Adult

As Alma Whittaker's careful studies of moss take her deeper into the mysteries of evolution, the man she comes to love draws her in the opposite direction --- into the realm of the spiritual, the divine and the magical. Alma is a clear-minded scientist; Ambrose is a Utopian artist. But what unites this couple is a shared passion for knowing --- a desperate need to understand the workings of this world and the mechanisms behind all of life.

Lucy Silchester keeps receiving a strange appointment card and sweeping its gold-embossed envelope under the rug. Literally. But she is about to find out that this is one appointment she can't miss, when Life shows up at her door, in the form of a sloppy but determined man. Life follows her, and she learns that some of the choices she has made and the stories she has told aren't what they seem. Now her half-truths are about to be revealed, unless Lucy tells the truth about what really matters to her.

A woman suddenly becomes aware, and is shocked to find herself wading through the frigid waters of San Francisco Bay. However, she has no clue who she is or why she is here. When she returns to her life as Lucie Walker, she must piece together not only the mystery of her amnesia, but also decide who she chooses to be now.

When Evie Ferrante learns that her mother has been hospitalized, she finds her mother's house in chaos. Sorting through her mother's belongings, Evie discovers objects that don't quite belong there, and begins to raise questions. Evie renews a friendship with Mina, an elderly neighbor who might know more about her mother's recent activities. As Evie investigates her mother's actions, a darker story of deception and madness involving Mina emerges.

Rod Dreher, a Philadelphia journalist, returns to his hometown in the wake of his younger sister Ruthie's death. He begins to wonder whether the ordinary life Ruthie led was in fact a path of hidden grandeur, even spiritual greatness, concealed within the modest life of a mother and teacher. In order to explore this revelation, Dreher and his wife decide to have their three children grow up amidst the rituals that had defined his family for five generations.

Cecilia Ross is looking for a change. She has decided to take time off from her job as a successful motivational speaker and sell her home. She moves in to a beautiful old house in St. Paul, Minnesota, complete with a big front porch, a wild garden, a chef's kitchen --- and three roommates. The four women are different ages, but all are feeling restless, and want to take a road trip to find again the people and things they miss.

Police officer Nina Hoffman finds her fellow officer David Lindholm naked on his bed with bullets through his head and stomach. His traumatized wife, Julia, rambles on about a woman entering the house, killing David and running off with her son, but all the evidence seems to point in Julia’s direction. Annika Bengtzon covers the case and is drawn in headfirst when she sees that Julia is about to be falsely charged.

On a cold and snowy night in 1910, Ursula Todd is born to an English banker and his wife but dies before she can draw her first breath. On that same cold and snowy night, Ursula Todd is born and embarks upon a life that will be unusual. As she grows, she also dies --- repeatedly, in a variety of ways --- while the young century marches on towards its second cataclysmic world war. Does Ursula's apparently infinite number of lives give her the power to save the world from its inevitable destiny?

From the unique perspective of David Sedaris comes a new book of essays taking his readers on a bizarre and stimulating world tour. From the perils of French dentistry to the eating habits of the Australian kookaburra, from the squat-style toilets of Beijing to the particular wilderness of a North Carolina Costco, we learn about the absurdity and delight of a curious traveler's experiences.