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Jayber Crow by Wendell Berry - recommended by Bill  

The role that a community plays in shaping of character is a recurring theme in the work of poet, essayist and novelist Berry, as evidenced once more in this well-crafted novel set in Berry’s fictional Port William, Ky.  From the simple setting of his own barber shop, Jayber Crow, orphan and native of Port William, recalls his life and the life of his community from 1937 until 1969.  Surrounded by his friends and neighbors, he is both participant and witness as the community attempts to transcend its own decline.  And meanwhile Jayber learns that a faithful love is its own reward.  Many reviews lavish praise on the author’s “sense of place, his gorgeous use of language and his admirable celebration of the American character.”

Autobiography of Foudini M. Cat by Susan Fromberg Schaffer -  recommended by Michelle

WARNING—This book is for pet lovers only. WARNING TO PET LOVERS—Prepare to cry. Read this lovely little book only if you can stand to hear about life from a cat’s point of view

The House Next Door by Anne Rivers Siddons - recommended by Sonya  

"The House Next Door" is a haunting read about a new house in the neighborhood that disturbs the lives of the three families that live there and their neighbors.  Inexplicable happenings drive the house’s inhabitants to disgrace, madness, and even death as the neighbors watch it all happen.  

Divine Secrets of the Ya Ya Sisterhood by Rebecca Wells - recommended by Michelle

The Sunday Wife by Cassandra King - recommended by Libby

Married for 20 years to the Reverend Benjamin Lynch, a handsome, ambitious minister of a prestigious Methodist church, Dean Lynch has never quite adjusted her temperament to the demands of being a minister’s wife.  When her husband is assigned to an even larger and more demanding community in Florida, Dean meets and becomes friends with Augusta Holderfield, a woman whose good looks and extravagant habits immediately entrance her.  As their friendship evolves, Augusta challenges Dean to break free from her traditional role as preacher’s wife.  Just as Dean is questioning everything she has always valued, a tragedy occurs, providing the catalyst for change in ways she never could have imagined.

We were the Mulvaneys by Joyce Carol Oates - recommended by Michelle

JCO can write about anything from boxing to chappaquidik, to gothic romance.  In this title, she gives us a seemingly perfect and popular family, and a single incident, which leads to their fall. 

Big Stone Gap by Adriana Trigiani - recommended by Libby

Generation-X by Douglas Coupland - Recommended by Michelle 

This book defined a generation. My generation to be exact.  I don’t know, MAYBE you had to have been a recent college graduate with a Mc-Job in the early 90’s to find this appealing.  Read it for the terms he coins if nothing else.