Books

Living Without Electricity: Lessons from the Amishby Stephen Scott

In a modern world where technology is taking over our lives, could we lead an essential, simple life without electricity? How can we get by without computers, power tools, phones, or even basics such as electric lights and appliances? The answers lie in Amish communities and other Old Order groups in the United States, Canada, and Mexico that have been living lives off the grid while still affording to be self-sufficient for countless years.

Living Without Electricity examines the Amish response to technology and shows us why and how they live without inventions other people take for granted. Taking lessons from the Amish, learn how to light a room without electricity, keep warm without centralized heating, get around without a car, communicate without a phone, and others. In addition, take Amish instruction on how to cook and store food, pump water, wash clothes, and even run farms and businesses, all while off the electric grid. Reconsider the basic necessities of your life, and you might decide to orientate yourself toward a self-sufficient life without electricity.

A Spark of Lightby Jodi Picoult

#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • The author of Small Great Things returns with a powerful and provocative new novel about ordinary lives that intersect during a heart-stopping crisis.

“Picoult at her fearless best . . . Timely, balanced and certain to inspire debate.”–The Washington Post

The warm fall day starts like any other at the Center–a women’s reproductive health services clinic–its staff offering care to anyone who passes through its doors. Then, in late morning, a desperate and distraught gunman bursts in and opens fire, taking all inside hostage.

After rushing to the scene, Hugh McElroy, a police hostage negotiator, sets up a perimeter and begins making a plan to communicate with the gunman. As his phone vibrates with incoming text messages he glances at it and, to his horror, finds out that his fifteen-year-old daughter, Wren, is inside the clinic.

But Wren is not alone. She will share the next and tensest few hours of her young life with a cast of unforgettable characters: A nurse who calms her own panic in order to save the life of a wounded woman. A doctor who does his work not in spite of his faith but because of it, and who will find that faith tested as never before. A pro-life protester, disguised as a patient, who now stands in the crosshairs of the same rage she herself has felt. A young woman who has come to terminate her pregnancy. And the disturbed individual himself, vowing to be heard.

Told in a daring and enthralling narrative structure that counts backward through the hours of the standoff, this is a story that traces its way back to what brought each of these very different individuals to the same place on this fateful day.

One of the most fearless writers of our time, Jodi Picoult tackles a complicated issue in this gripping and nuanced novel. How do we balance the rights of pregnant women with the rights of the unborn they carry? What does it mean to be a good parent? A Spark of Light will inspire debate, conversation . . . and, hopefully, understanding.

Praise for A Spark of Light

“This is Jodi Picoult at her best: tackling an emotional hot-button issue and putting a human face on it.”—People

“Told backward and hour by hour, Jodi Picoult’s compelling narrative deftly explores controversial social issues.”—Us Weekly

Lost Girlsby Caitlin Rother

“A gripping account of the chilling disappearances of two San Diego area schoolgirls” from the New York Times bestselling author of Dead Reckoning (Sue Russell, author of Lethal Intent).

Chelsea King was a popular high school senior, an outstanding achiever determined to make a difference. Fourteen-year-old Amber Dubois loved books and poured her heart into the animals she cared for. Treasured by their families and friends, both girls disappeared in San Diego County, just eight miles and one year apart. The community’s desperate search led authorities to John Albert Gardner, a brutal predator hiding in plain sight. Now Pulitzer-nominated author Caitlin Rother delivers an incisive, heartbreaking true-life thriller that touches our deepest fears.

Includes dramatic photos

“A close look at a killer . . . a deeply reported, dispassionately written attempt to determine what created a monster and predator. It is a cautionary tale and a horror story, done superbly by a writer who knows how to burrow into a complex case without becoming captive to her sources.”–Los Angeles Times

Praise for Caitlin Rother and her true crime bestsellers

“Rother is the next Ann Rule.”–Gregg Olsen, #1 New York Times bestselling author

“Will keep you on the edge of your seat.”–Aphrodite Jones, New York Times bestselling author

“Rother is one of the best storytellers in true crime.”–Steve Jackson, New York Times bestselling author

“An exciting page-turner.”–M. William Phelps, New York Times bestselling author

“A star in the field of true crime.”–The San Diego Union-Tribune

Parlez-Vous Murder?by Susan Kiernan-Lewis

While American Jules Hooker is on vacation, a bomb explodes over the Riviera, destroying technology and leaving Jules stranded in Provence where she must make a living by solving murders the old-fashioned way—without help from DNA, databases, CSI crime labs or the police.

Welcome to My Armsby Lorhainne Eckhart

What was supposed to be a simple rescue by a stranger turns into so much more.
“Everyone’s favorite family is back! “The chemistry between Ric and Chelsea smoulders from the beginning, then begins to burn brightly. You won’t want to miss this book! Definitely a keeper!” (Rebmay)

Everyone in Columbia Falls, Montana believes that Chelsea Friessen is a spoiled princess who is more trouble than she’s worth. They’d be wrong though, considering that tale was spun by a scorned high school crush and two years later is still the first impression everyone has of her.

But when she meets a man whose personality is as arrogant as he is drop dead gorgeous that if Chelsea was in her right mind should have her running away from him. The only problem is that this badass stranger walked into her life knowing he saved her from humiliation, a stranger and a kiss she couldn’t resist where he pretended to be her fiancé. The only problem with pretending is it suddenly becomes far too real.

Take Me Backby C. Morgan

My bad reputation used to be cool… not so much anymore.

My life looks like an old country song.

The wife left. Took the kid. My career is doing nothing special.

And I’m living in a bottle.

But I refuse to think this is forever.

Something inside of me knows without a doubt that my first love is my only love.

I can make this right and put my family back together.

My past might threaten to haunt me, but there’s nothing I wouldn’t do to get my wife back.

Including changing everything about me.

Funnily enough, no one is asking that.

Time to wake up and take back what’s mine.

Fighting for Gisele (Books 1 & 2)by Emily Jane Trent

Gisele swears off bad boys, until one sexy fighter captures her heart. He’s an underground boxer who isn’t afraid to flaunt the rules.

He is all that Gisele Shelton wants, yet everything she vows to avoid. But she discovers that Micah has other ideas. Then a rare diamond falls into her hands, thrusting her into the midst of a notorious heist. A family of ruthless gangsters are bloodthirsty for the priceless treasure. She has no choice but to outsmart her enemies, or they will kill her and the man she loves.

Micah Rinaldi craves the adrenaline rush of high-stakes gambling and underground boxing, the same world that threatens Gisele. He is determined to rescue the gorgeous woman, who has stolen his heart. But her gangster family will stop at nothing to keep him away. Micah must unravel a shocking kidnapping and solve a mysterious heist, if he has any chance of a happily-ever-after with Gisele.