Rural Life

Books bring them together - but friendship will transform all of their lives. Five very different women come together in the Northern Territory of the 1970s, by an exceptional new Australian author. In 1978 the Northern Territory has begun to self-govern. Cyclone Tracy is a recent memory and telephones not yet a fixture on the cattle stations dominating the rugged outback. Life is hard, and people are isolated. But they find ways to connect.

A powerful, thought-provoking novel about two sisters who must reclaim themselves after their lives are dramatically upended. Alison Donnelly has suffered for love. Still stuck in the small Northern Irish town where she was born, working for her father's real estate agency, she hopes to pick up the pieces and get her life back together. Her sister Liz, a fiercely independent college professor who lives in New York City, is about to return to Ulster for Alison's second wedding.

Nell'estate del 1999 un nonno e un nipote si incontrano per la prima volta, dopo che una lunga serie di incomprensioni li ha tenuti distanti. Il nonno, ebreo, nato il diciassette novembre 1938, giorno in cui in Italia vengono promulgate le leggi razziali, ha trascorso la propria vita senza sentirsi autorizzato a esistere. Andato in pensione al termine di una brillante carriera come consulente, si ritira nella borgata di montagna dove durante la guerra si era rifugiato con la sua famiglia e dove vuole morire.

This is the story of the trials that beset the McKinnons, the first family of Mattagash, Maine, when they try to arrange a funeral for the family matriarch. Bubbling with quirky humor, this marks a dazzling debut for a gifted and richly talented young writer.

For 20 years, Celia Scott has watched her husband, Arthur, hide from the secrets surrounding his sister Eve’s death. As a young man, Arthur fled his small Kansas hometown, moved to Detroit, married Celia, and never looked back. But when the 1967 riots frighten him even more than his past, he convinces Celia to pack up their family and return to the road he grew up on, Bent Road, and that same small town where Eve mysteriously died.

The summers spent at Roseland, the sprawling ancestral home of her best friend, Eloise, were among the happiest of Cathy's life. Tucked away on the Cornish coastline and brimming with history, Roseland seemed to belong to another century. Cathy has barely been back since Eloise's death a decade ago. So she is shocked when Jack, the love of Eloise's life and father of her children, announces that he is getting married, and that the wedding will take place at Roseland.

Anna and Matt Butler were childhood sweethearts with a dream of owning their own land, a dream they achieved through hard work and determination. But as the seasons conspire against them and Matt is involved in a terrible accident, the couple face financial ruin and the loss of their farm. As they fight for everything they hold dear, they suddenly find themselves caught up in events much bigger and more dangerous than they could ever have imagined.

Gordon and Maxine's dreams of a blissful life of gardening, pub lunches and quiet retirement in the charming market town of Little Woodford are ruined when three very demanding members of their family come home. First up is daughter Abi and her unassuming partner Marcus. Abi is determined to move back to Little Woodford and only the perfect house will do. What could be better than parking with Mum and Dad, while she drives local estate agents and builders mad? Then comes Judith, Maxine's high-flying sister. A crisis has driven her, sobbing, to Little Woodford.

After the untimely death of their biological father, triplets Eva, Rosa and Hannah find themselves the unlikely owners of Heatherly Hall, the vast manor house overlooking their home village of Westenbury. But the beautiful house comes with almost as much baggage as it does land, not least high running costs and expectations. It's up to the sisters to find a way to keep Heatherly Hall going and, most importantly, in the family. But with drama in their private lives and secrets about to emerge, can the sisters stick together to focus on the task at hand?

Spring has arrived at The Potting Shed and things seem to finally be going Maddie's way. Her relationship with lovable lawyer Ed is going well and the business is thriving with the help of her new friend Jo and his bright orange coffee van. But troubles are just around the corner... the upgrade of The Potting Shed from a nursery to a garden centre is at a critical point, turning part of Maddie's business into a building site. And just as she has to temporarily move out of her home, a major garden centre announces its grand opening only twenty miles away.

Wendell Combs is as local as they come. Born and raised in the small town of Saybrook, Connecticut, his venture into the larger world was met with heartbreak. Now, middle-aged and a confirmed bachelor, he seeks solitude from his tour of duty as a soldier back in his hometown, working as head caretaker for wealthy Alan Lancaster’s forty-acre estate, White Pines, a place he has come to love for its beauty, peace, and quiet.

Als ihr wohlgeordnetes Leben ins Wanken gerät, flüchtet Alina aus dem hektischen Frankfurt zu dem einzigen Menschen, der ihr einfällt: ihr Großvater, der in einem kleinen brandenburgischen Dorf lebt. Seit achtzehn Jahren hat sie keinen Kontakt mehr zu ihm. Der alte Mann wohnt allein in einem viel zu großen, renovierungsbedürftigen Haus am Waldrand. Er hält Hühner, pflegt den Garten, backt Brot, beobachtet Biber – und nimmt seine Enkelin bei sich auf, ohne viele Fragen zu stellen.

When three women are thrown together by unusual circumstances, ruffled feelings are just the beginning. A wise, sharply observed celebration of the life-changing power of female friendships.

Health and well-being brought Olive, Elsie, and Bree together. After five years, their bustling wellness center is demanding expansion. A beautiful federation house nestled among the picturesque backdrop of their small town is the perfect place to grow their business. But they don't count on their personal lives getting in the way. Practical and pragmatic, Olive keeps her past hidden from her friends. But when an old high-school flame shows up, the secrets she's worked so hard to bury threaten to tear her carefully constructed world apart.

It’s the late 1980s, and Matthew Carnap is awake most nights, afflicted by a potent combination of insomnia and undiagnosed ADHD. Sometimes he gazes out his bedroom window into the dark; sometimes he wanders the streets of his small Southern Minnesota town. But more often than not, he crosses the hall into his stepfather Russ’ roller rink to spend the sleepless hours lost in music. Russ’s record collection is as eclectic as it is extensive, and he and Matthew bond over discovering new tunes and spinning perfect skate mixes. Then Matthew’s mother divorces Russ.

On the surface Natasha and Mitchell live an idyllic life in the Adelaide Hills with their two daughters and kelpie cross. While both have busy careers, they ensure time is spent with family and friends. Natasha, an aspiring interior designer, has started her own homewares shop and is excited to develop her business further. Mitchell, on the other hand, is becoming more withdrawn. Is he pressured by work, having a mid-life crisis or hiding something from his family?

Janet and Hywel Griffiths dream of seeing their son Frank happily married, but Mair, the daughter of the local police constable, does not seem to be the wisest choice. And anyway, she is far more interested in the secretive Carl Rees, who refuses to even be seen with her in public. Elsewhere in Pendragon Island, Jennie Francis must rethink her life as she is forced to say goodbye to her business and her marriage. All she ever wanted was to run a successful shop, but now she will have to start again. How can she manage if she is completely alone?

After almost 40 years in New Jersey, Catherine, Ralph, and their beloved Boston terrier, Karma, are hitting the road, relocating to a gorgeous, serene island off the coast of Savannah, Georgia, where Catherine can work on her backhand and Ralph can hit the links. But upon their arrival in the Seven Oaks gated community, it becomes apparent that Catherine and Ralph's visions of retirement couldn't be more different. While Catherine is intrigued by their quirky neighbors, Ralph's golf-and-poker routine is interrupted only by his flirtations with their real estate agent.

It's the summer of 1982 in Blacksburg, Virginia - seven years after the suspicious death of a son and sibling - and the Sobel family is hungry. Francie dresses in tennis skirts and ankle socks and weighs her grams of allotted carrots and iceberg lettuce. Her semi-estranged husband, Tate, prefers a packed fridge and hidden doughnuts. Daughters Enid, 10, and Vivvy, almost 13, are subtler versions of their parents, measuring their summer vacation by meals had or meals skipped. But at summer's end, secrets both old and new emerge.

Welcome to the quirky town of Cherico, Mississippi, where potluck meetings at the local library provide a feast for mind and stomach alike. . .If some folks had their way, the Cherico library would have shut down long ago. Councilman Durden Sparks aims to divert funding to a cause dear to his heart - and his wallet.