An Indie Next List Pick for FebruaryLiterary Hub: 15 Books You Should Read This JanuaryIf you're looking for a parenting book, this is not it. This is not a treatise on how to be a mother.This is a book about a young girl who moves to a new town every couple of years; a misfit teenager who finds solace in a local music scene; an adrift twenty-something who drops out of college to pursue her dream of making cheesecake on a stick a successful business franchise (ah, the ideals of youth). Alone in a new city, she summons her inner strength as she holds the hand of a dying stranger. Davies is a woman who finds humor in difficult pregnancies and post-partum depression (after reading "Pie" you might never eat Thanksgiving dessert the same way). She is a divorcee who unexpectedly finds second love. She is a happily married suburban wife who nevertheless makes a mental list of all the men she would have slept with. And she is a parent who finds herself...

When the Americans make an offer to buy Icelandic land to build an atomic war base, a storm of protest is provoked throughout the country, and it is here that Laxness finds the catalyst for his story. Told by a country girl from the north, the novel follows her experiences upon taking up employment as a maid in the house of her Member of Parliament. She finds herself in a world very different to that of her upbringing and, marvelling at the customs and behaviour of the people around her, she emerges as the one obstinate reality in a world of fantasy. Her observations and experiences expose the intellectual society of the south as rootless and shallow and in stark contrast to the ancient culture of the solid and less fanciful north. The colourful, yet at times dark, cast of characters she meets personifies the southern fantasy world. In this black comedy Laxness has painted a masterpiece of social commentary as relevant today as when it was first written in 1948.

A Dime Novel short ~ Widow Angela Bentley takes in injured Nick Dalton and three orphans on Christmas Eve. She is determined only to lend a hand where needed. But when the children drag in a scraggly Christmas tree, Angela finds herself wanting to create a memorable holiday for them. Can they become the family she longs for? For those who believe in miracles, anything is possible – even true love.

Taliban plans to start a war between China and America fuel this Romantic Suspense tale: After her brother’s death, medical student Khadija Siddidiqui returns to Afghanistan to help her father, only to find herself torn between her faith and her attraction to Michael Bellis—a man who can be nothing but her mortal enemy. But only working together can they avert the looming conflict.

I blink into awareness in a clinically clean hallway, surrounded by tangerine-garbed murderers and psychopaths. I have no idea who I am or why I'm a part of this Hell-bound group. A guard in riot gear hands me a Ruger double-action revolver. I'm told if I can make it through the no-man's-land alive, I might have a chance at amnesty. All I have to do is trek the two-hundred-and-fifty miles north...

Can a woman run a ranch on her own? Emily Nixon is determined to prove that she can, even if it means resorting to violence. She arranges for a man to get rid of a troublesome neighbor by blowing up his house. Emily has taken a liking to the handsome new man in Walkers Creek. She doesn’t realize that he’s the man she’s trying to have killed. Will she find out before it’s too late?

To: You (you)From: Human Resources (human.resources@thenyjournal.com)Subject: This BookDear Reader,This is an automated message from the Human Resources Division of the New York Journal, New York City's leading photo-newspaper. Please be aware that according to our records you have not yet read this book. What exactly are you waiting for? This book has it all: Humor Romance Cooking tips Great Danes Heroine in peril Dolphin-shaped driftwood sculpturesIf you wish to read about any of the above, please do not hesitate to head to the checkout counter, where you will be paired with a sales associate who will work to help you buy this book.We here at the New York Journal are a team. We win as a team, and lose as one as well. Don't you want to be on the winning team? Sincerely, Human Resources...

Science Fiction/Fantasy. 54680 words long.

Seventeen-year-old Riley Beckett is no stranger to prison. Her father is a convicted serial killer on death row who has always maintained that he was falsely accused. Riley has never missed a single visit with her father. She wholeheartedly believes that he is innocent. Then, a month before the execution date, Riley's world is rocked when, in an attempt to help her move on, her father secretly confesses to her that he actually did carry out the murders. He takes it back almost immediately, but she can't forget what he's told her. Determined to uncover the truth for her own sake, she discovers something that will forever change everything she's believed about the family she loves.