FICTION
The Calamity Club, by Kathryn Stockett
Abandoned by her mother one Christmas Eve, 11-year-old Meg Lefleur has learned the hard way to rely on no one. Now one of the unadoptable “big girls” at the Lafayette County Orphan Asylum, she fights each day to keep her spirit unbowed. Birdie Calhoun, unmarried and outspoken, has come to Oxford, Mississippi, to ask her socialite sister to help the struggling family she has left behind. But as the Depression tightens its grip in 1933, Birdie discovers her sister’s seemingly charmed life is a tapestry of lies. Then, Birdie encounters Charlie, a woman running low on luck with little left to lose. When their fates — and Meg’s — converge, Charlie comes up with an audacious plan to claim what’s rightfully theirs. But in a place and time where hypocrisy is rife and women’s freedom is fragile, even the smallest act of defiance can have dangerous consequences.
Beach Haven, by T.I. Lowe
Free-spirited Opal Gilbert seems to have everything she needs to live a happy life in Sunset Cove, refurbishing vintage furniture to sell at her funky oceanside boutique, Bless This Mess. Then Lincoln Cole, a new-to-town Marine nursing deep wounds and harboring hurts he can’t seem to shake, wanders into her shop. Opal knows a person in need when she sees one and offers Lincoln a job in her workshop. The brooding man has no interest in Opal’s offer, however. Thanks, but no thanks. Then a hurricane strikes the coastal South Carolina town, damaging Bless This Mess. Feeling guilty about how he treated Opal, Lincoln decides to help her repair the store. Soon it becomes clear Opal wants to restore her business and also help heal Lincoln. As much as Lincoln tries to keep her at arm’s length, Opal’s well-meaning meddling begins to heal his wounds . . . and capture his heart almost before he realizes it.
NONFICTION
To Catch a Fish: Essays on the Joy, Frustration, Curiosity and Allure of Fishing, by Mark Kurlansky
For as long as there have been humans, there have been humans trying to catch fish. The two species — fish and man — live in constant tension. One chases the other. One tries to get away. Some of us, including the author, are hard-wired for that chase. Guiding readers through the waters and into the mind of the fish, Kurlansky considers who fish are and why they behave the way they do, and along the way delves into the many approaches to catching fish, their ecology, and the ins and outs of cooking and eating your catch. Whether you’re a seasoned angler or a novice, or simply want to explore the world of fish, the 40 short essays in this collection and the dazzling illustrations by Bri Dostie shed new light on these creatures and our relationship to them.
The Devil’s Done Come Back: New Ghost Tales
from North Carolina, edited by Ed Southern
Fifteen of North Carolina’s finest writers reimagine and reclaim the stories of the ghosts who have haunted all corners of the state. North Carolina ain’t what it once was: Forests and fields have given way to suburbs and vacation homes, textile mills to high tech, tobacco farms to tourism. That doesn’t mean that the ghosts of the Old North State have gone away. In this anthology, readers might glimpse some of the ghostly apparitions, headless fiends and creepy hollers they heard about around their childhood campfires. Contributors include Michele Tracy Berger, Wiley Cash (and his daughters), Annette Saunooke Clapsaddle, Tyree Daye, Jeremy B. Jones, Ross White, Southern and many more.