American Literature

Folksy and fresh, endearing and affecting, Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe is the now-classic novel of two women in the 1980s; of gray-headed Mrs. Threadgoode telling her life story to Evelyn, who is in the sad slump of middle age. The tale she tells is also of two women - of the irrepressibly daredevilish tomboy Idgie and her friend Rut - -who back in the thirties ran a little place in Whistle Stop, Alabama, a Southern kind of Cafe Wobegon offering good barbecue and good coffee and all kinds of love and laughter, even an occasional murder.

While Laura Ingalls grows up in a little house on the Western prairie, Almanzo Wilder is living on a big farm in New York State. Here Almanzo and his brother and sisters help with the summer planting and fall harvest. In winter there is wood to be chopped and great slabs of ice to be cut from the river and stored. Time for fun comes when the jolly tin peddler visits or, best of all, when the fair comes to town.

It's 1924 in Branchville, South Carolina, and three women have come to a crossroads. Gertrude, a mother of four, must make an unconscionable decision to save her daughters. Retta, a first-generation freed slave, comes to Gertrude's aid by watching her children, despite the gossip it causes in her community. Annie, the matriarch of the influential Coles family, offers Gertrude employment at her sewing circle, while facing problems of her own at home.

Cree Indians and best-friends Xavier and Elijah enlist in the Canadian Army in 1915, eager to become heroes. Seasoned hunters, the men become expert snipers, but their horrifying experiences serving in World War I will leave devastating impressions on each man’s life.

On a snowy Christmas Eve in an unnamed American city, the archangel Michael wanders the streets. He is alone and hungry, his clothes tattered, and when he sees his face reflected in a store window, it is that of a young African American boy. Who will offer him food and shelter and who will turn him away? And when he becomes a blonde, freckle-faced child, is his fate different?

Jodi views himself as the upper echelon of Black men. Smart, successful, educated, and incredibly wealthy. He's got cars, clothes, and women, but that's where his problems begin. While he's supposed to be faithful to his longtime girlfriend, Sabrina, he figures what she doesn't know won't hurt her.

Sinclair Lewis (1885-1951) was an American novelist and playwright who, in 1930, became the first American to win the Nobel Prize for literature. The Job is one of his earliest novels. Concerning the exploits of a 1920s career woman, it is one of the first novels about feminism and is considered one of the stepping stones towards Lewis' success.

Ce roman raconte l'histoire d'Almanda Siméon, une orpheline amoureuse qui va partager la vie des Innus de Pekuakami. Elle apprendra l'existence nomade et la langue, et brisera les barrières imposées aux femmes autochtones.

The thrilling new novel from number-one New York Times best-selling author Lisa See explores the lives of a Chinese mother and her daughter who has been abandoned and adopted by an American couple.

Kit Kittredge has a nose for news—but she never dreamed that the news stories about the hard times of the Depression would become her own story. First Mother’s bothersome friends move in with the Kittredges. Then Dad loses his business, and Kit’s family could lose their house! Things look hopeless, but a clever idea might let her family keep their home. Can Kit help pull it off?

Kaya’s beloved horse, Steps High, has been captured by enemy raiders. Kaya fears she’ll never see Steps High again, until she hears of a herd of spotted horses running wild in the mountains. As she travels with a hunting party into the mountains, Kaya is troubled by the smoke she smells on the wind—smoke from mountain fires. While searching desperately for Steps High, Kaya has to face a fear greater than any she’s ever known.

It is the story of 11-year-old Pecola Breedlove--a black girl in an America whose love for its blond, blue-eyed children can devastate all others--who prays for her eyes to turn blue: so that she will be beautiful, so that people will look at her, so that her world will be different. This is the story of the nightmare at the heart of her yearning and the tragedy of its fulfillment.

This book is considered a prophetical novel foretelling the advent of nuclear weapons. A constant theme in Wells’ work, such as his 1901 nonfiction book Anticipations, was the role of energy and technological advance as a determinant of human progress. The novel opens with this: "The story of mankind is the history of the attainment of external power. Man is the tool-using, fire-making animal...."

This funny, down-to-earth parody of Marie Kondo’s The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up hands listeners the most useful tools for keeping crap clean and organized without all the pressure.

Two must-listen novellas from best-selling author Sabrina B. Scales... Naughty: Recently separated from her on again, off again boyfriend, Darryl, Nedra Brooks finds herself in the arms of her handsome neighbor Justin Steele. Years of sexual tension finally come to a head when she seeks, and finds, temporary satisfaction in Justin's arms. Nasty: Two innocent bystanders are introduced by their siblings with nothing in common but a sexual attraction that they couldn't act upon without breaking all the rules. But rules are made to be broken, right?

1932: Located on the banks of the Gilead River in Minnesota, Lincoln School is home to hundreds of Native American boys and girls who have been separated from their families. The only two white boys in the school are orphan brothers Odie and Albert, who, under the watchful eyes of the cruel superintendent Mrs. Brickman, are often in trouble for misdeeds both real and imagined. The two boys' best friend is Mose, a mute Native American who is also the strongest kid in school. And they find another ally in Cora Frost, a widowed teacher who is raising her little girl, Emmy, by herself.

It’s 1976 and the entire country is celebrating America’s 200th birthday, including Julie! She can’t wait to camp in a horse-drawn wagon for the Bicentennial, but pioneer life turns out to be a lot harder than she expected. Back in school, Julie looks to make some history herself after she lands in detention for helping a friend, and decides to run for student body president to make some much-needed changes. But as the election heats up, Julie’s on the brink of dropping out. It’s her big chance to prove that one girl can change the system—but does she have the nerve?

Don’t miss the next Will Trent thriller, This Is Why We Lied, coming this August! WATCH WILL TRENT ON ABC! “Breathless tension!” raved the San Francisco Chronicle. “One of [the year’s] most remarkable achievements,” crowed the Philadelphia Inquirer. Karin Slaughter dazzled readers...

When Lily was eleven years old, her mother, Swee Hua, walked away from the family, never to be seen or heard from again. Now a new mother herself, Lily becomes obsessed with finding out what happened to Swee Hua. She recalls the spring of 1987, growing up in a small British Columbia mining town where there were only a handful of Asian families; Lily’s previously stateless father wanted to blend seamlessly into Canadian life, while her mother longed to return to Brunei. Eventually, an old family friend provides a clue that sends Lily to Southeast Asia to find out the truth.

Listeners loved the Betrayed series so much that Tanisha Stewart has decided to release a special edition! In this book, all three of the stories in the Betrayed series are presented, along with added content, including the infamous barbecue scene, as well as more background information on Kelvin, Iliana, Kay'Ceon, and June. If you enjoyed the original books, you don't want to miss these updates. Follow the story of the betrayal June endured. Keep your friends close, and enemies closer.