Read Olive Kitteridge before you read Olive Again. In Olive Again we follow Olive in her later years and find out even more about her life through the people in her hometown. It is as profound, funny, sad as Olive Kitteridge – it will not disappoint.

After their parents die unexpectantly, a young boy and girl must figure out how to survive on the remote island in Newfoundland upon which their family has lived. The book is heartbreaking and oh- so- dark. It is beautifully written but beware – it is very sad.

Noah, retired professor, reluctantly “inherits” his great nephew, Michael. Noah, again reluctantly, brings Michael on a trip to France. The two battle a huge generational divide and come out a little scarred but changed forever. It’s a brilliant, funny, wise look at how much we all have to learn about life and living – regardless of our age.

Charles and James are ministers who are sharing a parish. They couldn’t be more different. Charles’ wife, Lily and James’ wife, Nan are also very different from each other. This is a beautiful story about how they manage the trials and joys of life. It challenges us to consider the place of religion, spirituality and commitment to justice within the institutions of marriage and religion.

“The Weight of Ink is the interwoven tale of two women of remarkable intellect: Ester Velasquez, an emigrant from Amsterdam who is permitted to scribe for a blind rabbi, just before the plague hits the city; and Helen Watt, an ailing historian with a love of Jewish history. As the novel opens, Helen has been summoned by a former student to view a cache of seventeenth-century Jewish documents newly discovered in his home during a renovation. Enlisting the help of Aaron Levy, an American graduate student as impatient as he is charming, and in a race with another fast-moving team of historians, Helen embarks on one last project: to determine the identity of the documents’ scribe, the elusive” Aleph.”-” A really interesting read – I got to like Helen Watt’s crusty personality very much by the end.

“Alicia Berenson’s life is seemingly perfect. A famous painter married to an in-demand fashion photographer, she lives in a grand house with big windows overlooking a park in one of London’s most desirable areas. One evening her husband Gabriel returns home late from a fashion shoot, and Alicia shoots him five times in the face, and then never speaks another word. Alicia’s refusal to talk, or give any kind of explanation, turns a domestic tragedy into something far grander, a mystery that captures the public imagination and casts Alicia into notoriety. The price of her art skyrockets, and she, the silent patient, is hidden away from the tabloids and spotlight at the Grove, a secure forensic unit in North London. Theo Faber is a criminal psychotherapist who has waited a long time for the opportunity to work with Alicia. His determination to get her to talk and unravel the mystery of why she shot her husband takes him down a twisting path into his own motivations–a search for the truth that threatens to consume him…” A very suspensful read that will keep you guessing!

This is a hilarious romp through Toby Fleishman’s life after his wife Rachel leaves him. Just as he’s getting used to his new singleness, fending off the women who are happy to hook up with him despite his short stature, Rachel leaves the children with him for a weekend and doesn’t come back. Toby is forced to adjust his life and his attitude. This is a very funny read with enough wisdom in it to keep it interesting.

In the outback of Australia, Tom, a lonely farmer whose wife has left and taken her son with her, meets Hannah Babel, holocaust survivor who has lost her entire family, including her own young son. As Tom helps Hannah set up her bookshop the two are surprised when they find themselves falling in love. The question that Hillman explores is “What is the cost is you allow your broken heart to love again? What is the cost if you don’t?

This is a really beautiful story written with compassion and wisdom.

This is the story of septuagenarian, Noah, and thirteen year old, Michael who are stuck with each other for the foreseeable future. This forced relationship is portrayed with all of Donoghue’s signature wit, wisdom and creativity. I loved watching their uneasy truce-like friendship unfold as Noah finds out that perhaps it is possible to teach an old dog new tricks.

Amazing sequel to the Handmaid’s Tail – it answers all of your questions in a typical brilliant Atwood way – witty, dark, eerily true of our times. I LOVED it!