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Reading Recommendations: The Jerusalem File, Joel Stone

Jerusalem, the most historic of cities, is seething with its legacy: the unhealed wound of a divided land, the futile attempt to determine the future by reenacting past injustices.

Except for that memorable period in France, Levin has been here for most of his adult life. Retired now from the security services, he lives alone a few streets away from his ex-wife, continents away from his children. With few friends and no avocation, he leads a self-contained existence. When an acquaintance asks him to take on the unexpected task to follow his wife and discover her lover, Levin agrees, persuaded by the opportunity to exercise his professional skills. Unlike suicide bombings, which strike him as incomprehensible, the assignment engages him as one that can be measured and possibly solved.

As Levin watches the woman, Deborah, he begins to assess her as a potential lover might. When the man her husband believes to be her paramour is murdered and Deborah, in desperation, turns to him with a surprising request, his own moral universe becomes as conflicted as the struggle between Arab and Jew for the fate of the fabled city.

And, Hometown Tales, Philip Gulley

In this sequel to his immensely popular best-seller Front Porch Tales, Quaker writer Philip Gulley envelops readers once again in a rare world of plain spoken and honest values. These tender stories of his life are gathered around the enduring themes of the great spiritual virtues: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self control. Each story reminds us how we long for such virtues in a world sorely in need of the love and hope they bring.

With his folksy style and rustic ear, Gulley treats his readers to a great variety of personalities, from the lovable to the eccentric, who make small towns fascinating. Readers will discover a simpler way of life, where things are less complicated and folks care for one another and are willing to do what is right, no matter the cost.

If the reader does choose this book, I refer you to pages 52-53. Believe me, you'll never forget what you read here.

And, The Career Chronicles, An Insiders Guide To What Jobs Are Really Like-The Good, The Bad, And The Ugly From Over 750 professionals, Michael Gregory

In this nuts and bolts guide, over 750 professionals speak candidly about "the good, the bad, and "the ugly" of two dozen popular professions.

Dispensing with romantic fantasies, real world professionals, from nurses and pharmacists to architects and attorneys speak of the day to day realities of their careers.

This valuable resource is filled with the open, personal insights and observations most students and career changers want and need to make informed decisions about what they do for the rest of their lives.

You Anne Rice readers out there! You might like to read Charlaine Harris's Dead Until Dark, The First Sookie Stackhouse Novel

This one involves rural Louisiana and is a lot more fun than Anne Rice-Just call this one a "Southern Vampire Detective Series" and take it very very lightly!

See you at Rylander!