Exploring Top Books of Shelfari

First published in paperback by UNM Press in 1976, The Way to Rainy Mountain has sold over 200,000 copies. This re-designed edition includes a new Preface. “The paperback edition of The Way to Rainy Mountain was first published twenty-five years ago. One should not be surprised, I suppose, that it has remained vital, and immediate, for that is the nature of story. And this is particularly true of the oral... (more)

A Leader Becomes a Leader: Inspirational Stories of Leadership for a New Generation

A Leader Becomes a Leader: Inspirational Stories of Leadership for a New Generation

by J. Kevin Sheehan

A Leader Becomes a Leader opens with a window on history: Henry David Thoreau riding a borrowed horse and wagon into the woods around Concord, Massachusetts to Walden Pond in 1845. There, he writes a classic work that has a powerful effect on the lives and philosophies of seminal leaders in the next century as diverse as Mohandas Gandhi, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., and Nelson Mandela. Thoreau believed that a... (more)

The Christmas kitchen : the gathering place for making memories

The Christmas kitchen : the gathering place for making memories

by Tammy Maltby

The Heart of the Home Even in today's busy times, the kitchen is the heart of the home. Author Tammy Maltby believes the true meaning of Christmas is realized when families gather to share activities that make Christmas "the most wonderful time of the year." More than any other holiday, Christmas is when family and friends gather for a cup of hot chocolate, fresh-baked cookies, and lots of laughter. Look... (more)

THINGS FALL APART, and related readings.

THINGS FALL APART, and related readings.

by Chinua Achebe

The American Empire Project

Ain't My America

The Long, Noble History of Antiwar Conservatism and Middle-American Anti-Imperialism

by Bill Kauffman

From “the finest literary stylist of the American right,” a surprising and spirited account of how true conservatives have always been antiwar and anti-empire (Allan Carlson, author of The American Way ) Conservatives love war, empire, and the military-industrial complex. They abhor peace, the sole and rightful property of liberals. Right? Wrong. As Bill Kauffman makes clear, true conservatives have... (more)

Cold Mountain

by Charles Frazier

In 1997, Charles Frazier’s debut novel Cold Mountain made publishing history when it sailed to the top of The New York Times best-seller list for sixty-one weeks, won numerous literary awards, including the National Book Award, and went on to sell over three million copies. Now, the beloved American epic returns, reissued by Grove Press to coincide with the publication of Frazier’s eagerly-anticipated second... (more)

The Mango Season

by Amulya Malladi

From the acclaimed author of A Breath of Fresh Air , this beautiful novel takes us to modern India during the height of the summer’s mango season. Heat, passion, and controversy explode as a woman is forced to decide between romance and tradition. Every young Indian leaving the homeland for the United States is given the following orders by their parents: Don’t eat any cow (It’s still sacred!), don’t go out too... (more)

Breath, Eyes, Memory

by Edwidge Danticat

At an astonishingly young age, Edwidge Danticat has become one of our most celebrated new novelists, a writer who evokes the wonder, terror, and heartache of her native Haiti--and the enduring strength of Haiti's women--with a vibrant imagery and narrative grace that bear witness to her people's suffering and courage. At the age of twelve, Sophie Caco is sent from her impoverished village of Croix-des-Rosets to... (more)

A Foxfire Christmas: Appalachian Memories and Traditions

A Foxfire Christmas: Appalachian Memories and Traditions

by Eliot Wigginton

Based on interviews with families in the mountains of northeast Georgia, a book of recollections commemorates the holiday traditions of Appalachian families and offers instructions for recreating many of their ornaments, toys, and dishes. Reprint. UP.

Foxfire 12 (Foxfire)

For more than thirty years, Foxfire books have brought the philosophy of simple living to hundreds of thousands of readers, teaching creative-self-sufficiency, the art of natural remedies, home crafts, and preserving the stories and customs of Appalachia. Inspiring and practical, this classic series has become an American institution. Foxfire 12 is the latest volume, the first in more than five years. Here... (more)

The Foxfire 40th Anniversary Book: Faith, Family, and the Land (Foxfire)

The Foxfire 40th Anniversary Book: Faith, Family, and the Land (Foxfire)

by Inc. Foxfire Fund

In 1966, an English teacher and students in Northeast Georgia founded a quarterly magazine, not only as a vehicle to learn the required English curriculum, but also to teach others about the customs, crafts, traditions, and lifestyle of their Appalachian culture. Named Foxfire after a local phosphorescent lichen, the magazine became one of the most beloved publications in American culture. For four decades, ... (more)

Kitchen Privileges

by Mary Higgins Clark

In her long-awaited memoir, Mary Higgins Clark, America's beloved and bestselling Queen of Suspense, recounts the early experiences that shaped her as a person and influenced her as a writer. Even as a young girl, growing up in the Bronx, Mary Higgins Clark knew she wanted to be a writer. The gift of storytelling was a part of her Irish ancestry, so it followed naturally that she would later use her sharp eye,... (more)

Everyday Celebrations and Rituals (Celebrations & Rituals)

Everyday Celebrations and Rituals (Celebrations & Rituals)

by Matilde Bardi, Catherine Chambers, Anita Ganeri, Claire Moore, Cath Senker, Paige Weber

Each of the highly illustrated titles in this great new series introduces customs and traditions that are observed to mark special events in the lives of individuals and groups. Separate sections in each book present the activities and beliefs around a particular life event, season, or other special time typical of cultures in the Far East, south and central Asia, the Middle East, Europe and the Americas, Africa... (more)

Amish Wedding & Other Special Occasions: of the Old Order Communities (People's Place Book)

Amish Wedding & Other Special Occasions: of the Old Order Communities (People's Place Book)

by Stephen Scott

How People Get Married (Ceremonies and Celebrations Series)Caroline Arnold

How People Get Married (Ceremonies and Celebrations Series)

by Caroline Arnold

Briefly discusses marriage customs in the United States before during and after the wedding.

The Last Summer of You and Me

by Ann Brashares

T he Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants author delivers her first novel for adults, a treacly tale about the tribulations a trio of longtime friends encounter. For as long as she can remember, 21-year-old Alice has spent summers on Fire Island with her parents and older sister, Riley. Riley, 24, is a beach lifeguard, more boyish in both looks and spirit than sweet, feminine Alice. An island neighbor and Riley's... (more)

Shadows of the SupernaturalColin Gilbert Chapman