Adult

Julian Barnes’s follow-up to THE SENSE OF AN ENDING, last year’s Man Booker winner, is this collection of 17 essays and one short story --- all of them previously printed over the past 15 years --- about writers and the art of writing. His ruminations on writers as diverse as Penelope Fitzgerald, Michel Houellebecq and Joyce Carol Oates are as incisive as one expects from the keen intellect that gave us FLAUBERT’S PARROT.

In a race against time, Rogue special-operations agent Blaine McCracken and his longtime partner in crime-fighting, Johnny Wareagle, pursue the source of the most ancient and terrifying weapon the world has yet encountered: dark matter. But a wealthy magnate and a doomsday cult leader are also seeking this weapon, each for their own nefarious reasons. McCracken and Wareagle find themselves confronting an unbelievable reality at the source of their quest.

Once a city of enormous wealth and culture, Prague was home to emperors, alchemists, astronomers and, as it’s whispered, hell portals. When music student Sarah Weston lands a summer job at Prague Castle cataloging Beethoven’s manuscripts, she has no idea how dangerous her life is about to become.

FLY AWAY is the story of three women who have lost their way and need each other --- plus a miracle --- to transform their lives. An emotionally complex, heart-wrenching novel about love, motherhood, loss and new beginnings, this long-awaited follow-up to FIREFLY LANE reminds us that where there is life, there is hope, and where there is love, there is forgiveness.

Margaret Kennedy lives on a dairy farm in rural Maine. Her husband Thomas --- injured in a war overseas --- will never be the man he was. When the President signs a bill in support of wounded veterans, Margaret is invited to the nation’s capital. Charlie King, a handsome Foreign Service officer, volunteers to escort her. As the rhododendron blossoms along the Blue Ridge Highway, the unlikely pair fall in love --- but Margaret cannot ignore the tug of her marriage vows.

Go back in time to an English town in the 1870s. A cathedral dean --- too shy, too bookish, too intimidating to relate to his parishioners --- strikes up an unlikely friendship with the local clockmaker, a priest’s son who wants nothing to do with God. The relationship leads to a spiritual awakening that touches the entire community.

After a rough patch, Madi is determined to get her marriage back on track. She's even taking a romance class at church and getting great suggestions...that fail miserably. The distractions are plenty.  When her mother-in-law moves in --- temporarily, of course --- the stress starts to drive Madi a little crazier than normal. What she wants, more than anything, is some peace among the chaos.

After having had surgery to remove a rare pancreatic tumor, Marv Besteman wanted more than anything else to simply sleep in his hospital bed and escape the excruciating pain and misery for a while. He was about to have an experience he never could have imagined --- and could never forget. In MY JOURNEY TO HEAVEN, Marv shares the true story of his experience of heaven with astounding detail.

COLD LIGHT is the story of one terrible summer when lies, secrets, jealousy and perversion result in tragedy more twisted and evil than one unsuspecting community can handle. A dark tale with a surreal edge, it follows two 14-year-old best friends as they confront the dangers of a predatory adult world, where truth is cruelly sacrificed in the name of innocence.

This classic series has already inspired nearly two million readers, but both loyal fans and new readers will want this 20th anniversary edition of a Christian classic, which includes a foreword from the publisher, a letter from and Q & A with Francine Rivers, color map, an illustrated glossary, and discussion questions suitable for personal and group use.