VPL Picks: Up Lit & Gentle Reads - Empathy, Kindness, and Hope in Darker TimesLike this list

19 items

• Hello Beautiful

  a Novel

  Napolitano, Ann

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  William comes from a quiet, grief-stricken home, and marrying into Julia's loving and boisterous family brings a new warmth and light into his life. When depression begins to strain the family, will their bonds be broken? "Napolitano skillfully…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• A Coastline Is An Immeasurable Thing

  a Memoir Across Three Continents

  Daniel, Mary-Alice

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  A masterful coming of age memoir interweaved with the history of the debut author's country of birth, Nigeria. This is also a story of immigration and a resonant elucidation of what it means to be a 'Third Culture Kid'.

• The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches

  Mandanna, Sangu

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  A warm and uplifting novel about an isolated witch whose opportunity to embrace a quirky new family--and a new love--changes the course of her life.

• The Reading List

  a Novel

  Adams, Sara Nisha

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  Aleisha faces a painful family life, but is able to escape by reading titles on a secret book list she finds while working at the local library. She shares this list with an older patron who is recently widowed, and they form a friendship that helps…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• The Music of Bees

  a Novel

  Garvin, Eileen

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  Alice. a middle-aged widow beset by panic attacks, takes solace in her beekeeping. As a corporation threatens the safety of the bees, Alice and two young men are drawn together to care for the bees. "There are quirks to be worked out as these three…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• The Kitchen Front

  a Novel

  Ryan, Jennifer (Jennifer L.)

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  "Ryan's wonderful latest takes her back to the British WWII homefront she chronicled in The Chilbury Ladies' Choir. This time through, the spotlight is on women making due under the restrictions of food rationing." -- Publishers Weekly

• The House in the Cerulean Sea

  Klune, TJ

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  "Do you need a queer hug in the form of a book? Here you go. Linus is a 40-year old social worker for the Department In Charge of Magical Youth. When he’s sent to investigate a remote orphanage full of six unusual (and possibly highly dangerous)…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• Miss Benson's Beetle

  Joyce, Rachel

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  It is 1950 and Margery Benson abandons her sensible job and advertises for an assistant to accompany her on an expedition to the other side of the world in search of a beetle that may or may not exist. Like all novels by Rachel Joyce, this novel…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• The Lost Letters of William Woolf

  a Novel

  Cullen, Helen, 1981-

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  "William has abandoned his dreams, and his marriage is in trouble. Cullen presents readers with the mundane reality of 'happily ever after', and how real life can undermine the greatest of romances. The novel is realistic without being grim but…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• How to Stop Time

  Haig, Matt, 1975-

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  Time seems to have stopped for a 41-year-old history teacher named Tom Hazard. His actual date of birth is 1581. Over the centuries, Tom has survived by following one simple rule, "never fall in love." Logic fails Tom when he suddenly finds himself…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• Dear Mrs. Bird

  a Novel

  Pearce, A. J. (Amanda-Jane)

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  In 1940s London, young Emmeline Lake dreams of becoming a war correspondent, but gets a job at a fusty women’s magazine vetting letters for Mrs. Bird’s "problem" column.

• Gone to Pot

  a Novel

  Craig, Jennifer, 1934-

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  When a B.C. grandma decides to grow marijuana, her life takes a twist. A humorous look at unemployment and the marijuana industry. Winner of the 2018 Stephen Leacock Memorial Medal for Humour.

• The Music Shop

  Joyce, Rachel

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  Rachel Joyce has a "winner in this deceptively simple love story about Frank, owner of a London hole-in-the-wall music store selling vinyl records in 1988." -- Publishers Weekly. Engaging and inspirational.

• On Turpentine Lane

  Lipman, Elinor

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  Fleeing her relationship with her fiancé, Faith Frankel returns to her hometown where she buys a bungalow on Turpentine Lane. The charming house may have a mysterious past. “Warm, clever, a little silly and a lot of fun.” -- Kirkus Review.

• The Trick

  a Novel

  Bergmann, Emanuel, 1972-

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  Hailed as "your basic sweet, funny, magical Holocaust story," The Trick features two intertwining narratives that move between Prague during World War II and modern day Los Angeles. "Emanuel Bergman has writ­ten a beau­ti­ful, haunt­ing tale of…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• The Bookshop on the Corner

  a Novel

  Colgan, Jenny

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  In this delightful read about an inspirational librarian, Jenny Colgan "acknowledges the UK's recent library funding problem as well as the new roles libraries are assuming. Scotland is a bonny setting for this funny, winsome novel."-- Library…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• You Know Me Well

  a Novel

  LaCour, Nina

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  "There are a lot of wonderful queer romances out there, but sometimes you just want a book about queer friendship. This is it. Mark and Kate, each dealing with the pitfalls of love, meet in the midst of San Francisco Pride, and their friendship soon…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• The Novels

  Not Without Laughter ; And, Tambourines to Glory

  Hughes, Langston, 1902-1967

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  "Not Without Laughter," is bittersweet. It is every black family's story: hope in the future generation and the youngest in the family. Whatever difficulties individual family members are having, or how much pathology exists in individual members,…Read moreRead more of this annotation

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