Thursday, September 10, 2015

October's Book

The Residence
By Kate Andersen Brower

A remarkable history with elements of both In the President’s Secret Service and The Butler, The Residence offers an intimate account of the service staff of the White House, from the Kennedys to the Obamas.
America’s First Families are unknowable in many ways. No one has insight into their true character like the people who serve their meals and make their beds every day. Full of stories and details by turns dramatic, humorous, and heartwarming, The Residence reveals daily life in the White House as it is really lived through the voices of the maids, butlers, cooks, florists, doormen, engineers, and others who tend to the needs of the President and First Family.
These dedicated professionals maintain the six-floor mansion’s 132 rooms, 35 bathrooms, 28 fireplaces, three elevators, and eight staircases, and prepare everything from hors d’oeuvres for intimate gatherings to meals served at elaborate state dinners. Over the course of the day, they gather in the lower level’s basement kitchen to share stories, trade secrets, forge lifelong friendships, and sometimes even fall in love.
Combining incredible first-person anecdotes from extensive interviews with scores of White House staff members—many speaking for the first time—with archival research, Kate Andersen Brower tells their story. She reveals the intimacy between the First Family and the people who serve them, as well as tension that has shaken the staff over the decades. From the housekeeper and engineer who fell in love while serving President Reagan to Jackie Kennedy’s private moment of grief with a beloved staffer after her husband’s assassination to the tumultuous days surrounding President Nixon’s resignation and President Clinton’s impeachment battle, The Residence is full of surprising and moving details that illuminate day-to-day life at the White House.

Thursday, July 30, 2015

September's Book

The Forgotten Garden
By Kate Morton
From the #1 internationally bestselling author of The House at Riverton, a novel that takes the reader on an unforgettable journey through generations and across continents as two women try to uncover their family’s secret past 
A tiny girl is abandoned on a ship headed for Australia in 1913. She arrives completely alone with nothing but a small suitcase containing a few clothes and a single book—a beautiful volume of fairy tales. She is taken in by the dockmaster and his wife and raised as their own. On her twenty-fi rst birthday, they tell her the truth, and with her sense of self shattered and very little to go on, "Nell" sets out to trace her real identity. Her quest leads her to Blackhurst Manor on the Cornish coast and the secrets of the doomed Mountrachet family. But it is not until her granddaughter, Cassandra, takes up the search after Nell’s death that all the pieces of the puzzle are assembled. A spellbinding tale of mystery and self-discovery, The Forgotten Garden will take hold of your imagination and never let go.

May's Book


The Light Between Oceans
By ML Steadman
The years-long New York Times bestseller soon to be a major motion picture from Spielberg’s Dreamworks that is “irresistible…seductive…with a high concept plot that keeps you riveted from the first page” (O, The Oprah Magazine).

After four harrowing years on the Western Front, Tom Sherbourne returns to Australia and takes a job as the lighthouse keeper on Janus Rock, nearly half a day’s journey from the coast. To this isolated island, where the supply boat comes once a season, Tom brings a young, bold, and loving wife, Isabel. Years later, after two miscarriages and one stillbirth, the grieving Isabel hears a baby’s cries on the wind. A boat has washed up onshore carrying a dead man and a living baby.

Tom, who keeps meticulous records and whose moral principles have withstood a horrific war, wants to report the man and infant immediately. But Isabel insists the baby is a “gift from God,” and against Tom’s judgment, they claim her as their own and name her Lucy. When she is two, Tom and Isabel return to the mainland and are reminded that there are other people in the world. Their choice has devastated one of them.

April's Book

My Name Used to be Muhammad
By Tito Momen with Jeff Benedict
Tito Momen was raised Muhammad Momen. He was born in Nigeria and taught to observe the strict teachings of Islam. Beginning at age five he woke at 4:45 every morning to attend the mosque and perform dawn prayer with the other men in his village. He began training to memorize the Qur an at age six by copying the entire Qur an word for word. He was being raised to become a leader among clerics, capable of leading a jihad, or holy struggle, to convert nonbelievers to Islam. But Tito s path took an unexpected turn when he was introduced to Christianity. His decision to believe in Jesus Christ cost him his family and his freedom. Tito thought he would spend his remaining days enduring a life sentence in an uncivilized Egyptian prison. For fifteen years he suffered and waited and prayed. Tito says, I never gave up hope. I never stopped believing. Although he was falsely imprisoned, beaten, and ridiculed, Tito s remarkable true story is one of faith, forgiveness, and testimony that God does hear and answer prayers.

Friday, February 27, 2015

March's Book

The Real Mormon Housewife
by Kira-Jen Zundel Molifua Adolpho


The Real Mormon Housewife: Uncensored is the tell all of recent history. Kira’s absolute-truth approach to openly discussing her life experiences will both uplift and inspire women around the world. Kira isn’t just a party girl; she is a devout member of the LDS church. Some readers might find her approach to be “too honest.” Although the content is appropriate for Sheri Dew’s audience, it is meant to push the envelope for LDS authors. Kira candidly takes on the difficult subjects of marriage, finances and sensuality. Her anecdotes will make you laugh, cry and even blush. The Great Recession had a devastating impact on Kira and her so called perfect life. One day she was on top of the world making big plans for the future, the next day it seemed she was staring at the cold reality of bankruptcy, and worse…divorce. Through a monumental trial of her faith, she finds ways to keep the pieces of her life together. Today she is smiling and stronger than ever.

Monday, January 19, 2015

February Book

A Greater Tomorrow
by Julie Rowe


In 2004, Julie Rowe was a happy wife and mother. Then her health took a turn for the worse. While in a weakened state, her spirit left her body and entered the Spirit World. An ancestor named John greeted her and showed her many wonderful places there. He also allowed her to read from the Book of Life, which showed her a panorama of the earth s past, present, and future.
Julie saw the lives of many historical figures, such as Adam and Eve, Enoch, Noah, and Moses. She witnessed the Savior s mortal life, including his crucifixion and resurrection. She also saw the restoration of the Church of Jesus Christ through the prophet Joseph Smith, and key events that have led to the Church s growth.
Then Julie was shown upcoming world events that will be both tragic and glorious. She saw earthquakes, tsunamis, famines, plagues, and wars, but she also witnessed how the Lord is watching over His people and is preparing places of refuge to protect them from the coming calamities. Julie was filled with joy as she saw the Saints establish the New Jerusalem and other Cities of Light in preparation for the Savior s Second Coming.
Prior to her return, she was told that at a future time she would be expected to tell others about her experience. That time has come.  As you read Julie's experience, your life will be changed as you feel the Lord's love and concern for each of us.

January Book

The Harbinger
by: Jonathan Cahn

Is it possible... 
That there exists an ancient mystery that holds the secret of America's future?
That this mystery lies behind everything from 9/11 to the collapse of the global economy?
That ancient harbingers of judgment are now manifesting in America?
That God is sending America a prophetic message of what is yet to come?

Before its end as a nation, there appeared in ancient Israel nine specific warnings and omens of national destruction – These same nine Harbingers are now manifesting in America with profound ramifications for America’s future and end-time prophecy.

Hidden in an ancient biblical prophecy from Isaiah, the mysteries revealed in The Harbinger are so precise that they foretell recent American events down to the exact days… the 3,000-year-old mystery that revealed the exact date of the stock market collapse of 2008… the ancient prophecy that was proclaimed from the floor of the US Senate and then came true…and more. The revelations are so specific that even the most hardened skeptic will find it hard to put down. Though it sounds like the plot of a Hollywood thriller – IT’S REAL.

The prophetic mysteries are factual but revealed through a riveting narrative the reader will find hard to put down. The Harbinger opens with the appearance of a man burdened with a message he has received from a mysterious figure called The Prophet. The Prophet has given him nine seals, each containing a message about America s future. As he tells of his encounters with the Prophet, from a skyscraper in New York City, to a rural mountaintop, to Capitol Hill, to Ground Zero, the mystery behind each seal is revealed. As the story unfolds, each revelation becomes another piece in a larger and larger puzzle, the ramifications of which are, even now, altering the course of America and the world.