Between Heaven and Mirth

 

Between Heaven and Mirth contains practical advice on how-to live a more spiritual life. 

Bestselling author, Father Martin says you will learn to rediscover the importance of humor and laughter in your daily lives and embrace an essential truth: faith leads to joy. “God wants us to experience joy, to cultivate a sense of holy humor, and to laugh at life’s absurdities.”

“Holy people are joyful people,” says Father Martin, offering countless examples of healthy humor and purposeful levity in the stories of biblical heroes and heroines, and in the lives of the saints and the world’s great spiritual masters. He shows us how the parables are often the stuff of comedy, and how the gospels reveal Jesus to be a man with a palpable sense of joy and even playfulness. 

In fact, Father Martin argues compellingly, “Thinking about a Jesus without a sense of humor may be close to heretical. ”  

Read Between Heaven and Mirth and learn to enjoy a little of heaven on earth by inviting God to lighten your heart.                  

 248.4 MAR    (LR)

A Universe From Nothing

“Where did the universe come from?  What was there before it?  What will the future bring?”

Author, Lawrence M. Krauss reveals the answers to these intriguing questions in A Universe from Nothing.  Krauss takes us back to the beginning of time and uses the most recent evidence to explain how the universe came into being.  He also explains his theory of how the universe will end.  Krauss feels that our universe will be quite different in the future than it is today.

Check out this thought provoking look at the universe.  You can also watch Lawrence Krauss’ popular lecture on YouTube.                                

 523.1 KRA  (LR)

Flesh and; Blood So Cheap

This book is a depiction of the  (1900s ) European  and Eastern immigration  to America. It’s a historical and anecdotal account of the sufferings of the immigrant people of that era.

Sweat shops hosting unhealthy working conditions, child labor, and hazardous job sites, were, at best, what a newcomer to America  faced.

A  pivotal point of sweat shop safety awareness, was a horrific fire on the top floors of  a sewing sweat shop (in New York) at the Asch Building. One hundred and forty-six workers died because of poor safety conditions. It was one of the worst work place disasters of  that era and in present history.                            

 Only  the 9/11 attack on the Twin Towers took more lives in a work place fire.

Civil rights, women rights, child labor issues are all addressed, along with government corruption, the rise in union workers, and criminal activity.  All played a part in this mingling of immigrants competing for cheap labor at any human cost.

This is a book that is hard to put down and hard to forget.

J 974.7 MAR (MW)

Picking Up the Pieces without Picking Up

“Picking Up the Pieces without Picking Up won’t give you the answers to forgetting the experiences in your life, but will guide you toward a healthier way of living as you learn how to live for today.”               Erin Merryn

Author, Jennifer Storm includes many useful tools to help victims recover and find a new path.  She gives information about the criminal justice system, victim’s rights, stages of grief and how to cope with feelings and emotions.  Storm also includes recovery exercises to help victims look to the future with hope.

Jennifer Storm, a crime victim/survivor, has written an excellent book that will help crime and trauma victims survive and thrive.

Everyone knows someone who has been victimized. For yourself or for someone you know,

“this book is a life saver.”

362.88 STO     (LR)

 

The Beach House

Wherever Nan Powell goes, whispers seem to follow. At 65 years old, she is one of the older residents of Nantucket and has quite a reputation around the island. Everyone thinks of her as “the eccentric old woman who has lived alone for too long”.  However, she is not quite as crazy as she seems.

Nan has been alone for years.  Her beloved husband, Everett, committed suicide after racking up an enormous gambling debt, leaving Nan to pay his bills and care for their young son, Michael. Now, Michael lives in New York and has trouble finding the time to visit his aging mother.

One day, Nan’s financial advisor comes to her with some terrible news; all the money she put in a fund is gone. Her best option now is to sell her property on Nantucket called Windermere, (worth several million dollars).  Windermere is the only thing she has left of her dear Everett . She had to sell the rest of the property in order to pay his debts. Nan can’t bear the thought of losing the house. Therefore, she comes up with a brilliant plan: she will rent the rooms and run a Bed and Breakfast for the summer. 

Slowly, they become a part of her family.

The Beach House is a very pleasant read,  filled with unexpected twists and turns. It is a real page turner!    

FIC GRE (VK)

 

 

The Cats Of Roxyville Station

Written from a felines’ perspective, this is an interesting tale of the plight of an abandoned cat. Survival in the wilds of a city, Rachet, the half feral, half domesticated cat courageously lives  from one adventure to the next.

Rachet is faced with the menace of other cats, a hungry fox, and constant hunger. Many are her trials and perils.

Mike, a foster boy, with a heart for cats, befriends the lonely and frightened feline and the two of them are much happier for the companionship.

In this book, there is much historical and important information about cats and their habits. This is a good read for cat lovers!

JF GEO (MW)

I’ll Pass as Your Comrade

Anita Silvey writes a terrific book of Civil War stories about the women who fought along with their men comrades. Fascinating are the true tales of courage and loyalty to their armies. Some were newly weds. Some women soldiers were there for the cause. Some women dressed like men and fought for the sheer excitement.

Often, a woman place in the war was in the hospitals, caring for the wounded. Some cooked and laundered clothing for the soldiers. But this piece of history also  focuses on the woman soldier, pretending to be a man for the purpose of “rising and fighting the good fight.”

I was personally impressed by a story of  two friends who missed their “sweethearts”.  They traveled from Lafayette Indiana to New Jersey to enlist.

J  937.7  SIL (MW)

Have a New Teenager by Friday

Bestselling author, Dr. Kevin Leman uses humor and commonsense in his one week plan for changing your teenager into a new person.  Dr. Leman says that all parents should send their teenagers out into the world with three very important things-wisdom, good judgment and discernment. 

“Teenagers can successfully face the many temptations of adolescence and still grow up to be great adults. And you are the one who can make all of the difference.”  Parents should not control their children rather encourage and partner with them.

Every parent should read Have a New Teenager by Friday   whether your children are teenagers or not.  Check out this down to earth book.  You will be glad you did!

306.874  LEM  (LR)

After the Suicide

Those left behind in the wake of suicide are often plagued by unanswered questions and feelings of guilt.

After the Suicide is an excellent guide for people who have lost a loved one to suicide.

 It begins with an overview of the grief process explaining the difference of grief after suicide and grief after other types of losses. 

After the Suicide goes on to explain ways to cope with the devastating impact suicide has on friends and families.This book concludes with different ways of explaining suicide. The aftermath of a family or friend’s death at their own hands, often spurns suicide in others.

After the Suicide is a good choice for anyone who has had to deal with or helped someone else deal with this painful loss.

Written in a clinical, yet easily read format, this is one book you might want to read. Clues in behaviors  of the distressed and the grieving process of those left behind are addressed in this non-judgemental account of suicide and grief.  

362.28 DYR (LR)

Sleepwalker

While house-sitting for her Uncle Nicco, policewoman Micayla Lange catches Jason Davis in the act of stealing money from her uncle’s locked safe.  When they both find incriminating photos that implicate Nicco in the murder of a city councilman, Mick and Jason hurtle into a race for their lives through the dangerous Michigan wilderness.

There are reasons why Karen Robards is one of the most popular authors today.  This book is just one of them.  If you’ve never read Robards but like Tami Hoag and Kay Hooper, this novel is a good introduction to her work.

Call #: Fic ROB (LR)