Reading Recommendations: If Wishes Were Horses, a novel, Robert Barclay.Wyatt Blaine desperately seeks a reason to continue. Devastated by the senseless deaths of his wife and son at the hands of a drunk driver, he remains unable to forgive, and to love again. Searching for a sense of peace, he decides to revive his late wife's equine therapy program for troubled teens at the Blaine Family Ranch. By honoring her memory in this way, he hopes to find the sense of closure that has long eluded him.But when Wyatts pastor asks for the impossible, for Wyatt to meet with Gabby Powers, the widow of the man responsible for Wyatt's unbearable sorrow. Wyatt knows Gabby is not to blame for the tragedy, so when she begs him to accept her troubled teenage son, Trevor, into the program, he reluctantly agrees. With some help and guidance from Ram, Wyatt's irascible and lovable father, Wyatt does his best to accept Gabby and Trevor's unsettling presence at the Ranch. Even so, Wyatt still feels that he is somehow betraying his late wife's memory rather than honoring it.But to his great surprise, Wyatt also finds himself drawn to Gabby's warmth, tenderness, and surprising ability to soothe his troubled soul. But to heal completely, Wyatt and Gabby must first overcome the common tragedy that separates them and learn the true nature of forgiveness. And only by conquering these seeming impossibilities might their hearts become free to love each other. This is quite a story!And, When Tito Loved Clara, a novel, Jon Michaud.Clara Lugo grew up in a home that would have rattled the most grounded of children. Brought to New York from a pastoral childhood in the Dominican Republic, she was raised in grim circumstances in northern Manhattan. Through brains and determination, she long ago slipped the bonds of her confining neighborhood and has since made a quiet life for herself with her American husband and young son in the suburbs of New Jersey. However, librarian Clara's desire for an existence as orderly as the Dewey Decimal System is constantly being thwarted by her hugely entertaining constellation of relatives who don't understand her gringa ways.When Tito Loved Clara is the story of what happens when Clara's past catches up with her, most notably in the character of Tito Moreno. Tito was Clara's handsome high school boy friend who seemed destined to remain in the old neighborhood while Clara went off to Cornell on a full scholarship. But now, fifteen years later, a series of coincidences throws these sweethearts back together. Tito still carries a torch for Clara, and she harbors a secret from all those years earlier. Their reacquaintance sets in motion an unraveling in both of their lives and reveals what the cost of assimilation, or the absence of it has meant for each of them.What an immensely, entertaining novel filled with wit, compassion, and suspense, marking the debut of a fine writer.And, Memoirs of a Geisha, a novel, Arthur Golden.A literary sensation and run away best seller, this brilliant novel (came out in 1997, made into a movie in 2005) presents with seamless authenticity and exquisite lyricism the true confessions of one of Japan's most celebrated geisha.In Memoirs of a Geisha, we enter a world where appearances are paramount; where a girl's purity is auctioned to the highest bidder; where women are trained to beguile the most powerful men; and where love is scorned as illusion. It is one unique and triumphant work of fiction, at once romantic, suspenseful and completely unforgettable! Part historical novel, part fairy tale.From the older book shelves.See you at Rylander