by this modern fairy tale. The 3 generations of powerful, independent, & unique women of the Owens family are both masters and victims to desire. Men want them, women want what they can promise – and the women themselves ceaselessly look for quiet love and happiness.

Bleak House, in true Dickensian fashion, explores the divide of classes, the false hope of wealth, & the hypocrisy of the legal system, while exploring the travails of a cast of characters as compelling as any found on primetime. Esther stumbles into secrets far-reaching and personal, testing her and others’ resolve for honor in the quest for happiness.

Through a unique oral interview style, a memorable cast of characters tells the story of Buster Casey: childhood prankster, venom addict, demolition derby driver, and small town legend. This unforgettable novel will make you think, laugh, and (in my case) almost throw up - that's some powerful prose.

I never thought I would be one of those silly people swooning over Austen, but when I read this at 21, I was sold. What I really like about P&P is that it explores several kinds of relationships - the hasty, too young, head-over-heels kind; the long-married and perfectly understanding kind; and the new, heart-fluttering, "So This Is Love" playing in the background kind.

This is a marvelously written American family tragedy which follows a woman's misfortunes in 50s Niagra Falls. Ariah is widowed on her honeymoon and finds love years later, only to see have her new life engulfed by an environmental scandal. Her story is so filled with grief and pain that it is sometimes difficult to read, but Ariah's struggle for happiness drives her to the end.

“They seek him here, they seek him there…” so to reveal too much about this book would ruin the mystery. I can’t tell you the identity of the Scarlet Pimpernel who rescues French aristocrats from the jaws of the Guillotine, but I can tell you his story is full of laughs, intrigue, romance, and surprises. My all time favorite swashbuckler!

From Scandanavia to Spain, to Ireland, and then some follow Red Orn as he tries to survive his  competely involuntary travels through tenth century Eurpope. Bookgroups will enjoy this epic historical novel rich in detail and pungent with authenticity, and it is made all the more enjoyable by the sutle yet pervasive humor and the action-packed plot line.

Where do our dreams take us when we decide to truly pursue them? Coelho's tale of a young shepherd off to seek his fortune may be set in the distant past but it feels surprisingly close to today.

Troilus and Cressida, on opposite sides of the Trojan War, are star-crossed true lovers—or at least, so they think. Marrying in secret, cruelly torn apart by the warring factions, they’ve pledged to love one another and stay true to the end of their days. Of course, how true can you be expected to be when you’re young, and living in a war? Love’s a fickle bitch, crueler than any war.