If you have lived on this earth for any bit of time, it's safe to say you have seen a worm before. Maybe you have seen one in a fruit or in the garden, on a plant or in the soil. That is usually where worms live, after all. And as you may know, our story is about a worm. But this worm is special. This little worm once lived inside a book. I know it sounds strange at first. "Do books have worms like apple?" you might ask. You see, when a book gets very old, small worms slowly start to eat its pages. They are called bookworms.
An inspiring true story about losing your place, finding your purpose, and building a community one book at a time. Wendy Welch and her husband had always dreamed of owning a bookstore, so when they left their high-octane jobs for a simpler life in an Appalachian coal town, they seized an unexpected opportunity to pursue thier dream. The only problems? A declining U.S. economy, a small town with no industry, and the advent of the e-book. They also had no idea how to run a bookstore. Against all odds, but with optimism, the help of their Virginian mountain community, and an abiding love for books, they succeeded in establishing more than a thriving business - they built a community. The Little Bookstore of Big Stone Gap is the little bookstore that could: how two people, two cats, two dogs, and thirty-eight thousand books helped a small town find its heart. It is a story about people and books, and how together they create community.
A Connecticut woman trades her smalltown bookshop for one in Paris in this charming contemporary romance for fans of The Holiday. When bookshop owner Sarah Smith is offered the opportunity for a job exchange with her Parisian friend, Sophie, saying yes is a no-brainer—after all, what kind of romantic would turn down six months in Paris? Sarah is sure she’s in for the experience of a lifetime—days spent surrounded by literature in a gorgeous bookshop, and the chance to watch the snow fall on the Eiffel Tower. Plus, now she can meet up with her journalist boyfriend, Ridge, when his job takes him around the globe. But her expectations cool faster than her café au lait soon after she lands in the City of Light—she’s a fish out of water in Paris. The customers are rude, her new coworkers suspicious, and her relationship with Ridge has been reduced to a long-distance game of phone tag, leaving Sarah to wonder if he’ll ever put her first over his busy career. As Christmas approaches, Sarah is determined to get the shop—and her life—back in order . . . and make her dreams of a Parisian happily ever after come true.
This book offers an excellent introduction to the mystery of God's call into ministry. Anyone who is struggling with a call, who doubts the call they have recieved, or are considering ministry as a vocation will benefit and be inspired by James Chatham's Is It I, Lord?.
The Berliners is a collection of stories revolving around three very different pairs of lovers who find each other at the wrong place and the wrong time. The place: Berlin, Germany. The time: three decades in the twentieth century, each with its own unique social and political implications. The tragedy of true love both found and forbidden cycles in each story. The question remaining to be answered during the course of each plot is whether or not our heroes will be able to overcome the obstacles of war, political division, and racism and finally arrive at both accepting themselves and being accepted by society in their unique time and place. The story of Heinrich and Paul follows their relationship from adolescence during compulsory attendance at a Hitler Youth program and on through their years of self-loathing as members of the Nazi Party and armed forces. The antiheroes of this story struggle to accept themselves and their sexuality while also battling the guilt and hypocrisy of their crimes and inhumanity under the Third Reich. During the 1970s, we witness the serendipitous affair between West Berliner Thomas Gaettens and East Berliner Marita Luettig. Their brief relationship spans the limits of the Berlin Wall and family obligation over personal indulgence. Our protagonists are faced with the difficult prospect of overcoming the barrier that stands between their two worlds. Their dangerous relationship is quickly enveloped in suspicion, fear, and hopelessness under the pressure of the authoritarian government and its powerful police force, the Stasi. Finally, the contemporary tale of Hilal and Peter recounts the turbulent love story of a young German student and Turkish girl from school. This story is based on true events that took place in Berlin in 2006. The conflicts that exist even today between the former guest-worker Turkish population of Germany and the native Germans is reflected in the couple’s confrontation against the conservative, religious views of Hilal’s father. In the final chapters of the novel, our three stories begin to intertwine in modern times. Berlin herself is perhaps the main character of the entire book, bearing witness to this recurring motif of lovers unable to find peace with each other in the capital. The reader is left to question why the universality of this theme seems to exist and reemerge throughout human history, particularly in the history of Berlin and Germany.
