Reading Recommendations:

Home Song, A Cape Light Novel, Thomas Kinkade and Katherine Spencer -

If you drive along the New England coast, you will come to the charming village of Cape Light. It's the kind of place where neighbors help neighbors and people have the time to appreciate God's blessings everyday. Their lives are not without disappointment, even heartbreak. But there's something special about this town. And once you get there, you won't want to leave.

Mayor Emily Warwick can't remember the last time she let herself dream. That's something she did in her old life, when she allowed herself to hope. Now, her days are consumed by the responsibilities of her job and the incessant demands of her elderly mother. And then there's her younger sister, Jessica, who is about to walk down the aisle with a man their mother despises. Emily has two months to bring their mother around, but so far, even with their minister's support, her plan isn't working. And, it doesn't help that Emily is still mourning the husband she lost and wondering what happened to the baby she gave up for adoption 20 years ago. Sometimes she thinks it would take a miracle to fill the hole in her heart. But miracles do happen in Cape Light. You just have to close your eyes and believe in your dreams.

And, The Soloist, A Lost Dream, An Unlikely Friendship, and The Redemptive Power of Music, Steve Lopez -

When Steve Lopez sees Nathaniel Ayers playing his heart out on a two-string violin on Los Angeles' Skid Row, he finds it impossible to walk away. At first, he is drawn by the opportunity to crank out another column for the Los Angeles Times, just one more item on an ever-growing to-do list: "Violin Man." But what Lopez begins to unearth about the mysterious street musician leaves an indelible impression.

More than 30 years earlier, Ayers had been a promising classical bass student at Juilliard, ambitious, charming, and one of the few African-Americans, until he gradually lost his ability to function, overcome by a mental breakdown. When Lopez finds him, Ayers is alone, suspicious of everyone, and deeply troubled, but glimmers of that brilliance are still there.

From an impromptu concert of Beethoven's Eighth in the Second Street tunnel to a performance of Bach's Unaccompanied Cello Suites on Skid Row, the two men learn to communicate through Ayer's music. Lopez collects donated violins, a cello, even a stand-up bass and a piano with the hope that Ayers can be swayed to move off the streets, where everyday his well-being is threatened. Their bond takes tortuous turns as Lopez imagines he can change Ayer's life, finding him lodging, reconnecting him with his family, and taking him to Disney Concert Hall to meet a former Juilliard classmate. For each triumph, there is a crashing disappointment; yet, neither man gives up. And though it is Ayers he initially sets out to save, Lopez finds that his own life is profoundly changed. By turns gripping, moving, and inspiring, The Soloist is a story about unwavering commitment, artistic devotion, and the transformative magic of music.

And, Willow Springs, a Novel, Jan Watson -

Following a whirlwind courtship, 17-year-old Copper Brown finds herself living in the bustling city of Lexington, Kentucky, far away from her beloved mountain home, newly married to a man she barely knows. After running free on Troublesome Creek, Copper finds it difficult to adjust to city life and the demands of being a lady.

Her new husband, Simon Corbett, is a busy medical doctor with a thriving practice and little time for the young woman he swept away from her home and family. Only when she begins to help Simon with his practice does Copper start to feel at peace with her husband and her new home. But neither of them could predict the tragedy that will change their lives forever.

See you at Rylander!