VPL - Books Just For You - Fiction, General, Canadian, and Inspiring - Non-fiction, including Memoir and BiographyLike this list

20 items

• Some Luck

  Smiley, Jane

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  This novel is the first in a trilogy. It's a multi-generational story of a Midwestern farming family which unfolds against the backdrop of American cultural and economic upheaval, spanning the time from before the Depression through the years after…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• Union Atlantic

  a Novel

  Haslett, Adam

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  Retired school teacher Charlotte Graves goes up against a senior manager at Union Atlantic bank, who's built a monstrous mansion on land Charlotte's grandfather had donated to the town. For readers who enjoy the "Corrections".

• Pachinko

  Lee, Min Jin

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  A highly recommended work of historical fiction. In the Japanese-occupied Korea, Sunja's pregnancy brings shame on her family. A minister offers to marry her and takes her to Japan to start a new life. Dislocated and isolated, Sunja and her family…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• The Personal Librarian

  Benedict, Marie

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  This fascinating historical fiction account of the life of Belle de Costa Greene, J.P. Morgan's personal librarian in his newly built Pierpont Morgan Library in New York. Belle has a secret, she was born Belle Marion Greener. She is the daughter of…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• Butter Honey Pig Bread

  a Novel

  Ekwuyasi, Francesca, 1990-

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  Spanning three continents, Butter Honey Pig Bread tells the interconnected stories of three Nigerian women: Kambirinachi and her twin daughters, Kehinde and Taiye. Kambirinachi believes that she is an Ogbanje, or an Abiku, a non-human spirit that…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• The Color of Air

  a Novel

  Tsukiyama, Gail

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  Daniel Abe, a young doctor in Chicago, is finally coming back to Hawai'i. He has his own reason for returning to his childhood home, but it is not to revisit the past, unlike his Uncle Koji. Koji lives with the memories of Daniel's mother, Mariko,…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• The Rebel Angels

  Davies, Robertson, 1913-1995

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  Defrocked monks, mad professors, and wealthy eccentrics - a remarkable cast peoples Robertson Davies' brilliant spectacle of theft, perjury, murder, scholarship, and love at a modern university. Recommended for fans of The Marriage Plot and Canadian…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• Gertrude

  Hesse, Hermann, 1877-1962

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  In this fictional memoir, the renowned composer Kuhn recounts his tangled relationships with two artists--his friend Heinrich Muoth, a brooding, self-destructive opera singer, and the gentle, self-assured Gertrude Imthor. Recommended for fans of The…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• On Beauty

  Smith, Zadie

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  Set on both sides of the Atlantic, Smith's third novel is a brilliant analysis of family life, the institution of marriage, intersections of the personal and the political, and an honest look at people's deceptions. Recommended for fans of The…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• The Light a Body Radiates

  Whitty, Ethel

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  A wonderful family drama set in Cape Breton, by an author who now lives in BC, this work of fiction explores issues of poverty, the HIV/AIDS epidemic, the bonds of family, forgiveness, and personal growth. Canadian novel.

• Five Wives

  a Novel

  Thomas, Joan (Sandra Joan)

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  This novel, based on true events, follows five missionary wives in Ecuador in the 1950s as their husbands seek to contact and convert local indigenous people. Canadian novel.

• Reproduction

  a Novel

  Williams, Ian, 1979-

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  Two completely different people come together in unusual circumstances and the small family they create and the repercussions of their actions turn into a meditation about what makes a family. Canadian novel.

• Women Talking

  a Novel

  Toews, Miriam, 1964-

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  Eight Mennonite women meet to talk about a dark and secret crime occurring in their community, and to make a decision that will affect everything they hold dear. Canadian novel.

• The Innocents

  a Novel

  Crummey, Michael, 1965-

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  A brother and sister - orphaned and completely alone - fight to survive on the desolate Newfoundland coastline, Canadian novel.

• In the Sea There Are Crocodiles

  Geda, Fabio, 1972-

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  This book is the fictionalized account of a young Afghani boy, Enaiatollah Akbari’s escape from his homeland in search of asylum. His journey from Afghanistan, to Pakistan, Iran, Turkey, Greece and finally Italy will inspire any reader. Inspiring…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• Moonglow

  a Novel

  Chabon, Michael

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  In this award-winning novel, which some call Michael Chabon's best, the author offers a fanciful version of his grandfather’s life and the fictions people invent to survive difficult times. Inspiring fiction.

• The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry

  Joyce, Rachel

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  "Harold Fry is convinced that he must deliver a letter to an old love in order to save her, meeting various characters along the way and reminiscing about the events of his past and people he has known, as he tries to find peace and acceptance."…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• The Death and Life of Aida Hernandez

  a Border Story

  Bobrow-Strain, Aaron, 1969-

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  Took on the U.S. immigration system as an undocumented teen mother. Inspiring non-fiction

• The Dressmaker of Khair Khana

  Five Sisters, One Remarkable Family, and the Woman Who Risked Everything to Keep Them Safe

  Lemmon, Gayle Tzemach

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  Became a successful entrepreneur to support her family during the Taliban control in Afghanistan. Inspiring non-fiction.

• Educated

  a Memoir

  Westover, Tara

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  Survived a strict Mormon upbringing in rural Idaho. Inspiring non-fiction