It was the goude eeuw, the seventeenth century golden age of the United Provinces of the Netherlands, and nowhere was it more glorious and prosperous than in Amsterdam, Holland, the mother city of Nieuw Amsterdam situated by the deep harbor of Mannahatta. Why then would the vivacious niece of a wealthy Dutch merchant hastily marry her father's brilliant student to venture across the dangerous Atlantic Ocean to start their lives together in one of the least desirable outposts in all of the Dutch Empire East or West? Meanwhile, an aristocratic English widow fled the land of her birth, where to a manor bred and manor wed, and departed for New England seeking liberty of conscience. Expecting her only son, Sir Henry, to join her when their family affairs were in order, Civil War erupted in England. Loyal to the monarch who bestowed his knighthood, Sir Henry became a Cavalier fighting for King Charles I. Just when it seemed there was finally an end to war in England and finally at peace, although tenuous, with Eastern Woodland Algonquians up and down the North Atlantic Coast, the English Parliament led by Oliver Cromwell sparked a trade war for supremacy on the high seas that threatened to topple the vast Dutch Empire and destabilize their lives again. For them and legendary couple Richard and Penelope Stout, once more dreams were deterred by the desperate drama to come. Now you, the reader, are invited to discover what their lives, the real heart of history, have to do with you and our twenty-first century world.

A riveting, “psychologically acute” (Esquire) portrait of a marriage, from the Man Booker Prize­–longlisted author of Work Like Any Other—“a deep saturation and beauty of experience” (The New Yorker). Doctor Ed Malinowski believes he has realized most of his dreams. A passionate, ambitious behavioral psychiatrist, he is now the superintendent of a mental institution and finally turning the previously crumbling hospital around. He also has a home he can be proud of and a fiercely independent, artistic wife Laura, whom he hopes will soon be pregnant. But into this perfect vision of his life comes Penelope, a beautiful, young epileptic who should never have been placed in his institution and whose only chance at getting out is Ed. She is intelligent, charming, and slowly falling in love with her charismatic, compassionate doctor. As their relationship grows more complicated, and Laura defiantly starts working at his hospital, Ed must weigh his professional responsibilities against his personal ones, and find a way to save both his job and his family. “Reeves alternates between Ed and Laura’s perspectives in cunning ways, creating the rippling effect of a rushing river, as love flows and ebbs over a decade” (Entertainment Weekly). A love triangle set in one of the most chaotic settings imaginable, The Behavior of Love is “a sensitive examination of love, responsibility, and compassion” (Kirkus Reviews).

Tales from Swankville is a collection of humorous and poignant essays inspired by the authors own experiences as mothers in suburbia where parents are blurring the lines between encouragement and competitiveness, assertiveness and aggression, common sense and a sense of entitlement. From the classroom to the soccer field; the dance studio to the beautifully tree-lined street, no arena is left unscathed by parents behaving badly. Life in Swankville is a fairy-tale . . . gone a bit askew!

Years after having an affair that almost ruined their respective marriages, Jane Weatherby and John Pomfret are reunited when their children decide to get married despite questions regarding their possible kinship and the fact that they have almost no money to their name. Afraid that Mary Pomfret and Philip Weatherby are destined for the working-class, Jane and John attempt to stall the development of the wedding plans by having endless conversations about, well, nothing. This gives Jane--a shrewd, resourceful widow--the opportunity to embark on a scheme to lure John away from his current love interest. As the plot advances through discussions filled with misdirections and omissions, Green demonstrates that there is nothing like the spoken word to conceal one's true intentions. One of Green's final novels, "Nothing" is a worthy addition to the varied tradition of English literature that includes Virginia Woolf and Evelyn Waugh.

Big Bad Copper is a book for all ages. The book personifies four beautiful felines living in their own feline body; but walking on two paws instead of four. Their world isnt much different than ours. They drive, and live full lives. They go to milk bars, have jobs and marry. The main character Copper has a past and a history of crime, he sold narcotics and in his world its catnip. Copper has an ego and attitude; but his side kick Simba is a sweet caring feline. Cat lovers will adore them and others will enjoy humor, and even shed a tear with them. Copper is a hard headed feline whom you eventually learn to love. Its a good read and will keep your interest until the end.

2019 Illumination Book Awards, Bronze Medal in Spirituality 2019 International Book Awards, Finalist: Christianity 2019 Catholic Press Association, Honorable Mention: Family Life Make God a member of your family. Do you struggle to find the right way to integrate prayer into your daily family life? Are you worried your children won’t practice the same faith that has sustained you in times of difficulty? When Jane Knuth inherited the family “prayer list” from her aunt, she decided to continue the tradition of praying regularly with the list of needs and thanks for relatives and friends. But prayer fits itself to every person’s—and every family’s—situation and culture. As Jane learned how to pray in her family and explored the prayer experiences of other families, she discovered a simple truth: the best way to pray with your family is the way that works best for your family. The Prayer List shares the true stories of how families from many faith traditions—Christian, non-Christian, or no defined faith—pray together in meaningful ways. With prompts to inspire your own family’s prayer after each chapter, these stories prove that family prayer can be a path to the intimacy and closeness we long for. It’s like making God a member of the family.