Adult

1916. The two-street town of Wallace is not exactly what Ellen Webster had in mind when she accepted a teaching position in Wyoming. Within a year’s time, though, she has fallen in love --- both with the High Plains and with a handsome cowboy named Charlie Bacon. Life is not easy, but Ellen and Charlie face it all together, their relationship growing stronger with each shared success and each deeply felt tragedy. Ellen finds purpose in her work as a rancher’s wife and in her bonds with other women settled on the prairie. Not all of them have loving husbands, not all came to Wallace willingly, and not all of them can survive the cruel seasons. But they look out for each other, share their secrets and help one another in times of need. And the needs are great and constant.

In the spring of 1994, new college graduate Ryan McGee bombed his coveted interview with ESPN --- the only place he ever wanted to work. But he did receive one job offer: to work for $100 a week for the Asheville Tourists, a proud minor league baseball team in the heart of North Carolina’s Blue Ridge Mountains. McCormick Field, home to the Tourists, had once been graced by Ty Cobb, Lou Gehrig, Babe Ruth and Jackie Robinson. What could go wrong? WELCOME TO THE CIRCUS OF BASEBALL is McGee’s hilarious, charming memoir of his first summer working in the sporting world. He has since risen the ESPN ranks to national TV, radio and internet host, but his time in Asheville still looms large.

A Mississippi woman pushes through the ruin of the Roman Colosseum, searching for plants. Crawling along the stones, she wonders how she has landed here, a reluctant botanist amid a snarl of tourists. In 1854, a woman pushes through the jungle of the Roman Colosseum, searching for plants. As punishment for her misbehavior, she has been indentured to the English botanist Richard Deakin, for whom she will compile a flora. If only the woman she loves weren’t on a boat, with a husband. Through a list of seemingly minor plants and their uses, these women calculate intangible threats: a changing climate, the cost of knowledge, and the ways repeated violence can upend women’s lives. They must forge their own small acts of defiance and slip through whatever cracks they find.

After a traumatic incident, Aster's blood work comes back with some unusual readings. Unsurprising, as she’s the last of an alien race called the Kibsu, though she doesn’t know it. She becomes the focus of a hunt, with her mortal enemies, the Trackers, on one side and the American government on the other. But help has come from a most unexpected quarter. Whoever finds her first, it won’t be good news for Aster. Or for the world!

When Gerry, the beloved Williams patriarch, dies suddenly, his grandchildren flock from across the country to the family home in Eulalia, Georgia. But when Gerry’s best friend steps up to the microphone to deliver his eulogy, the funeral turns out unlike anyone expected. The cousins cope with their fresh grief and various private dramas. Delia refuses to shut up about her ex. Her sister, Alice, flusters when she spots her high school sweetheart, hiding a secret that will change both of their lives. Grant is preening in the afterglow of his recent appearance on “The Bachelorette” and looking to reignite an old flame with the least available person in town. Meanwhile, his younger brother, Red, desperately searches for a place in the boisterous family.

Sally Milz is a sketch writer for “The Night Owls,” a late-night live comedy show that airs every Saturday. With a couple of heartbreaks under her belt, she’s long abandoned the search for love. But when Sally’s friend and fellow writer Danny Horst begins dating Annabel, a glamorous actress who guest-hosted the show, he joins the not-so-exclusive group of talented but average-looking and even dorky men at the show who’ve gotten romantically involved with incredibly beautiful and accomplished women. Enter Noah Brewster, a pop music sensation with a reputation for dating models, who signed on as both host and musical guest for this week’s show. Sally hits it off with Noah instantly. As they collaborate on one sketch after another, she begins to wonder if there might actually be sparks flying.

When Julia Lee was 15, her hometown went up in smoke during the 1992 Los Angeles riots. The daughter of Korean immigrant store owners in a predominantly Black neighborhood, Julia was taught to be grateful for the privilege afforded to her. However, the acquittal of four white police officers in the beating of Rodney King, following the murder of Latasha Harlins by a Korean shopkeeper, forced Julia to question her racial identity and complicity. She was neither Black nor white. So who was she? This question would follow Julia for years to come. It was only when she began a PhD in English that she found answers --- not in the Brontës or Austen, as Julia had planned, but rather in the brilliant prose of writers like James Baldwin and Toni Morrison.

In the hurricane-ravaged bottomlands of South Mississippi, where stores are closing and jobs are few, a fierce zealot has gained a foothold, capitalizing on the vulnerability of a dwindling population and a burning need for hope. As she preaches and promises salvation from the light of the pulpit, in the shadows she sows the seeds of violence. Elsewhere, Jessie and her toddler, Jace, are on the run across the Mississippi/Louisiana line, in a resentful return to her childhood home and her desolate father. Holt, Jace's father, is missing and hunted by a brutish crowd, and an old man witnesses the wrong thing in the depths of night. In only a matter of days, all of their lives will collide and be altered in the maelstrom of the changing world.

Laura Dern and Diane Ladd always had a close relationship, but the stakes were raised when Diane developed a sudden life-threatening illness. Diane’s doctor prescribed long walks to build back her lung capacity. The exertion was challenging, and Laura soon learned that the best way to distract her mom was to get her talking and telling stories. Their conversations along the way began to break down the traditional barriers between mothers and daughters. They discussed the most personal topics: love, sex, marriage, divorce, art, ambition and legacy. In HONEY, BABY, MINE, Laura and Diane share these conversations, as well as reflections and anecdotes, taking readers on an intimate tour of their lives. Complementing these candid exchanges, they have included photos, family recipes and other mementos.

Lin Sukai has won her first victory as Emperor, but the future of the Phoenix Empire hangs in the balance --- and Lin is dangerously short of allies. Yet hopes lies in history. Legend tells of seven mythic swords, forged in centuries past. If Lin can find them before her enemies do, she may yet be able to turn the tide. If she fails, the Sukai dynasty --- and the entire empire --- will fall.