"The beloved New York Times bestselling author reflects on home, family, friendships and writing in this deeply personal collection of essays."-- ""Any story that starts will also end." As a writer, Ann Patchett knows what the outcome of her fiction will be. Life, however, often takes turns we do not see coming. Patchett ponders this truth in these wise essays that afford a fresh and intimate look into her mind and heart. At the center of These Precious...

Sunshine State offers a unique look at Florida, a state whose economically and environmentally imperiled culture serves as a lens through which we can examine some of the most pressing issues haunting our nation.

On vacation from school, Denis goes to stay at Crome, an English country house inhabited by several of Huxley's most outlandish characters from Mr. Barbecue-Smith, who writes 1,500 publishable words an hour by "getting in touch" with his "subconscious," to Henry Wimbush, who is obsessed with writing the definitive History of Crome. Denis's stay proves to be a disaster amid his weak attempts to attract the girl of his dreams and the ridicule he endures...

The Toilers of the Sea tells of the reclusive Guernsey fisherman Gilliatt, who salvages the engines of a wrecked ship by performing great feats of engineering, matching wits with sea and storm, and doing battle with a great sea monster - all to win the hand of a shipowner's daughter.

For more than a decade, minister Analiese Wagner has felt privileged to lead her parishioners along a well-lit path. Her commitment has never been seriously tested until the frigid night she encounters a homeless family huddling in the churchyard. Offering them shelter in a vacant parish house apartment and taking teenage Shiloh Fowler-a girl desperate to rescue her parents-under her wing, she tests the loyalty and faith of her congregation. Isaiah...

"'2 CHILDREN FOR SALE' The sign is a last resort. It sits on a farmhouse porch in 1931, but could be found anywhere in an era of breadlines, bank runs and broken dreams. It could have been written by any mother facing impossible choices. For struggling reporter Ellis Reed, the gut-wrenching scene evokes memories of his family's dark past. He snaps a photograph of the children, not meant for publication. But when it leads to his big break, the consequences...

Collection of essays and stories written by Indiana authors.

Written before his masterpiece Peter Pan, J. M. Barrie's novel Sentimental Tommy grapples with a number of the same themes that the author would later so memorably enshrine in his best-known work. Both feature a central character who clings to the vestiges of youth and refuses to grow up -- often with dire consequences.