Adult Fiction
Christmas in Painted Pony Creek by Linda Lael Miller.
Tessa Stafford will do anything for her daughter, Isabel...even stay on the run to protect Isabel from her narcissistic grandmother. But when her car breaks down in Painted Pony Creek, Tessa gets caught up in the warm embrace of the town and feels safe enough to build a home--and a life--for them both. Love is the last thing on her mind until rugged cowboy and lawyer Jesse McKettrick's sexy smile and easy way tempt her into imagining more. But can she trust this handsome stranger with her heart? When Tessa and her adorable daughter blow into town, Jesse McKettrick is smitten--by both the little girl and her beautiful mother. He's always wanted a family of his own. Maybe this Christmas, his wish will finally come true. But the walls around Tessa are impenetrable, and when Tessa's past threatens their newfound future--and the family he's come to love--Jesse won't let them go without a fight.
The Twelve Dogs of Christmas by Susan Wiggs.
Brenda Malloy wants nothing to do with Christmas ever again. Last year, Brenda and her husband rushed their beloved dog Tim to the emergency vet on Christmas eve. The good news: Tim survived after the vet cleared the obstruction--a pair of women's lace undies. The bad news: the undies were not Brenda's. A year after the breakup, Brenda has put her life back together. She's trained for a marathon, is writing a children's novel, and she's found purpose and healing as a volunteer with a dog rescue organization in Houston, Texas. The rescue partners with a program in Avalon, New York--a small, snowy town deep in the Catskills. Now Brenda is arranging the transport of rescued dogs from Houston to Avalon--just in time for a merry Christmas with their forever families. Brenda's friends worry about her driving a van two thousand miles with twelve dogs in crates, but she shrugs off their concern. How hard can it be? She knows the way, and she's just looking to escape the Christmas overload for a while. But a blinding snowstorm, an escaped mutt, and a life-saving encounter with Adam Bellamy--a single dad and paramedic--means Brenda has to stay in Avalon longer than she planned. As she drops off each precious pup at their new homes, some of the comfort and joy of the season begins to creep up on Brenda despite her determination to avoid the holidays. Perhaps you can bring Christmas into your heart after all...if you have the right furry friends to guide the way.
Bright Lights, Big Christmas by Mary Kay Andrews.
When fall rolls around, it's time for Kerry Tolliver to leave her family's Christmas tree farm in the mountains of North Carolina for the wilds of New York City to help her gruff older brother & his dog, Queenie, sell the trees at the family stand on a corner in Greenwich Village. Sharing a tiny vintage camper and experiencing Manhattan for the first time, Kerry's ready to try to carve out a new corner for herself. In the weeks leading into Christmas, Kerry quickly becomes close with the charming neighbors who live near their stand. When an elderly neighbor goes missing, Kerry will need to combine her country know-how with her newly acquired New York knowledge to protect the new friends she's come to think of as family, And complicating everything is Patrick, a single dad raising his adorable, dragon-loving son Austin on this quirky block. Kerry and Patrick's chemistry is undeniable, but what chance does this holiday romance really have?
Adult Non-Fiction
Behind the Seams by Dolly Parton & Holly George-Warren.
In Behind the Seams: My Life in Rhinestones, global superstar Dolly Parton shares, for the first time, the full story behind her lifelong passion for fashion, including how she developed her own, distinctly Dolly style, which has defied convention and endeared her to fans around the world. Featuring behind-the-scenes stories from Dolly Parton's life and career, and the largest reveal of her private costume archive, this gorgeously photographed book spotlights her most unforgettable looks from the 1960s to now. The sky-high heels, famous wigs, bold makeup, eye-catching stage clothes--she shares them all. Along the way, Parton discusses memorable outfits from her past, from the clothes her mother would sew out of feed sacks (including her "Coat of Many Colors") and the bold dresses and hairdos that shook up Nashville, to the bunny suit on the cover of Playboy, evening wear at Studio 54, costumes from her most famous film and TV roles, and the daring styles that continue to entertain and inspire today.
Putin by Philip Short.
Vladimir Putin is the world's most dangerous man. Alone among world leaders, he has the power to reduce the United States and Europe to ashes in a nuclear firestorm and has threatened to do so. He invades his neighbors, most recently Ukraine, meddles in western elections, and orders assassinations inside and outside Russia. His regime is autocratic and deeply corrupt. But that is only half the story. Unflinching, hard-hitting, and objective, Philip Short's biography gives us the whole tale, up to the present day. To the fullest extent anyone has yet been able, Short cracks open the strongman's thick carapace to reveal the man underneath those bare-chested horseback rides. In this deeply researched account, readers meet the Putin who slept in the same room as his parents until he was twenty-five years old, who backed out of his wedding right beforehand, and who learned English in order to be able to talk to George W. Bush. Vladimir Putin is wreaking havoc in Europe, threatening global peace and stability and exposing his fellow citizens to devastating economic countermeasures. Yet puzzlingly many Russians continue to support him. This book is essential reading for anyone who wants to understand the many facets of the man behind the mask that Putin wears on the world stage. Drawing on almost two hundred interviews conducted over eight years in Russia, the United States, and Europe and on source material in more than a dozen languages, Putin will be the last word for years to come.
Easy/Juvenile/Young Adult/Graphic Novel
What Can You Do with a Toolbox? by Anthony Carrino & John Colaneri. E
Using simple language, cousins Anthony and John introduce kids to tools and their uses. As their construction project grows, so does the number of kids helping. At the end, they reveal exactly what you can do with a toolbox: We can build a playground!
Club Kick Out! Into the Ring by Steph Mided. J GN
When the school principal cancels Sasha's gaming club, she's crushed--but not alone. Turns out theater, cosplay, and choir clubs are canceled too, and tons of kids are left without a space to let their creativity shine. Just when she thinks all hope is lost, a class project leads Sasha and her new friends somewhere they never expected--a local wrestling match--where costumes, secret identities, and catchphrases abound. It's there an idea is formed. Enter Club Kick Out! But not everyone is on board with this flashy new club, so when Sasha and her friends take their performances too far, trouble starts brewing. With friendships on the ropes and an unexpected injury in the ring, it looks like the end for these up-and-coming performers. Can Sasha and her friends make a comeback in time for Club Kick Out to give the school a match they'll never forget...or is this young club officially down for the count?
Brooke County Public Libraries Wellsburg (304) 737-1551 Follansbee (304) 527-0860