Mitch Albom

FOR ONE MORE DAY., 2006, 197 pp.
Charles Benetto proceeds along a booze-fueled path of self destruction following his mother’s death, culminating in his attempted suicide. Then the ghost of his mother appears, “for one more day” to inspire him by her life’s story to be a better man.
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Anita Brookner

MAKING THINGS BETTER, 2003, 275 pp.
After decades of attending to the needs of his emotionally disabled parents and brother, 73 year old Julius Herz finds that without these responsibilities, his life seems to be lacking a purpose. He ponders several opportunities, for love, for travel, for change to give meaning to his solitude.
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Charles Chadwick

IT'S ALL RIGHT NOW., 2005, 679 pp.
“Englishman Tom Ripple observes the course of his life throughout a thirty-year period that is marked by complicated relationships with family members, neighbors, girlfriends, colleagues, and friends.”—Novelist
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Ernest J. Gaines

A LESSON BEFORE DYING., 1993, 256 pp.
It is the late 1940s in a small Louisiana town. Jefferson, a black man of limited education, has been wrongfully convicted of a murder and sentenced to die. Knowing that the outcome cannot be changed, Jefferson’s godmother approaches Grant, a local school teacher, with a request to help the young man face his death with dignity and courage.
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Oscar Hijuelos

MR. IVES' CHRISTMAS, 1995, 248 pp.
Mr. Ives is a generous man of simple faith. Throughout his life, Christmas has been a special time. So when his son is murdered just before Christmas, Mr. Ives searches his beliefs and “A Christmas Carol” by Dickens to deal with the tragedy.
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Catherine Ryan Hyde

ELECTRIC GOD, 2000, 318 pp.
Hayden Reese has an anger problem. He has brawled his way through most of his life, hurting people, spending time in jail and alienating his family in the process. And yet through flashbacks, as the reader learns more about Reese’ history, there is some understanding for the source of all his anger. Then another traumatic event gives Reese a chance to overcome the violence and become reconciled with his past.
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Stephen Mitchell

MEETINGS WITH THE ARCHANGEL, 1998, 245 pp.
A tale of a writer’s conversations with the Archangel Gabriel about God, angels, evil and the nature of human life. Told with humour.
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Mary Doria Russell

THE SPARROW, 1996, 245 pp.
“The sole survivor of a crew sent to explore a new planet, Jesuit priest Emilio Sandoz discovers an alien civilization that raises questions about the very essence of humanity, an encounter that leads Sandoz to a public inquisition and the destruction of his faith.” – Novelist
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F.X. Toole

POUND FOR POUND, 2006, 366 pp.
Boxing is the metaphor and the means through which the characters explore friendship, love, greed, betrayal and the return of hope. By the author of “Million Dollar Baby”
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Susan Trott

THE HOLY MAN, 1995, 173 pp.
A collection of witty, sometimes quirky, episodes about the search for spiritual enlightenment. Every summer, people travel from near and far to the hermitage atop a mountain, to ask Joe (a 73 year old “holy man” with a heart condition) for advice on how to live their lives. For some, the trip teaches as much as the replies.
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