Booklists · Old-Fashioned Reads

As the population dwindles in a New England factory town, the threat of closure for their beloved St. Cecilia is very real, making a fast miracle vital. Prayers are answered in surprisingly unexpected and entirely satisfying manner in Valentine�s delightful debut.

Fifty years ago, the Freedmans had a bestseller in the charming Mrs. Mike, about a Boston girl who marries a Canadian Mountie. The story continues with Mrs. Mike�s adopted daughter Kathy, following her as she becomes a nurse during World War II and investigates her Cree heritage.

When her daughter is widowed, Adrienne relates the story of a love affair she had fifteen years ago, after her husband left her, and how an unplanned meeting with an equally distressed man brought her hope and comfort. Poignant, compassionate romance in Sparks� inimitable style.

Two people of very different backgrounds are brought together when the son of a famous sculptor meets the daughter of the southern tenant farmer who now owns the artist�s most famous piece, a scrap-iron sculpture of a large bear. Unexpected romance blossoms in Smith�s gentle tale.

With their father dead and their mother no longer able to care for them, Louisa and her brother Oz are given a home by their great grandmother in the Appalachian mountains. The city kids find themselves loving their new life in Baldacci�s nostalgic coming-of-age story.

An elderly, crotchety widow and a younger, unemployed accountant become unlikely friends in this memorable tale. Sarah agrees to be household help for Mrs. Compson if the older woman will teach her how to quilt. Over their stitching, both women discover how life and close relationships�like quilting�require patience and time.

Wealthy, newly widowed Miss Julia uses her razor-sharp wit and proper southern manner as barriers to presumption. But the arrival of a woman who claims her child is the son of Miss Julia�s husband is just too much�until the little boy charms his way into her heart. Miss Julia�s story continues in several humorous sequels.

Dr. Abyssinia Jackson nurtures and heals the citizens of a small Oklahoma African-American community in this graceful and lyrical story. National Book Award winner Thomas masterfully blends pathos and humor in a tale of a community where honesty, faith, and forgiveness reign.

Flagg�s sprawling, old-fashioned novel about postwar America is filled with her distinct brand of humor and compassionate warmth. Introduced to an appealing, amusing cast of characters, including Neighbor Dorothy and mortician Cecil Figgs, the reader is drawn into the beguiling world of their small Missouri town.

An abandoned baby makes strange bedfellows of the sour old matriarch of a large estate and the ex-con who is her handyman. The child awakes unimagined pleasure and personal reflection in them both as they find common ground and mutual interest in baby Faith�s future.

In this poignant story of romance, heartbreak, and second chances, an American art student marries a handsome Italian and lives a fairy tale life until his infidelity taints their marriage. Then a handsome American moves next door, and romance blossoms. But dare she risk losing her beloved son to follow her heart?

A lost bus full of English tourists wanders into a small Italian village where a lovable rascal has recently returned from America and a mischevious childhood prank concocted by him and some friends is about to be resurrected. Humorous, romantic, and absolutely enchanting.