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Between the Covers at Covered Treasures Bookstore Columns

Between the Covers at Covered Treasures Bookstore – Let’s get cooking!

By the staff at Covered Treasures

“The secret of success in life is to eat what you like and let the food fight it out inside.”—Mark Twain

Start the summer off with some fun cookbooks! Whether you are cooking for one person or for the whole family, here are some you will want to explore.

The Complete Cookbook for Teen Chefs: 70+ Teen-Tested and Teen-Approved Recipes to Cook, Eat and Share

By America’s Test Kitchen (America’s Test Kitchen Kids) $22

For the first time ever, America’s Test Kitchen Kids is bringing its rigorous testing, kitchen knowhow, and hands-on learning to teenagers in the kitchen. Fiercely independent and searching for culinary adventure, teen chefs are ready for exciting, global recipes made to share with friends and family—with the support of fundamental kitchen techniques and approachable instruction. This book is filled with over 70 recipes that have been tested and approved by thousands of teens from across the country.

Easy Weeknight Dinners: 100 Fast, Flavor-Packed Meals for Busy People Who Still Want Something Good to Eat

By Emily Weinstein (Ten Speed Press) $35

For busy people who want something good to eat, culinary powerhouse New York Times Cooking makes meal planning easy, with thousands of recipes to explore in the app. In Easy Weeknight Dinners, editor-in-chief Emily Weinstein has curated some of the greatest hits—100 favorite dishes that you can make in as little as 10 minutes. Whether you’re seeking a standout meal for one, crowd-pleasers for picky kids, or something special for company, Easy Weeknight Dinners offers versatile, flavor-packed meals for busy lives.

Super-Italian: More Than 110 Indulgent Recipes Using Italy’s Healthiest Foods

By Giada de Laurentiis (Rodale Books) $35

From the day Giada De Laurentiis started cooking professionally, her fundamental formula for making meals memorable has not changed: Good cooking = technique + ingredients + ambience. This same formula is the key to good health when you choose ingredients that promote wellness, cook them simply, and eat them joyfully. In her skillful hands, a pantry of Italian superfoods is the starting point to better health and longevity. By using carbs and fats mindfully and amplifying vegetables, lean proteins, and flavor-boosting superfoods at every meal, De Laurentiis shows how easy it is to eat like an Italian. With 100 stunning photographs of finished meals and their superfood components, De Laurentiis teaches us that when you start with truly excellent, minimally processed ingredients, simply prepared, you can have your pasta and eat it too!

Pretty Delicious: Simple, Modern Mediterranean, Served with Style

By Alia Elkaffas (Clarkson Potter Publishers) $33

This debut cookbook from social media sensations The Food Dolls, with more than 110 simply sophisticated, fresh, and vibrant dishes with a Mediterranean twist. Originally from Egypt and now living in the Midwest, sisters Alia and Radwa Elkaffas created their Food Dolls platform to answer the question of how to put an exciting and healthful meal on the table without spending hours in the kitchen. Fresh, streamlined, healthful, and proven family-friendly, Pretty Delicious will inspire you with dozens of ingenious ways to level up dinner.

Half Baked Harvest Quick & Cozy

By Tieghan Gerard (Clarkson Potter Publishers) $33

In her fourth cookbook, Gerard returns with a collection of more than 120 recipes that reflect the way she cooks now: simple ingredients, easy to get on the table, short on time yet big on flavor. This collection leans into the comfort food she’s known for, but with an eye toward getting it ready in a hurry. With many recipes doable in one pot or pan, most in under 45 minutes, and a more-is-more focus on flavor (but not ingredients), you’ll be feasting fast.

Cooking for One: Scaled Recipes, No-Waste Solutions, and Time-Saving Tips

By Kate Morton (Mariner Books) $20

Cooking for One helps you make cooking for yourself special without becoming a chore with unfussy yet utterly appealing meals that rely on ingredients you already have on hand. Taking care to prepare a meal for yourself is a different experience than cooking for others. It can be a fun, casual, and (of course) delicious affair, but there are challenges, from avoiding a fridge full of half-used ingredients to ending up with leftovers that become boring after the third reheat.

Until next month, happy reading.

The Covered Treasures Bookstore staff can be reached at books@ocn.me.

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Between the Covers at Covered Treasures Bookstore – Celebrating Poetry Month and Earth Day

By the staff at Covered Treasures

“If you truly love nature, you will find beauty everywhere”—Laura Ingalls Wilder

April is National Poetry Month. The first four books listed are by Colorado poets, and the first three authors will sign their books at Covered Treasures on April 5. We also recognize Earth Day in April with a few great titles.

Mountain: Go on a Grand Tour of the Highest Places on Earth (Earth’s Incredible Habitats)

By Jason Bittel (DK Publishing) $25

Young nature enthusiasts can learn all about the impressive mountains of the world through clearly labelled illustrations breaking down each one. Each of the four chapters covers a different type of mountain: plateaus, volcanoes, mountain ranges, and tepuis, with a selection of both famous and less-well known places. Every mountain or range is explored in detail, with intriguing information about its geography and flora and fauna alongside detailed photography. Marvel at the towering Matterhorn in the Alps, mountain goats scrambling across cliff faces in the Rockies, and the tiny sandwort flowers that bloom high up in the Himalayas.

The Search for Me: Poems

By M. E. Johnson (M.E. Publishing) $15

The Search for Me is a collection of 39 poems and a short story masquerading as a poem. Sections are broken out in themes consisting of existentialism, finding and losing oneself, love and loss of love, familial pain/love/loss, plus current affairs and opinions along with silliness thrown throughout. Each one to make you think, perhaps laugh, possibly cry, and often times all three. This is M.E. Johnson’s first book of poetry.

Daughter of Breath: Poems

By Grace E. Kelley (Synthesis Press) $18

Daughter of Breath is a timely voice calling those lost in the wilderness to grieve, heal, and reclaim their authentic voices. Born from the ache of deeply personal yet all too common experiences, the poems in Daughter of Breath will help you create space to name what aches; to grieve the harm that has been caused to you; to reclaim your divinely given identity as Beloved, just as you are; and to move into the world with the power, freedom, and joy that only come from being your whole self.

The Visible Speaking: Catching Light Through the Camera’s Eye

By Kathryn Winograd (The Humble Essayist Press) $25

The surprise gift of a camera during the COVID lockdown sent Kathryn Winograd on a journey through the intersections between written and visual images. The images in The Visible Speaking give rise to meditations on love and loss and beauty, and on the voices of those early explorers of the daguerreotype and the photograph who, dazzled and wary, learned to fix the world in light.

Shoreline of the Heart

By Joseph Murphy (Shanti Arts LLC) $13

A perfect volume for the seeker and philosopher, this third collection from poet Joseph Murphy offers impressionistic expressions of day-to-day experiences viewed through the spiritual lens of Zen Buddhism. “In such a place, to be / meant no longer being bound / to where or when.”

Hello, Earth!: Poems to Our Planet

By Joyce Sidman (Eerdmans Books for Young Readers) $19

From the molten cracks below to the shimmering moon above, Hello, Earth! explores the wonders of the natural world. This young reader’s book of imaginative poems will encourage boundless curiosity, with stunning paintings that capture the beauty of earth’s ecosystems, creatures, and powerhouse plants. The book concludes with extensive scientific material to foster further learning about how the earth works, from water cycles to plate tectonics to the origin of ocean tides.

The Twelve Trees: The Deep Roots of our Future

By Daniel Lewis (Avid Readers Press) $20

Scientists, ethnobotanists, indigenous peoples, and collectives of all kinds are closely studying trees and their biology to understand how and why trees function individually and collectively in the ways they do. Lewis takes us on a sweeping journey to plant breeding labs, botanical gardens, research facilities, deep inside museum collections, to the tops of tall trees, underwater, and around the Earth, journeying into the deserts of the American West and the deep jungles of Peru, to offer a globe-spanning perspective on the crucial impact trees have on our entire planet.

Until next month, happy reading.

The staff at Covered Treasures can be reached at books@ocn.me.

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Between the Covers at Covered Treasures Bookstore – March mystery madness

By the staff at Covered Treasures

“If I had a bookstore, I would make all the mystery novels hard to find.”—Demetri Martin

Check out the following titles for an engaging mystery.

Head Cases

By John McMahon (Minotaur Books) $28

FBI Agent Gardner Camden is an analytical genius with an affinity for puzzles. Gardner and his squad of brilliant, quirky agents make up the Patterns and Recognition (PAR) unit, brought in for cases that no one else can solve. When DNA links a murder victim to a serial killer long presumed dead, the team springs into action.

Presumed Guilty (Presumed Innocent No. 3)

By Scott Turow (Grand Central Publishing) $30

Rusty is a retired judge living in the rural Midwest with his wife, Bea. But the peace that’s taken Rusty so long to find evaporates when Bea’s son, Aaron, disappears. Aaron eventually turns up and his girlfriend is discovered dead. Aaron is arrested and set for trial on charges of first-degree murder. For Rusty, the question is not whether to defend Aaron, or whether the boy is in fact innocent—it’s whether the system to which he has devoted his life can ever provide true justice for those who are presumed guilty.

All the Colors of the Dark

By Chris Whitaker (Crown Publishing Group) $30

1975 is a time of change in America. The Vietnam War is ending. Muhammad Ali is fighting Joe Frazier. And in the small town of Monta Clare, Mo., girls are disappearing. When the daughter of a wealthy family is targeted, a most unlikely hero emerges. With a missing person mystery, a serial killer thriller, a love story, and a unique twist on each, Chris Whitaker has written a novel about what lurks in the shadows of obsession and the blinding light of hope.

The Oligarch’s Daughter

By Joseph Finder (Harper) $30

Paul Brightman is a man on the run, living under an assumed name in a small New England town with a million-dollar bounty on his head. When his security is breached, Brightman is forced to flee into the New Hampshire wilderness to evade Russian operatives who can seemingly predict his every move. Six years ago, Paul was a rising star on Wall Street who fell in love with a Russian oligarch, and the object of considerable interest from several U.S. intelligence agencies. Now, to save his own life, Paul must unravel a decades-old conspiracy that extends to the highest reaches of the government.

We Solve Murders

By Richard Osman (Pamela Dorman Books) $30

Steve Wheeler is enjoying retired life. He still does the odd bit of investigative work, but his days of adventure are over. Adventure is daughter-in-law Amy’s job now. Amy Wheeler thinks adrenaline is good for the soul. Working in private security, every day is dangerous. She’s currently on a remote island protecting mega-bestselling author Rosie D’Antonio, until a dead body and a bag of money mean trouble in paradise. As a thrilling race around the world begins, can Amy and Steve outrun and outsmart a killer?

Death in a Darkening Mist: A Lane Winslow Mystery (Lane Winslow Mystery No. 2)

By Iona Whishaw (Touchwood Editions) $20

On a snowy day in December 1946, Lane Winslow, a former British intelligence agent, is introduced to the local hot springs. While there, she is astonished to overhear nearby patrons speaking Russian. The investigation points to the Soviet Union, where Stalin’s purges are eliminating enemies. Her complicated relationship with the local police inspector is intensified by the perils of the case. It all comes to a frantic and shocking end with a perilous nighttime journey along treacherous snow-covered roads.

Night Watch

By Jayne Anne Phillips (Vintage) $18

In 1874, in the wake of the Civil War, 12-year-old ConaLee finds herself on a journey with her mother, Eliza, who hasn’t spoken in more than a year. They arrive at the Trans-Allegheny Lunatic Asylum in West Virginia. In the asylum, they get swept up in the life of the facility—the mysterious man they call the Night Watch; the orphan child called Weed; the fearsome woman who runs the kitchen; the remarkable doctor at the head of the institution. Epic, enthralling, and meticulously crafted, Pulitzer Prize-winning Night Watch is a stunning chronicle of surviving war and its aftermath.

Until next month, happy reading.

The staff at Covered Treasures can be reached at books@ocn.me.

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Between the Covers at Covered Treasures Bookstore – Books that showcase love

By the staff at Covered Treasures

“When we love, we always strive to become better than we are. When we strive to become better than we are, everything around us becomes better too”—Paulo Coelho

February is the time to feel the love. Check out these titles that offer a wide variety of ways for people of all ages to reflect on love as it relates to family, friendships, self, and/or community.

Publicity Stunt

By Bernadette Marie (5 Prince Publishing and Books) $20

Despite their on-screen chemistry, co-stars Graham and Christina share no love off-screen. When rumors surface in the entertainment media suggesting they’re romantically involved, their managers seize the opportunity to capitalize on the speculation, offering incentives to enhance their fake relationship. Graham and Christina reluctantly comply, but unexpectedly, their pretend romance evolves into genuine affection.

A Winter’s Wedding

By Sarah Dressler (5 Prince Publishing and Books) $18

While on assignment in Las Vegas, America Greene gets a surprise visit from her fiancé, Leo. Their whirlwind romance becomes part of the story when they accidentally get married. With a wicked winter storm bearing down, their flight home is canceled and they set off on a cross-country road trip, determined to make it back to home for their dream wedding. As the snow piles up and temperatures drop, will they make it home in time or will their plans be frozen in snow?

How to Love (Mindfulness Essentials No. 3)

By Thich Nhat Hanh (Parallax Press) $10

How to Love is a unique gift for those who want a comprehensive yet simple guide to understanding the many different kinds of love, along with meditative practices that can expand the understanding of and capacity for love. Appropriate for those practicing in any spiritual tradition, whether seasoned practitioners or new to meditation, How to Love includes meditations you can do alone or with your partner to go deep inside and expand your own capacity to love.

Time of the Child

By Niall Williams (Bloomsbury Publishing) $29

Doctor Jack Troy was born and raised in Faha, Ireland, but his responsibilities for the sick and the dying mean he has always been set apart from the town. His eldest daughter, Ronnie, has grown up in her father’s shadow and remains there, having missed one chance at love—and passed up an unsuitable offer of marriage. But in December of 1962 their lives are turned upside down when a baby is left in their care. As the winter passes, father’s and daughter’s lives, their understanding of their family, and their role in the community are changed forever.

Nate the Great and the Mushy Valentine

By Marjorie Weinman Sharmat (Yearling Books) $7

Nate the Great hates mushy stuff. But when he spies a big red paper heart taped to the outside of Sludge’s doghouse, Nate knows he must help out his favorite pooch. Who has left Sludge a secret valentine? This children’s book is a fun valentine read.

Share Your Love

By Susan B. Katz (Bala Kids) $19

A playful, rhyming book for kids ages 3-7 on how to send loving, kind thoughts to yourself and others to make the world a better place. This book teaches young readers that even from far away, you can wish others happiness, good health, peace, and safety. Starting with the individual child and extending outward to the whole universe, the rhyming couplets and beautiful art carry the reader through the thoughtful process of extending love and kindness to yourself and all those around you.

Guava and Grudges

By Alexis Castellanos (Bloomsbury YA) $20

This young adult romantic comedy is about two teens from rival Cuban bakeries who create a recipe for disaster when they start to fall for each other. This is a heartwarming story about falling in love with a future that is chosen rather than a future imposed by others. It’s a perfect combination of food, romance, and treachery.

Answers to Dog

By Pete Hautman (Candlewick Press) $18.99

This heartwarming book for middle-grade readers explores friendship like no other—and the universal truth that dogs make life better for some people, especially for underdogs. Narrated in alternating viewpoints, this relatable contemporary novel has classic coming-of-age themes and is a satisfying read for animal lovers.

Until next month, happy reading.

The staff at Covered Treasures can be reached at books@ocn.me.

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Between the Covers at Covered Treasures Bookstore Ring in the New Year with a Book

By the staff at Covered Treasures

“We will open the book. Its pages are blank. We are going to put words on them ourselves. The book is called Opportunity and its first chapter is New Year’s Day..” …Edith Lovejoy Pierce

The new year is a wonderful time to focus on health and self-care or to find inspiration. Take a look at these titles for 2025.

The Little Frog’s Guide to Self-Care: Affirmations, Self-Love and Life Lessons According to the Internet’s Beloved Mushroom Frog

By Maybell Eequay (Summersdale) $12

With its mushroom hat and endless collection of fabulous footwear, this adorable amphibian is here to be your new best friend. Whether you need an emotional boost, some friendly encouragement or an honest view on the world, the little frog will be your guide.

The Book of Joy: Lasting Happiness in a Changing World

By Dalai Lama & Desmond Tutu (Avery Publishing Group) $28

In April 2015, Archbishop Tutu traveled to the Dalai Lama’s home to celebrate His Holiness’s 80th birthday and to create what they hoped would be a gift for others. They traded intimate stories, teased each other continually, and shared their spiritual practices. This book offers us a rare opportunity to experience their astonishing and unprecedented week together, from the first embrace to the final good-bye.

Atomic Habits: An Easy & Proven Way to Build Good Habits & Break Bad Ones

By James Clear (Avery Publishing Group) $27

Atomic Habits offers a proven framework for providing practical strategies that will teach you exactly how to form good habits, break bad ones, and master the tiny behaviors that lead to remarkable results. The author draws on the most proven ideas from biology, psychology, and neuroscience to create an easy-to-understand guide for making good habits inevitable and bad habits impossible.

What to Cook When You Don’t Feel Like Cooking

By Caroline Chambers (Union Square & Co.) $35

This book is brimming with efficient recipes that take the guesswork out of dinner. The recipes are organized by the amount of time they take to cook, so whether you have 15 minutes to throw together something or a little bit more time on your hands, dinnertime is totally doable. Most importantly, these recipes include swaps, tips, shortcuts, and more to be sure they work best for you, helping you save money, improvise, and even learn a thing or two.

Priceless Facts about Money (Mellody on Money)

By Mellody Hobson (Candlewick Press) $20

This fun children’s book sheds a friendly light on a daunting subject, from the meteorites that created the first mineral deposits to the ancient Maya who used chocolate as currency to the beginnings of the banking system itself. Readers learn about bartering, profit and loss, the origins of credit, ATMs, and even fun facts about money around the world.

The Art of Active Listening: How People at Work Feel Heard, Valued, and Understood

By Heather R. Younger (Berrett-Koehler Publishing) $22

When employees, colleagues, and customers are not being heard, organizational culture, employee happiness, and overall organizational success will suffer. How well do you listen? Active listening is the doorway to increased belonging, loyalty, profitability, innovation, and so much more. It is the difference between thinking we understand what people want and knowing what they want. Want to build stronger relationships, avoid misunderstandings, and anticipate problems before they surface at work?

Red Birds in a Tree

By Valerie Shereck (Austin Macauley) $8

Red Birds in a Tree is a collection of poems written, over a span of many years, about a woman as she moves her way through life. It is about love, loss, sorrow, nature, beauty, aging, resilience, joy, family, and relationships. The broad range of topics in this thought-provoking collection by a Colorado author will appeal to many readers.

Stretching: 40th Anniversary Edition

By Bob Anderson (Shelter Publications) $27.99

Local author Bob Anderson’s book is always worth revisiting at the start of a new year. The benefits of stretching are bountiful, from increased blood flow and better range of motion to improved physical performance and decreased risk of injury. Step-by-step illustrations make this book user-friendly, and the section titled “Stretches for the Digital World” presents stretches for people using mobile phones and/or computers, as well as tips for better posture and stretches to do in an office environment.

Until next month, happy reading.

The staff at Covered Treasures can be reached at books@ocn.me.

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Between the Covers at Covered Treasures Bookstore – Great gift ideas

By the staff at Covered Treasures

“Kindness is like snow—it beautifies everything it covers”—Kahlil Gibran

Here are some books that would make wonderful winter reading (or a gift) for yourself or someone else!

Confronting the Presidents: No Spin Assessment from Washington to Biden

By Bill O’Reilly & Martin Dugard (St. Martin’s Press) $35

From Washington to Jefferson, Lincoln to Franklin Delano Roosevelt, Kennedy to Nixon, Reagan to Obama and Biden, the 45 United States presidents have left lasting impacts on our nation. Some of their legacies continue today, some are justly forgotten, and some have changed as America has changed. Whether famous, infamous, or obscure, all the presidents shaped our nation in unexpected ways. The authors’ extensive research has uncovered never before seen historical facts based on private correspondence and newly discovered documentation.

Elements of Marie Curie: How the Glow of Radium Lit a Path for Women in Science

By Dava Sobel (Atlantic Monthly Press) $30

A luminous chronicle of the life and work of the most famous woman in the history of science, and the untold story of the many young women trained in her laboratory that were launched into stellar scientific careers of their own. Sobel approaches Marie Curie from a unique angle, narrating her remarkable life of discovery and fame alongside the women who became her legacy.

The Grey Wolf (Chief Inspector Gamache Novel #19)

By Louise Penny (Minotaur Books) $30

Though the tiny Québec village of Three Pines is impossible to find on any map, someone has managed to track down Armand Gamache, head of homicide at the Sûreté, as he sits with his wife in their back garden. There is a missing coat, an intruder alarm, a note for Gamache reading “this might interest you,” a puzzling scrap of paper with a mysterious list and then a murder. All propel Chief Inspector Gamache and his team toward a terrible realization.

The Games Gods Plays (Crucible #1)

By Abigail Owen (Entangled: Red Tower Books) $30

The gods love to play with us mere mortals. And every hundred years, we let them. For the first time ever, the ruthless, mercurial King of the Underworld has entered the Crucible—the deadly contest the gods hold to determine a new ruler to sit on the throne of Olympus. But instead of fighting their own battles, the gods name mortals to compete in their stead.

Water, Water: Poems

By Billy Collins (Random House) $27

In this collection of 60 new poems, Billy Collins writes about the beauties and ironies of everyday experiences. In Water, Water, Collins combines his vigilant attention and respect for the peripheral to create moments of delight. Common and uncommon events are captured here with equal fascination, be it a cat leaning to drink from a swimming pool, a nurse calling a name in a waiting room, or an astronaut reciting Emily Dickinson from outer space. With lyrical informality, Collins asks us to slow down and glimpse the elevated in the ordinary, the odd in the familiar.

The Ambitious Kitchen Cookbook: 125 Ridiculously Good for You, Sometimes Indulgent, and Absolutely Never Boring Recipes for Every Meal of the Day

By Monique Volz (Clarkson Potter Publishers) $35

Millions of readers know Monique Volz’s website, Ambitious Kitchen, as a go-to resource for inventive, flavorful recipes that are full of nutrition, comfort, and personality. Now, in her debut cookbook, Monique wants others to find their own Ambitious Kitchen and discover their own version of health, bold flavors, and above all, the unique happiness that food can bring to your life. Whether you’re looking for a show-stopping dish to bring to a gathering, a new home-cooked tradition, or a nourishing meal everyone will love, this cookbook has the answers.

Farther than the Moon

By Lindsay Lackey (Roaring Book Press) $18

This is a heartfelt story about two brothers who want to become astronauts. When 13-year-old Houston is accepted to the Junior Astronaut Recruitment Program, he realizes that his younger brother Robbie’s dream may not be achievable due to his cerebral palsy and epilepsy, so he makes a new plan that shoots for the stars. This is an enchanting story about brotherly love and big dreams.

Merry Christmas! And until next year, happy reading!

The staff at Covered Treasures can be reached at books@ocn.me.

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Between the Covers at Covered Treasures Bookstore – New fall releases

By the staff at Covered Treasures

“Reflect upon your present blessings, of which every man has plenty; not on your past misfortunes, of which all men have some.”—Charles Dickens

Here are some gems that we picked up at the recent book trade show that are a great way to welcome in the Thanksgiving season.

Mrs. McPhealy’s American

By Claire McDougal (Sibylline Press) $20

The entire rural town of Locharbert is abuzz because a famous Hollywood director is moving in. Putting two failed marriages, three sons, and a drinking problem behind him, he embarks on a quest for the uncomplicated life of his ancestors in the home of his distant relative, Mrs. McPhealy. But from the start, the newcomer is eyed with suspicion. The secret life of Locharbert is about to tumble out.

Libby Lost and Found

By Stephanie Booth (Sourcebooks Landmark) $28

Libby Lost and Found is a book for people who don’t know who they are without the books they love. It’s about the stories we tell ourselves and the chapters of our lives we regret. Most importantly, it’s about the endings we write for ourselves. Libby is the author of the mega-best-selling fantasy series but is diagnosed with early-onset Alzheimer’s and turns to a young girl to help her finish the book. The conclusion will shock you.

The Hotel Balzaar

By Kate DiCamillo (Candlewick Press) $18

At the Hotel Balzaar, Marta’s mother cleans rooms. Meanwhile, Marta entertains herself, all the while dreaming of the return of her soldier father, who has gone missing. One day, a mysterious countess arrives and Marta begins to wonder: Could the secret to her father’s disappearance lie in the countess’s tales? Book two in a trio of novellas bound by place and mood—with elegant line art by Jâulia Sardáa.

Gather

By Kenneth M. Cadow (Candlewick Press), $18

Ian Gray isn’t supposed to have a dog, but he has adopted a puppy named Gather. An unforeseen tragedy results in Ian and his dog taking off on the run, trying to evade a future that would mean leaving their house and their land. Cadow’s resonant debut brings an emotional and ultimately hopeful story of one teen’s resilience in the face of unthinkable hardships.

Band People: Life and Work in Popular Music (American Music)

By Franz Nicolay (University of Texas Press) $30

This is a story about the other “band people” who are the anonymous but irreplaceable character actors of popular music. Through interviews and incisive cultural critique, writer and musician Franz Nicolay provides a portrait of the musical middle class. Artists talk frankly about their careers and attitudes toward their craft, work environment, and group dynamics. Band People gives voice to those who collaborate to create music and shows what it means to be a laborer in the culture industry.

Nose to Nose: A Picture Book

By Thyra Heder (Harry N. Abrams) $19

Toby is the new dog on the block but finds being new isn’t so easy. At least he finds a nice, smelly ball at the park. There’s just one problem: The ball actually belongs to another pup. Toby tries his best to explain his mistake, but his messages get misunderstood. This picture book by critically acclaimed author Thyra Heder playfully unveils the currents of communication happening all around us and champions the courage it takes to confront a problem “nose to nose.”

Dogpedia: A Brief Compendium of Canine Curiosities (Pedia Books #9)

By Jessica Pierce (Princeton University Press) $17

Dogpedia is your gateway into the astonishing world of dogs. This enticing, pocket-friendly collection helps you celebrate the amazing tapestry of our shared existence. With captivating drawings that bring the entries to life, Dogpedia uncovers the enigma of dogs, revealing hidden treasures behind every wagging tail.

Mother Aspen: A Story of How Forests Cooperate and Communicate

By Jessica Pierce (Princeton University Press) $17

In early spring, the Mother Tree wakens. Through the seasons and years, the Mother Tree shelters and feeds the other trees, the animals that make their home in the grove, and the fungi that make it possible for the trees to talk to each other. This story of symbiosis is richly illustrated by Crystal Smith and shows how the forest inhabitants thrive by working together.

Until next month, happy reading.

The staff at Covered Treasures can be reached at books@ocn.me.

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Between the Covers at Covered Treasures Bookstore – Book series for children and young adults

By the staff at Covered Treasures

“Let children read whatever they want and then talk about it with them. If parents and kids can talk together, we won’t have as much censorship because we won’t have as much fear.”—Judy Blume

These series books for children and young adults are a fun way to settle into the fall season and cooler temperatures.

Henry Hecklebeck and Heidi Hecklebeck series

By Wanda Coven (Simon & Schuster) $5.99

With easy-to-read language and illustrations on nearly every page, these two separate series of chapter books are perfect for beginning readers. Written by Colorado Springs author Wanda Coven, the Hecklebeck siblings find themselves in situations familiar to most first- and second-graders: playing soccer, camping, keeping a secret (or not!) with a little help from a magic spell from Heidi thrown in here and there.

Unicorn & Yeti

By Heather Ayris Burnell (Scholastic) $6

This series is part of Scholastic’s early reader line, Acorn, aimed at children who are learning to read. With easy-to-read text, a short-story format, plenty of humor, and full-color artwork on every page, these books will boost reading confidence and fluency.

Princess Truly

By Kelly Greenawalt (Scholastic) $5

These funny and empowering short stories of a lively, curious little girl promote believing in yourself, building confidence, and having a positive self-image. The target age group is 4-6. Each book features a “You Can Draw” page that provides an opportunity to learn how to draw a variety of items.

Mia Mayhem

By Kara West (Little Simon) $7

The Mia Mayhem chapter books are a witty, action-packed series about a regular girl who has a super-secret; she is a superhero-in-training who goes on adventures, and mishaps follow. This series is perfect for emerging readers (suitable for ages 5-9). Each page has easy-to-read language and graphic novel-style illustrations.

The Secret Explorers

By SJ King (Dorling Kindersley) $6.99

Each story in this fast-paced and fact-filled series is perfect for children age 7-9 who are into nature, science, technology, and adventure. The Secret Explorers—a band of brainiac kids from all around the world—take young readers on a series of fact-filled fictional adventures! From a moon mission to lost whales, each story ends with mission notes: facts about the mission, a short quiz, and a glossary of terms.

Island Trilogy

By Gordon Korman (Scholastic, Inc.) $8

Luke, J.J., Will, Lyssa, Charla, and Ian didn’t want to be on the boat in the first place. They didn’t want to be stuck at sea with a bunch of strangers. But when you’re in the middle of the deepest part of the Pacific Ocean, there’s no easy way out. And when a terrifying storm hits, it’s all about survival. But landing on an island isn’t as safe as one would think.

A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder

By Holly Jackson (Ember) $14

A pretty and popular high school senior was murdered by her boyfriend, Sal, who then killed himself. But Pip can’t shake the feeling that there was more to what happened that day. Now a senior herself, Pip decides to re-examine the closed case for her final project, at first just to cast doubt on the original investigation. But soon she discovers a trail of dark secrets that might actually prove Sal innocent. This series is suitable for ages 14 and up.

Skandar

By A F Steadman (Simon & Schuster Book for Young Readers) $19

Skandar Smith has spent years studying for the annual test that selects a handful of Mainlander 13-year-olds to train to become unicorn riders. But on the day of Skandar’s exam, things go horribly wrong, and his hopes are shattered—until a mysterious figure knocks on his door at midnight, bearing a message. Skandar is thrust into a world of epic sky battles, dangerous clashes with wild unicorns, and rumors of a shadowy villain amassing a unicorn army.

The Tripods

By John Christopher (Aladdin) $9

As his 13th birthday approaches, Will Parker expects to attend his capping ceremony and become connected to the Tripods—huge, three-legged machines that control all of Earth. But after an encounter with a strange homeless man, Will sets out for the White Mountains, where people are said to be free from the control of the Tripods. A classic alien trilogy targeted at ages 9-13.

Until next month, happy reading.

The staff at Covered Treasures can be reached at books@ocn.me.

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Between the Covers at Covered Treasures Bookstore – Celebrating women authors

By the staff at Covered Treasures

“If there’s a book you really want to read, but it hasn’t been written yet, then you must write it.”—Toni Morrison

Dive into these novels by local and international women authors. Some are debut novels that make us look forward to more to come.

Killer Chardonnay (A Colorado Wine Mystery #1)

By Kate Lansing (Berkley Books) $10

Parker Valentine has always dreamed of opening her own winery in her hometown of Boulder, Colo. But she gets more than she bargained for when a food and wine critic unexpectedly shows up on opening day. A negative review could be fatal for her business, and not only does he seem to hate her chardonnay, he also collapses and dies shortly after drinking it. Soon her winery is at the center of a social media firestorm. With #killerchardonnay trending online, Parker’s business is in danger of closing, and she has no choice but to investigate the murder herself.

The Housemaid

By Freida McFadden (Grand Central Publishing) $13

Every day the housemaid cleans the Winchesters’ beautiful house top to bottom. She collects their daughter from school and cooks a delicious meal for the whole family before heading up to eat alone in her tiny room in the attic. The housemaid can imagine what it’s like to live their life and tries on one of the white dresses in the wife’s closet. The wife finds out, but by the time the housemaid realizes that the attic bedroom door only locks from the outside, it’s far too late. The Winchesters don’t know who the housemaid really is, or what she is capable of.

A Novel Love Story

By Ashley Poston (Berkley Books) $19

Eileen Merriweather loves to get lost in a good happily-ever-after. She feels safe and at home in a book. Which might be why she’s so set on going to her annual book club retreat this year—she needs good friends, cheap wine, and grand romantic gestures. But when her car unexpectedly breaks down on the way, she finds herself stranded in a quaint town that feels like it’s right out of a novel. Somehow she’s here, in Eloraton, the town of her favorite romance series, where the candy store’s honey taffy is always sweet, the local bar’s burgers are always a little burnt, and rain always comes in the afternoon. It feels like home. It’s perfect—and perfectly frozen, trapped in the late author’s last unfinished story.

Tallgrass

By Sandra Dallas (St. Martin’s Griffin) $18

During World War II, a family finds life turned upside-down when the government opens a Japanese internment camp in their small Colorado town. After a young girl is murdered, all eyes (and suspicions) turn to the newcomers. Rennie Stroud has just turned 13 and, until this time, life has pretty much been what her father told her it should be: predictable and fair. But now Rennie will discover secrets that can destroy even the most sacred things. Part thriller, part historical novel, Tallgrass is a riveting exploration of the darkest—and best—parts of the human heart.

The Other Einstein

By Marie Benedict (Sourcebooks Landmark) $17

Marie Benedict’s The Other Einstein offers us a window into a brilliant, fascinating woman whose light was lost in Einstein’s enormous shadow. This novel resurrects Einstein’s wife, a brilliant physicist in her own right, whose contribution to the special theory of relativity is hotly debated. Was she simply Einstein’s sounding board, an assistant performing complex mathematical equations? Or did she contribute something more? Marie Benedict illuminates one pioneering woman in STEM, returning her to the forefront of history’s most famous scientists.

Homecoming

By Kate Morton (Mariner Books) $20

Adelaide Hills, Christmas Eve, 1959: At the end of a scorching hot day, beside a creek on the grounds of a grand country house, a local man makes a terrible discovery. Police are called, and the small town of Tambilla becomes embroiled in one of the most baffling murder investigations in the history of South Australia. An epic story that spans generations, Homecoming asks what we would do for those we love, how we protect the lies we tell, and what it means to come home.

Until next month, happy reading.

The staff at Covered Treasures can be reached at books@ocn.me.

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Between the Covers at Covered Treasures Bookstore – New fiction titles to round out your summer

By the staff at Covered Treasures

“Leaving any bookstore is hard, especially on a day in August when the street outside burns and glares, and the books inside are cool and crisp to the touch.”— Jane Smiley

These new fiction books are a wonderful way to round out the summer, whether outside basking in the sun or inside listening to the rain and rolling thunderstorms.

Bear

By Julia Phillips (Hogarth Press) $28

Sam and Elena are sisters, living on an island off the coast of Washington where they were born and raised. One night Sam spots a bear swimming the dark waters of the channel. When the bear turns up by their home, Sam, terrified, is more convinced than ever that it’s time to leave the island. But Elena responds differently to the massive beast. A story about the bonds of sisterhood and the mysteries of the animals that live among us—and within us, Bear is a propulsive, mythical, richly imagined novel from one of the most acclaimed young writers in America.

The Briar Club

By Kate Quinn (William Morrow & Co.) $29

This story takes place in Washington, D.C., in 1950. Everyone keeps to themself at Briarwood House, an all-female boardinghouse in the heart of the nation’s capital where secrets hide behind white picket fences. When a shocking act of violence tears the house apart, the Briar Club women must decide once and for all: Who is the true enemy? The Briar Club is an intimate and thrilling novel of secrets and loyalty put to the test.

 The Midnight Feast

By Lucy Foley (William Morrow & Co.) $30

It’s the opening night of The Manor, the newest and hottest luxury resort. Just outside The Manor’s immaculately kept grounds, an ancient forest bristles with secrets. And it’s not too long before the local police are called. Turns out the past has crashed the party with deadly results. Everyone’s got a secret. Everyone’s got an agenda. But not everyone will survive. This story is packed with twists and turns that are perfect for those who love a good murder-mystery.

A Death in Cornwall (Gabriel Allon No. 24)

By Daniel Silva (Puffin) $32

Art restorer and legendary spy Gabriel Allon has slipped quietly into London to attend a reception. But when an old friend from the Devon and Cornwall Police seeks his help with a baffling murder investigation, he finds himself pursuing a powerful and dangerous new adversary. Elegant and suspenseful, A Death in Cornwall is Daniel Silva at his best—a dazzling tale of murder, power, and insatiable greed that will hold readers spellbound until they turn the final page.

Sipsworth

By Simon Van Booy (David R. Godine Publisher) $27

Over the course of a single week in a small English village, a widowed octogenarian who has spent her last years alone discovers an unexpected reason to live. After living abroad for 60 years, Helen Cartwright returns to the English town where she was born. She buys a suburban house on Westminster Crescent and settles into a repetitive, reclusive existence. Three uneventful, lonely years later, Helen’s life takes a sudden turn when an unexpected guest arrives: a small, good-natured mouse. This book illuminates not only the sustaining friendship forged between widower and mouse but the reverberations of goodness that ripple out from acts of kindness.

By Any Other Name

By Jodi Picoult (Ballantine Books) $30

Young playwright Melina Green has just written a new work inspired by the life of her Elizabethan ancestor Emilia Bassano. But seeing it performed is unlikely in a theater world where the playing field isn’t level for women. In 1581, young Emilia is a ward of English aristocrats. But like most women of her day, she is allowed no voice of her own. She begins to form a plan to secretly bring a play of her own to the stage by paying an actor named William Shakespeare to front her work. Told in intertwining timelines, By Any Other Name is a sweeping tale of ambition, courage, and desire, told by two women who are determined to create something beautiful despite the prejudices they face. Picoult’s latest novel, rooted in historical sources, goes on sale Aug. 20.

 Until next month, happy reading.

The staff at Covered Treasures can be reached at books@ocn.me.

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Between the Covers at Covered Treasures Bookstore – Let’s go outdoors!

By the staff at Covered Treasures

“One benefit of summer was that each day we had more light to read by.—Jeannette Walls

July is the time for camping, swimming, cookouts, and enjoying a great book in the sun. Check out these titles to explore the trails, the stars, and/or to learn outdoor survival skills. The first two books listed are by authors that will be at the Bookstore in July to sign their books.

Exploring Colorado with Kids: 71 Field Trips + 142 Nature-Inspired Activities

By Jamie Siebrase (Falcon Press Publishing) $25

Travel journalists and local parenting experts Jamie Siebrase and Deborah Mock will guide you and your children through 71 incredible, in-state adventures. Get ready to discover nature centers, farms, outdoor history museums, art walks, hidden SUP spots, open-air theaters, story walks, and so much more. Each section includes a short section with action-item information on each site. This is an informative guide to discovering a variety of outdoor adventures that are a perfect fit for family weekends and getaways.

Best Hikes Colorado’s Front Range: Simple Strolls, Day Hikes, and Longer Adventures

By Abbie Mood (Falcon Press Publishing) $25

Best Hikes Colorado’s Front Range highlights the top trails from Fort Collins down to Colorado Springs. The book includes a variety of hikes in the Front Range of the Rocky Mountains for everyone from novice hikers to more experienced adventurers. Best Hikes Colorado’s Front Range offers 40 main hikes plus eight bonus hikes ranging in altitude from 5,000 to 14,000 feet—all within driving distance of Fort Collins, Denver, Boulder, and Colorado Springs. Inside you’ll find a wide variety of hikes, difficulty ratings, trail contacts, fees and permits, local information, easy-to-follow directions to the trailhead and detailed trail descriptions, mile-by-mile directional cues, and GPS-compatible trail maps.

101 Amazing Sights of the Night Sky: A Guided Tour for Beginners

By George Moromisato (Adventure Publications) $15

This guide by George Moromisato introduces you to 101 sights, from old favorites like Saturn’s famous rings to awe-inspiring wonders like the Andromeda Galaxy. Learn what to look for and when and where to find it. The sights are ranked by beauty, accessibility, and importance. The guide features at least one full-color photograph for each entry, including many from NASA. As an added bonus, the author’s astrophotography tips provide information about taking pictures of the night sky. This astronomy book is perfect for beginners, as many objects can be seen with the unaided eye or binoculars, while others simply require a small telescope.

Send a Ranger: My Life Serving the National Parks

By Tom Habecker (Falcon Press Publishing) $20

This book is the story of one park ranger’s journey from Gettysburg to Denali and back, raising a family, contending with bears, and rescuing hikers, in four national parks over more than 30 years. Interspersed with real-time journal entries, these reflective, engaging stories illustrate the real life of a national park ranger.

Death in Rocky Mountain National Park: Accidents and Foolhardiness on the Continental Divide

By Randi Minetor (Lyons Press) $19

Colorado’s Rocky Mountain National Park welcomes more than 4 million visitors every year, but this jewel of America’s parks has seen more than its fair share of deaths among its tourists. More than 70 people have perished attempting to climb Longs Peak, the park’s tallest mountain. Some vanished into the wilderness never to be found. Thousand-foot falls from high rock ledges, hypothermia, avalanches that bury climbers, lightning strikes, a historic flood, and even plane crashes are among the ways that park visitors have met a bad end.

Outdoor Skills for Kids: The Essential Survival Guide to Increasing Confidence, Safety, and Enjoyment in the Wild

By Buck Tilton & Christine Conners (Falcon Press Publishing) $17

This book offers over 100 important wilderness lessons including what to do when you get lost, how to respond to wild animals, basic first aid, and ways to stay positive in a survival situation. Outdoor Skills for Kids is loaded with fun facts, games, safety tips, and inspiring true stories of kids who used these same skills successfully in survival situations.

Until next month, happy reading.

The staff at Covered Treasures can be reached at books@ocn.me.

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Between the Covers at Covered Treasures Bookstore – Time for travel and adventure!

By the staff at Covered Treasures

“The purpose of life is to live it, to taste experience to the utmost, to reach out eagerly and without fear for newer and richer experience.”—Eleanor Roosevelt

June is the time to set out for travel adventures. Check out these books to get ideas of where to visit or simply find a cozy spot and travel in your mind. The first two authors will be signing their books at Covered Treasures this month.

Death Valley Duel (A National Park Mystery)
By Scott Graham (Torrey House Press) $18

When archaeologist Chuck Bender makes a stunning discovery of a century-old crime, he believes it may be related to a series of deadly accidents plaguing the Whitney to Death 150, the world’s toughest ultra trail-running race. While Chuck’s teenage stepdaughter races to win the competition, Chuck races to uncover the wicked intent lying behind the tragedies—before Carmelita becomes the next victim. Scott is an avid Colorado outdoorsman who enjoys backpacking, river rafting, skiing, and mountaineering.

Mystery in Rocky Mountain National Park: A Mystery Adventure in the National Parks (National Park Mystery #1)
By Aaron Johnson (Aaron Johnson Publisher) $14

Before Jake’s grandfather died, he entrusted a mystery to Jake, leaving behind a set of hidden codes, riddles, maps, and other clues that lead Jake and his friends on a scavenger hunt into the heart of Colorado’s wild and rugged Rocky Mountain National Park. Through twists and turns, the mystery unfolds while Jake, Amber, and Wes learn about survival skills, natural history, integrity, character, and friendship. With over 30 illustrations by the author, this page-turning adventure is designed to capture the imagination of even the most reluctant of young readers. Parents looking for a delightful read-aloud adventure will find it hard to put down.

Americana: Dispatches from the New Frontier
By Hampton Sides (Anchor Books) $19

For more than 15 years, Hampton Sides has traveled widely across the continent exploring the America that lurks just behind the scenes of our mainstream culture. In these two dozen pieces, Sides gives us a fresh, alluring, and at times startling America brimming with fascinating subcultures and bizarre characters who could live nowhere else. Following Sides, we crash the redwood retreat of a group of fabulously powerful military-industrialists, drop in on the Indy 500 of bass fishing, and join a giant techno-rave at the lip of the Grand Canyon.

Ask a Pilot: A Pilot Answers Kids’ Top Questions about Flying
By Justin Kelley (Bushel & Peck Books) $16

This juvenile nonfiction book addresses questions like “Why don’t planes hit each other in the sky? Do you start a plane with a key? Why do my ears feel funny?” In Ask a Pilot, author, pilot, and dad Justin Kelley puts kids at ease by answering 20 of their most pressing questions. With friendly language, simple explanations, and colorful illustrations, Ask a Pilot is the perfect handbook for aviation lovers and nervous flyers alike.

Travels with Charley: In Search of America
By John Steinbeck (Penguin Classics) $16

John Steinbeck set out, at the age of 58, to rediscover the country he had been writing about for so many years. With Charley, his French poodle, Steinbeck drives the interstates and the country roads, dines with truckers, encounters bears at Yellowstone and old friends in San Francisco. Along the way he reflects on the American character, racial hostility, the particular form of American loneliness he finds almost everywhere, and the unexpected kindness of strangers.

America’s National Heritage Areas: A Guide to the Nation’s New Kind of National Park
By Robert Manning (Globe Pequot Press) $25

There are 55 National Heritage Areas (NHAs) scattered across the U.S., and they continue to grow in number and diversity. Though they’re not officially national parks, their conservation, education, and recreation related objectives echo those of the national parks: to conserve nationally significant natural and cultural landscapes and to make them available to the public for purposes of education, recreation, and sustainable tourism-related economic development. Each chapter in this guidebook describes the remarkable natural and cultural resources that define NHAs and highlights nearby visitor attractions, enticing readers to visit NHAs and to enjoy and appreciate the attractions offered.

Until next month, happy reading.

The staff at Covered Treasures can be reached at books@ocn.me.

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Between the Covers at Covered Treasures Bookstore – Military history for Memorial Day

By the staff at Covered Treasures

“Those who stand for nothing fall for anything.”—Alexander Hamilton

May is the month to pay tribute to the men and women who have served in the U.S. military. It’s the perfect time to learn the history of the U.S. in relation to the wars we have fought.

Masters of the Air
By Donald Miller (Simon Schuster) $23

Masters of the Air is the deeply personal story of the American bomber boys in World War II who brought the war to Hitler’s doorstep. This is a story of life in wartime England and in the German prison camps, where tens of thousands of airmen spent part of the war. It ends with an account of the hunger marches that the captured airmen were forced to make near the end of the war through the country their bombs destroyed.

Valiant Women
By Lena Andrews (Mariner Books) $33

Valiant Women is the story of the 350,000 American women who served in uniform during World War II. These incredible women served in every service branch, in every combat theater, and in nearly two-thirds of the available military occupations at the time. They were pilots, codebreakers, ordnance experts, gunnery instructors, metalsmiths, chemists, translators, parachute riggers, truck drivers, radar men, pigeon trainers, and much more. They were directly involved in some of the most important moments of the war, from the D-Day landings to the peace negotiations in Paris.

The War to End All Wars
By Russell Freedman (Clarion Books) $12

This book for young readers illuminates the complex and rarely discussed subject of World War I: The tangled relationships and alliances of many nations, the introduction of modern weaponry, and top-level military decisions that resulted in thousands upon thousands of casualties all contributed to the “great war,” which people hoped and believed would be the only conflict of its kind.

What Was Pearl Harbor?
By Patricia Brennan Demuth (Penguin Workshop) $8

On Dec. 7, 1941, Japanese war planes appeared out of nowhere to bomb the American base at Pearl Harbor in Hawaii. It was a highly secretive and devastating attack: four battleships sunk, more than 2,000 servicemen died, and the United States was propelled into World War II. In a compelling, easy-to-read narrative, children will learn all about a pivotal moment in American history.

The Vietnam War
By Geoffrey Ward & Kenneth Burns (Vintage) $25

More than 40 years have passed since the end of the Vietnam War, but its memory continues to loom large in the national psyche. This book offers a fresh and insightful account of the long and brutal conflict that reunited Vietnam while dividing the United States as nothing else had since the Civil War. Most of the voices that echo from these pages belong to less exalted men and women—those who fought in the war as well as those who fought against it, both victims and victors—willing for the first time to share their memories of the war as it really was.

Colorado Women in World War II
By Gail M. Beaton (University Press of Colorado) $34

This book interweaves nearly 80 oral histories of World War II—including interviews, historical studies, newspaper accounts, and organizational records—and historical photographs (many from the interviewees themselves) to shed light on women’s participation in the war, exploring the dangers and triumphs they felt, the nature of their work, and the lasting ways in which the war influenced their lives.

The Revolutionary: Samuel Adams
By Stacy Schiff (Back Bay Books) $22

Samuel Adams helped to mastermind the Boston Tea Party. He employed every tool available to rally a town, a colony, and eventually a band of colonies behind him, creating the cause that created a country. For his efforts, he became the most wanted man in America: When Paul Revere rode to Lexington in 1775, it was to warn Samuel Adams that he was about to be arrested for treason. This book highlights Adams’ improbable life, illuminating his transformation from the aimless son of a well-off family to tireless, beguiling radical who mobilized the colonies. Arresting, original, and surprisingly dramatic, this is a long-overdue chapter in the history of our nation.

Until next month, happy reading.

The staff at Covered Treasures can be reached at ocn.me@books.

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Between the Covers at Covered Treasures Bookstore – Poetry month

By the staff at Covered Treasures

“Poetry is language at its most distilled and most powerful.”—Rita Dove

April is National Poetry Month! Reading poetry can engage all the senses and is one reason many children’s picture books are written in poetry form. This month we feature poetry for all ages, written by nationally known authors as well as some talented local poets.

You Are Here; Poetry in the Natural World
Ada Limon, Editor (Milkweed Editions) $25

You Are Here book cover

This sparkling curated collection was edited by Ada Limón, the 24th U.S. poet laureate. It is in honor of the natural world and all it means to be humans living within it. The poems selected for inclusion can be appreciated by experienced poetry lovers as well as by those who are just beginning to learn to appreciate the art of poetry.

Coffee Cup Tales & Old Car Nuts
By Lon Wartman $16

The witty, truthful, and sometimes outrageous poems in this book came about through Wartman’s involvement with Tri-Lakes Cruisers Car Club. The Cruisers meet once a week at the Coffee Cup Café and the stories flow. The group is full of men and women from all walks of life who share a deep love of old vehicles, dreams of yesteryears, and backseat blues. Come along for the ride.

The Divine Book of Love
Mary Burnett Brown (Heartfelt Poetry LLC) $10

Brown’s poetry is a key that opens your heart to deep spiritual wisdom. Through her poetry, you will find peace and happiness. Her poems encourage you to pause for a moment and embrace all the beauty and love that are present in this world.

Having Lived
By Joseph Murphy (Kelsay Books) $13

This is a wonderful collection of strong, authentic poems that range from moving elegies and lyric poems of homecoming and longing to personal histories retold as narratives full of irony. Common to all these works is a collection of shared sentiments from our times. Murphy’s subtle grasp of our contemporary lives will have a wide audience appeal.

Red Sings from Treetops; A Year in Colors
By Joyce Sidman; illustrated by Pamela Zagarenski (Clarion Books) $19

Color comes alive in this whimsical, innovative picture book: blue dances on summer lakes, green drips from spring leaves, black wafts mysteriously through autumn evenings. Together an award-winning poet and a brilliant artist inspire us to look closer at the thrilling colors of the seasons. This book invites readers to notice colors and correlate emotion.

Devotions: The Selected Poems of Mary Oliver
By Mary Oliver (Penguin Books) $20

Carefully curated, these 200-plus poems feature Oliver’s work from her very first book of poetry, No Voyage and Other Poems, published in 1963 at the age of 28, through her most recent collection, Felicity, published in 2015. This timeless volume, arranged by Oliver, showcases the beloved poet at her edifying best. Within these pages, she provides us with an extraordinary and invaluable collection of her passionate, perceptive, and much-treasured observations of the natural world.

Tiny, Perfect Things
By M. H. Clark (Compendium Publishing) $18

The whole world is a treasure waiting to be found. Open your eyes and see the wonderful things all around. This is the story of a child and a grandfather whose walk around the neighborhood leads to a day of shared wonder as they discover all sorts of tiny, perfect things together. With rhythmic storytelling and detailed and intricate illustrations, this is a book about how childlike curiosity can transform ordinary days into extraordinary adventures.

I Knew You Could Do It!
By Nancy Tillman (Feiwel & Friends) $18

This picture book is a celebration of everyday accomplishments as well as life’s milestones. It applauds anyone who has overcome hurdles and challenges, and cheers them into the future. It’s for anyone who needs an infusion of support and reassurance. The book is full of bright, wonderful illustrations that make you believe in the magic that cheers you on.

Conversations with Flowers
By Valerie Shereck (Austin Macauley Publishers) $8

This little poetry book is a tapestry where the author weaves reflections on nature, the sting of loss, the intricacies of relationships, and the myriad hues of life. These poems not only celebrate the rejuvenating power of faith but also resonate and linger long after the last word is read.

Until next month, happy reading.

The staff at Covered Treasures can be reached at books@ocn.me.

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Between the Covers at Covered Treasures Bookstore – March mystery madness

By the staff at Covered Treasures

“Mysteries abound where most we seek the answers.”—Ray Bradbury

March is a month of crazy weather, basketball and spring break. It’s also a great time to hunker down with some good mysteries.

End of Story

By A.J. Finn

“I’ll be dead in three months. Come tell my story,” writes reclusive mystery novelist Sebastian Trapp to his longtime friend, an expert in detective fiction. “You and I might solve a mystery or two.” Soon Nicky Hunter finds herself caught in an irresistible case, obsessed with discovering the truth. Scattered with eccentric characters and references to other mysteries, this is a fresh, witty new novel from the author of the popular The Woman in the Window.

The Mystery Guest: A Maid Novel (Molly the Maid)
By Nita Prose (Ballantine Books) $29

Molly Gray has risen through the ranks of the glorious five-star Regency Grand Hotel to become the esteemed head maid. But just as her life reaches a pinnacle state of perfection, her world is turned upside down when a world-renowned mystery author drops dead on the floor of the hotel’s tearoom. As the high-profile death threatens the hotel’s pristine reputation, Molly knows she alone holds the key to unlocking the killer’s identity.

The Last Caretaker
By Jessica Strawser (Lake Union Publishing) $17

Katie accepts a resident caretaking job at a nature preserve. But from day one, something feels off. When a frantic, terrified woman arrives late at night, expecting a safe place to hide, it is clear this job is a lot more than Katie bargained for. As Katie digs deeper for clues in what the last caretaker left behind, she must discover courage she never knew she had—and decide how much she’ll risk to do the right thing.

The Last Devil to Die: A Thursday Murder Club Mystery
By Richard Osman (Pamela Doorman Books) $29

Shocking news reaches the gang that an old friend has been killed, and a dangerous package he was protecting has gone missing. The gang’s search leads them into the antiques business, where the tricks of the trade are as old as the objects themselves. As they encounter drug dealers, art forgers, and online fraudsters, they have no idea whom to trust.

In the Woods (Dublin Murder Squad)
By Tana French (Penguin Books) $18

In a small Dublin suburb in the summer of 1984 three children do not return home, and the police find only one of the children gripping a tree trunk in terror, unable to recall a single detail of the previous hours. Twenty years later, the found boy (Ryan) is a detective and keeps his past a secret. When a 12-year-old girl is found murdered in the same woods, he and his partner find themselves investigating a case chillingly similar to his own. This is the first in French’s excellent Dublin Murder Squad series.

Miracle Creek
By Angie Kim (Picador USA) $19

In a small town in Virginia, a group of people know each other because they’re part of a special treatment center, a hyperbaric chamber that may cure a range of conditions from infertility to autism. But when the chamber explodes, and two people die, it’s clear the explosion wasn’t an accident. A showdown unfolds among characters keeping secrets and hiding betrayals.

Two Dead Wives
By Adele Parks (Mira Books) $19

A woman with a shocking secret is missing, presumed dead. And her two husbands are suspects in her murder. Until a body is found, this scandalous and sad case remains wide open. Meanwhile, Stacie Jones lives a quiet life in a small village, nursed by her father as she recovers from illness and shielded from any news of the outside world. Their reclusive life is about to be shattered.

Mastering the Art of French Murder (An American in Paris Mystery)
By Colleen Cambridge (Kensington Publishing Corporation) $18

Tabitha Knight has recently arrived in Paris for an extended stay with her French grandfather. Her neighbor and friend is Julia Child. Everything goes wrong when a dead body is found in the cellar of Julia’s building. The murder weapon is a knife from Julia’s kitchen and there is a note in the pocket of the dead woman that is in Tabitha’s handwriting.

Until next month, happy reading.

The staff at Covered Treasures can be reached at books@ocn.me.

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Between the Covers at Covered Treasures Bookstore – Celebrating the classics in 2024

By the staff at Covered Treasures

“A classic is a book that has never finished what it has to say.”—Italo Calvino

Classics are available for readers of all ages and stand the test of time. They are well worth revisiting (or reading for the first time) as we all move forward into 2024.

The Grapes of Wrath

By John Steinbeck (Penguin Classics) $18

First published in 1939, Steinbeck’s Pulitzer Prize-winning epic of the Great Depression chronicles the Dust Bowl migration of the 1930s and tells the story of one Oklahoma farm family forced to travel west to the promised land of California. A portrait of the conflict between the powerful and the powerless, of one man’s fierce reaction to injustice, and of one woman’s stoical strength, the novel captures the horrors of the Great Depression and probes into the very nature of equality and justice in America.

The Secret Garden

By Frances Hodgson Burnett (Harper Collins) $10

This gorgeous paperback includes Tasha Tudor’s iconic illustrations, an extended author biography, activities, and more, making it the perfect collector’s edition or a wonderful gift for young readers. When orphaned Mary Lennox comes to live at her uncle’s great house on the Yorkshire Moors, she finds it full of secrets. The gardens surrounding the large property are Mary’s only escape. Then, Mary discovers a secret garden, surrounded by walls and locked with a missing key. With the help of two unexpected companions, Mary discovers a way in—and becomes determined to bring the garden back to life.

Stuart Little

By E.B. White (Harper Collins) $7

Stuart Little is no ordinary mouse. Born to a family of humans, he lives in New York City with his parents, his older brother George, and Snowbell the cat. Though he’s shy and thoughtful, he’s also a true lover of adventure. Stuart’s greatest adventure comes when his best friend, a beautiful little bird named Margalo, disappears from her nest. Stuart is determined to track her down and ventures away from home for the very first time in his life. He finds adventure aplenty. But will he find his friend? Whether you curl up with your young reader to share this book or hand it off for independent reading, you are helping to create what are likely to be all-time favorite reading memories.

West with the Night (A Memoir)

By Beryl Markham (North Point Press) $17

If the first responsibility of a memoirist is to lead a life worth writing about, Markham succeeded beyond all measure. Born Beryl Clutterbuck in the middle of England, she and her father moved to Kenya when she was a girl, and she grew up with a zebra for a pet; horses for friends; baboons, lions, and gazelles for neighbors. She made money by scouting elephants from a tiny plane. And she would spend most of the rest of her life in East Africa as an adventurer, a racehorse trainer, and an aviatrix—she became the first person to fly nonstop from Europe to America, the first woman to fly solo east to west across the Atlantic.

A Tree Grows in Brooklyn

By Betty Smith (Harper Perennial Classics) $19

From the moment she entered the world, Francie Nolan needed to be made of stern stuff, for growing up in the Williamsburg slums of Brooklyn, New York demanded fortitude, precocity, and strength of spirit. By turns overwhelming, heartbreaking, and uplifting, the Nolans’ daily experiences are raw with honesty and tenderly threaded with family connectedness. Smith has created a work of literary art that brilliantly captures a unique time and place as well as deeply resonant moments of universal experience.

A Wrinkle in Time

By Madeleine L’Engle (Square Fish) $9

Late one night, three otherworldly creatures appear and sweep Meg Murry, her brother Charles Wallace, and their friend Calvin O’Keefe away on a mission to save Mr. Murray, who has gone missing while doing top-secret work for the government. They travel via tesseract—a wrinkle that transports one across space and time—to where Mr. Murray is being held captive. There they discover a dark force that threatens not only Mr. Murray but the safety of the whole universe. A Wrinkle in Time is the first book in Madeleine L’Engle’s Time Quintet.

Until next month, happy reading.

The staff at Covered Treasures can be reached at books@ocn.me.

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Between the Covers at Covered Treasures Bookstore – Books that are a great way to start the new year

By the staff at Covered Treasures

“And now we welcome the new year. Full of things that have never been.”—Rainer Marie Rilke

Here are some books that will help you navigate 2024.

Skinnytaste Simple: Easy, Healthy Recipes with 7 Ingredients or Fewer: A Cookbook

By Gina Homolka (Clarkson Potter Publishers) $35

Skinnytaste Simple has recipes with no more than seven ingredients, with maximum flavor and nutrition. From hearty breakfasts to crowd-pleasing dinners, there are recipes that many will love. Each recipe features a photo, icons that indicate recipes that may suit your dietary needs (such as gluten-free, dairy-free, vegetarian), and nutritional info, with the most up to date Weight Watchers points available on the Skinnytaste site.

Walk: Slow Down, Wake Up, and Connect at 1-3 Miles per Hour

By Jonathon Stalls (North Atlantic Books) $17.95

In 2010, Jonathon Stalls and his blue heeler husky mix began their 242-day walk across the United States, relying on each other and the kindness of strangers along the way. In this collection of essays, Stalls explores walking as waking up. Walk is an urgent and glorious call to slow down, look around, and engage with the world in front of us. It’s an invitation to move, to connect, to participate deeply in the world—and to dissolve the barriers that separate us from each other and the living Earth.

The Stress Prescription: Seven Days to More Joy and Ease (Seven Days)

By Ellisa Epel (Penguin Life) $15

In The Stress Prescription, Dr. Epel distills decades of research, infused with wisdom, into a practical yet transformative seven-day plan of science-based techniques that can help you harness stress through more positive challenge and purpose. Dr. Epel shows us how we can “stress better” by training our minds and bodies to shift toward a flexible, beneficial stress response that can actually enhance health. You will develop a more robust mindset, build the resources you need to turn stress into strength, and fill your days with more joy, connection, and ease.

Outlive: The Science and Art of Longevity

By Peter Attia (Harmony) $32

In this operating manual for longevity, Dr. Peter Attia draws on the latest science to deliver innovative nutritional interventions, techniques for optimizing exercise and sleep, and tools for addressing emotional and mental health. Dr. Attia’s aim is less to tell you what to do and more to help you learn how to think about long-term health, to create the best plan for you as an individual. Aging and longevity are far more malleable than we think; our fate is not set in stone. With the right roadmap, you can plot a different path for your life, one that lets you outlive your genes to make each decade better than the one before.

Awe: The New Science of Everyday Wonder and How It Can Transform Your Life

By Dacher Keltner (Penguin Press) $28

In Awe, Dacher Keltner presents a radical investigation and deeply personal inquiry into this elusive emotion. Revealing new research into how awe transforms our brains and bodies, alongside an examination of awe across history, culture, and within his own life during a period of grief, Keltner shows us how cultivating awe in our everyday life leads us to appreciate what is most humane in our human nature. And during a moment in which our world feels more divided than ever before, and more imperiled by crises of different kinds, we are greatly in need of awe.

Atomic Habits: An Easy & Proven Way to Build Good Habits & Break Bad Ones

By James Clear (Avery Publishing Group) $27

James Clear draws on the most proven ideas from biology, psychology, and neuroscience to create an easy-to-understand guide for making good habits inevitable and bad habits impossible. Along the way, readers will be inspired and entertained with true stories from Olympic gold medalists, award-winning artists, business leaders, life-saving physicians, and star comedians who have used the science of small habits to master their craft and vault to the top of their field.

 

Happy New Year! Until next month, happy reading.

The staff at Covered Treasures can be reached at books@ocn.me.

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Between the Covers at Covered Treasures Bookstore – Great gift ideas

By the staff at Covered Treasures

“Christmas is doing a little extra something for someone”—Charles M. Schultz

Here are some books that would make wonderful winter reading for yourself or someone else!

Magic on the Mountainside

By Nancy Godbout Jurka (Satiama Publishing) $20

Every holiday season in the town of Palmer Lake, Colo., townspeople and children look forward eagerly to the annual magic on their mountainside—the lighting of the Palmer Lake Star. Two children wait, but when nothing happens they take matters into their own hands and it turns into quite the adventure. This book celebrates the natural beauty of Colorado while telling the history of our Palmer Lake star.

Brave the Wild River: The Untold Story of Two Women Who Mapped the Botany of the Grand Canyon

By Melissa Sevigny (Norton) $30

In summer 1938, botanists Elzada Clover and Lois Jotter set off to run the Colorado River, accompanied by an ambitious and entrepreneurial expedition leader, a zoologist, and two amateur boatmen. Through the vibrant letters and diaries of the two women, science journalist Melissa L. Sevigny traces their daring 43-day journey down the river, during which they meticulously cataloged the thorny plants that thrived in the Grand Canyon’s secret nooks and crannies. Brave the Wild River is a spellbinding adventure of two women who risked their lives to make an unprecedented botanical survey of a defining landscape in the American West, at a time when human influences had begun to change it forever.

Being Henry: The Fonz … and Beyond

By Henry Winkler (Celadon Books) $30

Henry Winkler, launched into prominence as “The Fonz” in the beloved Happy Days, has transcended the role that made him who he is. Henry shares in this achingly vulnerable memoir the disheartening truth of his childhood, the difficulties of a life with severe dyslexia, the pressures of a role that takes on a life of its own, and the path forward once your wildest dream seems behind you. Since the glorious era of Happy Days fame, Henry has endeared himself to a new generation with roles in which he’s been revealed as an actor with immense depth and pathos, a departure from the period of his life when he was typecast as The Fonz and could barely find work.

Absolution

By Alice McDermott (Farrar, Straus &Giroux) $28

American women—American wives—have been mostly minor characters in the literature of the Vietnam War, but in Absolution they take center stage. This book focuses on two women and the discovery of how their own lives as women on the periphery—of politics, of history, of war, of their husbands’ convictions—have been shaped and burdened by the same sort of unintended consequences that followed America’s tragic interference in Southeast Asia.

Little Red Sleigh

By Erin Guendelsberger (Sourcebooks Wonderful) $18

The Little Red Sleigh has one big dream: to one day become Santa’s big red sleigh! But all her life, she’s been told she’s too small, she’s too young, she can’t fly, and she certainly can’t meet Santa. Well, this Christmas, with the help of some friends, she’s determined to do the impossible. Full of winter joy and holiday magic, this charming Christmas story will remind readers of all ages that no dream is out of reach if you believe.

Murtagh: The World of Aragon (Inheritance Cycle)

By Christopher Paolini (Alfred A. Knopf Books for Young Readers) $30

The world is no longer safe for the Dragon Rider Murtagh and his dragon, Thorn. An evil king has been toppled, and they are left to face the consequences of the reluctant role they played in his reign of terror. Now they are hated and alone, exiled to the outskirts of society.

So begins an epic journey into lands both familiar and untraveled, where Murtagh and Thorn must use every weapon in their arsenal, from brains to brawn, to find and outwit a mysterious witch. In this gripping novel starring one of the most popular characters from Christopher Paolini’s blockbuster Inheritance Cycle, a Dragon Rider must discover what he stands for in a world that has abandoned him. Murtagh is the perfect book to enter the World of Eragon for the first time or to joyfully return.

Merry Christmas! And until next year, happy reading.

The staff at Covered Treasures can be reached at books@ocn.me.

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Between the Covers at Covered Treasures Bookstore – New fall releases

By the staff at Covered Treasures

“Don’t wait until the fourth Thursday in November to sit with family and friends to give thanks. Make every day a day of thanksgiving”—Charmaine J. Forde

Here are some great new releases:

The Exchange: After the Firm

By John Grisham (Doubleday Books) $30

What became of Mitch and Abby McDeere after they exposed the crimes of the Memphis law firm Bendini, Lambert & Locke and fled the country? The answer is in The Exchange, the riveting sequel to The Firm. Fifteen years later, Mitch and Abby are living in Manhattan, where Mitch is a partner at the largest law firm in the world. When a mentor in Rome asks him for a favor that will take him far from home, Mitch finds himself at the center of a sinister plot that has worldwide implications—and once again endangers his colleagues, friends, and family. Mitch has become a master at staying one step ahead of his adversaries, but this time there’s nowhere to hide.

The War of Words: How American GI Journalists Battled Censorship and Propaganda to Help Win World War II

By Molly Guptill Manning (Blackstone Publishing) $26

A captivating story of how American troops in World War II wielded pens to tell their own stories as they made history. As the Axis blurred the lines between truth and fiction, the best defense was for American troops to bring the truth into focus by writing it down and disseminating it themselves. By war’s end, over 4,600 unique GI publications had been printed around the world. In newsprint, troops made sense of their hardships, losses, and reasons for fighting. These newspapers—by and for the troops—became the heart and soul of a unit. This stunning volume includes 14 pages of photographs and illustrations.

Going Infinite: The Rise and Fall of a New Tycoon

By Michael Lewis (Norton) $30

This is the story of the spectacular collapse of the bit coin trading company known as FTX and Sam Bankman-Fried, the enigmatic founder at its center. Lewis takes readers on a wild ride through crypto’s gold rush, offering an education in high frequency trading, philanthropy, bankruptcy, and the justice system.

The Vaster Wilds

By Lauren Goff (Riverhead Books) $28

A servant girl escapes from a colonial settlement in the wilderness, carrying nothing with her but her wits, a few possessions, and the spark of God that burns hot within her. What she finds is beyond the limits of her imagination and will bend her belief in everything her own civilization has taught her.

The Armor of Light

By Ken Follett (Viking) $38

The long-awaited sequel to A Column of Fire, Follett’s latest book heralds a new dawn for Kingsbridge, England, where progress clashes with tradition, class struggles to push into every part of society, and war in Europe engulfs the entire continent and beyond.

The Complete Mediterranean Cookbook: Over 200 Fresh, Health-Boosting Recipes (Complete Cookbook Edition)

By Coastal Kitchen (Cider Mill Press) $34.95

The Coastal Kitchen believes that food is the easiest way to create the connection and meaning that we all need in our lives. To help build this foundation, the editors work to bring the very best recipes, techniques, and ideas from the culinary world into the home. The book contains over 200 recipes for bold entrees, sauces, sides, pastas, beans, veggies, meats, seafood, salads, and desserts. The easy-to-follow instructions are suitable for all skill levels.

To Infinity and Beyond: A Journey of Cosmic Discovery

By Neil de Grasse Tyson & Lindsey Nyx Walker (National Geographic Society) $30

Drawing on mythology, history, and literature, Tyson and Walker bring planetary science down to earth and the principles of astrophysics within reach. In this entertaining book, illustrated with vivid photographs and art, readers travel through space and time, starting with the Big Bang and voyaging to the far reaches of the universe and beyond. Along the way, science greets pop culture as Tyson explains the triumphs—and bloopers—in Hollywood’s blockbusters: all part of an entertaining ride through the cosmos. For science junkies and fans of the conundrums that astrophysicists often ponder.

Until next month, happy reading.

The staff at Covered Treasures can be reached at books@ocn.me.

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Between the Covers at Covered Treasures Bookstore – Wonders of our universe

By the staff at Covered Treasures

“Earth is a very small stage in the vast cosmic arena.”—Carl Sagan

In celebration of the upcoming solar eclipse in October, here is a list of books that provide information on planets, planetary travel, stars, eclipses, and much more.

Packing for Mars for Kids

By Mary Roach (Norton Company) $16.95

This lighthearted book asks the type of questions that children would ask in a comprehensive guide for the strange, gross, and awe-inspiring realm of space travel and life without gravity. From flying on NASA’s weightless wonder and eating a sloppy joe from a tube to learning how to use shuttle toilets, this book is chock-full of thorough research and firsthand experiences.

Packing for Mars for Kids

By Mary Roach (Norton Young Readers) $9.95

This book explores the strange universe of space travel and life without gravity. Mary Roach gives readers a closeup of the challenges of training for living in space and the reality of living on the Space Shuttle.

The Sky Is Not the Limit

By Jeremie Decalf (Eerdmans Books for Young Readers) $18.99

A poetic odyssey through space with the groundbreaking Voyager 2 probe past Earth into deep space and beyond. Voyager 2 has viewed Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune and continued past the boundaries of our solar system. This lyrical, atmospheric book introduces young readers to the pioneering NASA spacecraft that has spent over 45 years observing and exploring our galaxy.

Totality! An Eclipse Guide in Rhyme & Science

By Jeffrey Bennett (Big Kid Science) $19.99

This book features a unique combination of rhyme and science, suitable for a wide range of ages. The engaging rhyme, with a couplet on each page, has been constructed to serve as a mnemonic device for underlying science, which is further explained through beautiful illustrations and “Big Kid Box” sidebars. This book concludes with a glossary, suggested activities, an eclipse science summary, features that will add value for parents and teachers learning along with their kids or students. Printed books come with two pairs of eclipse viewing glasses, which provide a great way to view the sun at any time, especially during a solar eclipse.

The Moon Tonight: Our Moon’s Journey Around Earth

By Jung Chang-hoon (Blue Dot Kids Press) $18.99

Through the eyes of this father-daughter duo, this book explores the science behind the moon’s phases and the 29½-day lunar cycle. There are easy-to-follow scientific explanations of the first- and last-quarter moons, ebb and flow tides, where the new moon goes, and more.

Sun Moon Earth: The History of Solar Eclipses from Omens of Doom to Einstein and Exoplanets

By Tyler Nordgren (Basic Books) $30

In Sun Moon Earth, astronomer Tyler Nordgren illustrates how this most seemingly unnatural of natural phenomena was transformed from a fearsome omen to a tourist attraction. This book takes us around the world to show how different cultures interpreted these dramatic events.

The Last Stargazers; The Enduring Story of Astronomy’s Vanishing Explorers

By Emily Levesque (Sourcebooks) $18.99

Levesque takes readers inside the most powerful telescopes in the world and introduces the people who run them. She also explores the future of one of the most ancient and inspiring scientific disciplines as we gain the ability to see farther beyond our planet than ever before while relying increasingly on code and computers to study the stars. Stay up to date with the latest scientific breakthroughs and advancements in the field of astronomy.

The Astronauts Guide to Leaving the Planet: Everything You Need to Know from Training to Re-Entry

By Terry Virts (Workman Publishing) $14.99

A former astronaut inspires the next generation of space travelers with answers to kids’ questions on how people become astronauts, how they prepare for space travel, and what it’s like to live and work in space.

Until next month, happy reading.

The staff at Covered Treasures can be reached at books@ocn.me.

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Between the Covers at Covered Treasures Bookstore: What animals teach us

By the staff at Covered Treasures

“Some people talk to animals. Not many listen though. That’s the problem.”—A.A. Milne

Here’s a sampling of books that provide information on the pets we love as well as the animals that live around us and what we can learn from them.

September 2023. Book cover. Meow! The Truth About Cats

Meow! The Truth About Cats

By Annette Whipple (Reycraft Books) $17.95

Why do cats have whiskers? How do cats land on their paws? Do people need cats? These and other questions are answered, along with some extra information provided by the cats themselves. Annette Whipple celebrates curiosity and inspires a sense of wonder while exciting readers about science and history.

Do You Know Where the Animals Live?: Discovering the Incredible Creatures All Around Us

By Peter Wohlleben (Greystone Kids) $19.95

From the bestselling author of The Inner Life of Animals comes a book for kids about animals at home and around the world. Are worms afraid of the rain? Do fish use farts to communicate? Do animals dream? This visual, fun, and interactive book features at-home activities, facts, stories, and pictures.

The Cat’s Meow: How Cats Evolved from the Savanna to Your Sofa

By Jonathan B. Losos (Viking) $28

Jonathan Losos, writing as both scientist and cat lover, explores how researchers today are unraveling the secrets of the cat using all the tools of modern technology, from GPS tracking and genomics to forensic archaeology. It gives us a cat’s-eye view of today’s habitats, including meeting wild cousins around the world whose habits your sweet house cat sometimes eerily parallel.

The Inner Life of Animals: Love, Grief, and Compassion—Surprising Observations of a Hidden World

By Peter Wohlleben (Greystone) $22.95

Readers will discover the latest scientific research into animals’ emotions, feelings, intelligence, and how they interact with the world. We learn: Horses feel shame, deer grieve, goats discipline their kids, ravens call their friends by name, rats regret bad choices, and butterflies choose the very best places for their children to grow up. Animals are different from us in ways that amaze us—and they are much closer to us than we ever would have thought.

The Fur Person

By May Sarton (W.W. Norton) $14.95

This enchanting story is drawn from the true adventures of Tom Jones, May Sarton’s cat. Before meeting Mary, Tom is a fiercely independent, nameless Cat About Town. Growing tired of his vagabond lifestyle, he concludes that there might be some appeal in giving up his freedom for a home. It is here that he becomes a genuine Fur Person. Sarton’s book is one of the most beloved stories about the joys and tribulations in sharing one’s life with a cat.

The Year of the Puppy: How Dogs Become Themselves

By Alexandra Horowitz (Viking) $28

Dog researcher Alexandra Horowitz charts her puppy Quid’s growth from birth to first birthday. She documents social and cognitive milestones so many of us miss when caught up in the housetraining and behavioral training. Horowitz keeps a lens on the puppy’s point of view—how they begin to see and smell the world, make meaning of it, and become an individual personality.

The Stallion and His Peculiar Boy

By M.J. Evans (Dancing Horse Press) $12.95

World War II is raging. Hitler is hiding away the world’s most beautiful purebred horses for use in experiments to create the perfect war horse. A peculiar boy, Teodor, becomes the groom for one of those special horses—Witez II, one of the most famous Arabian stallions of all time. Witez helps Teodor face his challenges and find his voice at a time when little is known about the condition now called autism. Inspired by a true story, this book blends the suspense of a World War II military rescue operation with the challenges of resettlement in a new land.

James Herriot’s Favorite Dog Stories

By James Herriot (St. Martins Press) $25

After being out of print many years, it is now again available, filled with original watercolors that illustrate Herriot’s charming and wholesome tales. This classic includes an introduction from Herriot himself—the last piece of writing the beloved author and veterinarian ever completed. Follow the master veterinarian as he cares for dogs with his characteristic gentleness and peace, profound observation, and deep, loving humor.

Until next month, happy reading.

The staff at Covered Treasures can be reached at books@ocn.me.

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Between the Covers at Covered Treasures Bookstore – All-time great children’s reads

By the staff at Covered Treasures

“There is more treasure in books than in all the pirate’s loot on Treasure Island.”—Walt Disney

These award-winning books are full of treasure, have stood the test of time, and are still some of the best to foster the love of reading in a child.

The Phantom Tollbooth

By Norton Juster (Yearling) $8.99

For Milo, everything’s a bore. When a tollbooth mysteriously appears in his room, he drives through only because he’s got nothing better to do. But on the other side, things seem different. Milo visits the Island of Conclusions (you get there by jumping), learns about time from a ticking watchdog named Tock, and even embarks on a quest to rescue Rhyme and Reason. Along the way, Milo realizes life is far from dull. In fact, it’s exciting beyond his wildest dreams!

Julie of the Wolves

By Joan Craighead George (HarperCollins) $7.99

To her village, she is known as Miyax; to her friend in San Francisco, she is Julie. When her life in the village becomes dangerous, Miyax runs away only to find herself lost in the Alaskan wilderness. Miyax survives by copying the ways of a pack of wolves and soon grows to love her new wolf family. The first in a trilogy, this edition features original illustrations, an introduction by the author’s children, her Newbery acceptance speech, selections from her field notebooks, discussion guide, and further reading guide.

Old Yeller

By Fred Gipson (HarperCollins) $9.99

When his father sets out on a cattle drive, 14-year-old Travis is left to take care of his family and their farm. Living in frontier Texas Hill Country during the 1860s, Travis comes to face new and often perilous responsibilities. A particular nuisance is a stray yellow dog that shows up and steals food from the family. But the big canine who Travis calls “Old Yeller” proves his worth by defending the family from danger. And Travis ultimately finds help and comfort in the courage and unwavering love of the dog who comes to be his very best friend.

Rascal

By Sterling North (Puffin) $8.99

Nothing’s surprising in the North household, not even Sterling’s new pet raccoon. Rascal is a baby when Sterling brings him home, but soon the two are best friends, doing everything together—until the spring day when everything suddenly changes. This special anniversary edition includes classic illustrations restored to their original splendor, a letter from the author’s daughter, and material from the illustrator’s personal collection.

Anne of Green Gables

By L.M. Montgomery (Puffin) $8.99

The Cuthberts are in for a shock. They are expecting an orphan boy to help with the work at Green Gables, but a skinny red-haired girl turns up instead. Highly spirited Anne Shirley charms her way into the Cuthberts’ affection with her vivid imagination and constant chatter, and soon it’s impossible to imagine life without her.

In the Heart of the Rockies

By G.A. Henty (Dover) $11.95

Determined to improve his struggling family’s financial situation, 16-year-old Tom Wade leaves England in 1860 and sets out for the untamed wilderness of the American West. Arriving in the small western outpost of Denver to mine for gold, he soon encounters Native American warriors, takes part in big-game hunts, and learns how to survive a mountain winter with nothing but resourcefulness and perseverance. Young readers get valuable, exciting lessons in history from the “Prince of Storytellers,” George Henty, in a grand adventure classic that weaves together the story of a teenage fictional hero and real-life episodes of exploration.

The Castle in the Attic

By Elizabeth Winthrop (Yearling), $7.99

William is devastated to learn that his favorite caretaker, Mrs. Phillips, is leaving. But then she gives him her parting gift—a mysterious model castle that has been in her family for years. The castle is perfect in every way, with a drawbridge, a moat, and a finger-high knight to guard the gates. It’s almost too real. Sure enough, when William picks up the tiny silver knight, Sir Simon comes alive in his hand and tells William a mighty story of wild sorcery, wizards, and a kingdom in need of saving. William embarks on a fantastic quest to another land and another time.

Until next month, happy reading.

The staff at Covered Treasures can be reached at books@ocn.me.

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Between the Covers at Covered Treasures Bookstore – Adventure awaits

By the staff at Covered Treasures

“Adventure awaits. Grab your hiking boots and get ready for new adventures.”—Unknown

It’s hiking season! These are expert guidebooks to help you plan your adventures.

Trails to the Top: 50 Colorado Front Range Mountain Hikes

By Susan Joy Paul and Stewart M. Green (Falcon Press) $24.95

While Colorado’s 14ers and 13ers are well known, this new guide from local outdoor adventurers and authors Susan Joy Paul and Stewart M. Green takes readers off the beaten path—to the top of some of Colorado’s lesser-known, yet no less impressive mountains between 9,000 and 12,000 feet. The 50 unique routes covered feature amazing views with accessible trailheads for hikers of all skill levels, all located within a couple hours’ drive of Denver, Fort Collins, and Colorado Springs. You’ll find hikes suited to every ability, color photos, GPS coordinates, directions to the trailhead, and mile-by-mile directional cues.

Trail Tips: Providing Inspiration for Your Journeys on the Trail, Personal, and Work Life

By Al Andersen (Al Andersen) $25

Everyone is on a journey in their hiking, personal, and work lives. The quality of our success often depends on the support and inspiration we get along the way. Trail Tips will get you thinking and inspire you on your adventures in life. Local author Al Andersen started out writing about his hikes and life. Many found them inspirational, and he has compiled them into this book.

100 Trails, 5,000 Ideas: Where to Go, When to Go, What to See, What to Do

By Joe Yogerst (National Geographic Society) $29.99

This travel guide takes you on a series of epic hiking and walking adventures on 100 trails around all 50 states and Canada, including the best scenic overlooks, camping sites, and off-trail activities. With each itinerary you’ll find practical planning advice for when to go and what to expect. This book offers something for everyone, from beginners looking for an easy day hike to advanced trekkers seeking multi-week excursions.

Best Summit Hikes in Colorado: 55 Classic Routes and 100+ Summits (Revised)

By James Dziezynski (Wilderness Press) $24.95

Mountaineer and explorer James Dziezynski presents 55 of Colorado’s best summit hikes. Now in color, this guide covers all of Colorado’s major ranges, including the Front Range, Sangre de Cristo, Sawatch, San Juan, and Mosquito and Ten Mile ranges. Each hike profile includes a topographic map with GPS waypoint and elevation profile, difficulty and class ratings tailored to Colorado’s unique terrain, optional routes for further exploration, and fascinating trivia and history.

Adventure Ready: A Hiker’s Guide to Planning, Training & Resiliency

By Katie Gerber and Heather Anderson (Mountaineers Books) $24.95

In this comprehensive guide, renowned hikers Katie “Salty” Gerber and Heather “Anish” Anderson help prepare long-distance hikers for all the challenges—physical, mental, emotional—they may encounter while on the trail for weeks or months. Backpackers will find detailed information about everything from gear selection, navigation, safety, and trip planning to nutritional and physical preparation and body resiliency to how to readjust after returning home. Worksheets and checklists make for easy planning.

The Essential Guide to Hiking with Dogs: Trail-Tested Tips and Expert Advice for Canine Adventures

By Jen Sotolongo (Falcon Press) $24.95

As a dog owner, hiking with your canine companion is one of the most rewarding experiences. With this guide, you and your four-legged friend can be ready for anything the wilderness might throw at you. Set yourselves and others up for the very best hiking experience. Need-to-know topics are covered, from trail etiquette to leave no trace ethics, important gear and packing guides to essential commands you should train for the trail. Featuring beautiful photography, this guide will inform and inspire any adventure dog and their parents.

Uphill Both Ways: Hiking Toward Happiness on the Colorado Trail

By Andrea Lani (Bison Books), $21.95

One grouchy husband, three reluctant kids, a 489-mile trek from Denver to Durango, and one woman, determined to reset her life and confront the history of environmental damage. Lani’s family traveled through stunning scenery and encountered wildflowers, wildlife, and too many other hikers. They ate cold oatmeal in a chilly, wet tent and experienced scorching heat, torrential thunderstorms, and the first trip of winter. Her kids grew in unimaginable ways, and Lani began to uncover the secret to happiness.

Until next month, happy reading.

The staff at Covered Treasures can be reached at books@ocn.me.

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Between the Covers at Covered Treasures Bookstore – Explore nature and the outdoors Explore nature and the outdoors

By the staff at Covered Treasures

“Look deep into nature, and then you will understand everything better.”—Albert Einstein

This is a glorious time to get outside in Colorado. Here’s a sampling of books to learn more about plants, wildlife, and getting outside.

Colorado Off the Beaten Path: Discover Your Fun

By Christine Loomis (Globe Pequot Press) $17.95

This new, updated 13th edition by local author Christine Loomis is an essential source of information about the sights and sites travelers and locals want to see and experience. From the best in local dining to quirky cultural tidbits to hidden attractions, unique finds, and unusual locales, this guide takes the reader down the road less traveled.

How to Read the Wilderness: An Illustrated Guide to the Natural Wonders of North America

By Nature Study Guild (Chronicle) $35

From the mountains to the ocean shores, from the wetlands to the deserts, North America teems with flora and fauna. With this book in hand, you will understand the language of nature and see those wild places with new eyes. For more than 60 years, these Guild guidebooks have helped hikers, campers, foragers, and explorers navigate the great outdoors. Now, the best of the guides’ informative text and iconic illustrations are gathered in one book, the perfect reference for today’s ramblers.

Wildlife Anatomy: The Curious Lives & Features of Wild Animals Around the World

By Julia Rothman (Storey Publishing) $18.99

Bestselling author/illustrator Julia Rothman shares a delightfully illustrated guide to all the beasts of the wild, from lions, tigers, and bears to elephants, giraffes, foxes, owls, and much more. This guide covers all the key features, right down to the anatomy of a lion’s claw and a wild horse’s hoof. All the illustrations are accompanied by labels, intriguing facts, and identifying details, such as: When is a Panther not a panther?

The Secret World of Weather: How to Read Signs in Every Cloud, Breeze, Hill, Street, Plant, Animal, and Dewdrop

By Tristan Gooley (Experiment) $17.95

Learn to “see” the forecast in the hidden weather signs all around you in this eye-opening trove of outdoor clues. Acclaimed natural navigator Tristan Gooley shows us how, by reading nature as he does, you’ll not only detect what the weather is doing (and predict what’s coming), you’ll enter a secret wonderland of sights and sounds you’ve never noticed before. Discover the ways that weather can reveal a hidden world with every step you take—through the woods or down a city street.

Sounds Wild and Broken: Sonic Marvels, Evolution’s Creativity, and the Crisis of Sensory Extinction

By David George Haskell (Penguin) $18

We live on a planet alive with song, music, and speech. David Haskell explores how these wonders came to be. Starting with the origins of animal song and traversing the whole arc of Earth history, Haskell illuminates and celebrates the emergence of the varied sounds of our world. This book is an invitation to listen, wonder, belong, and act.

100 Plants to Feed the Monarch: Create a Healthy Habitat to Sustain North America’s Most Beloved Butterfly

By The Xerces Society (Storey Publishing) $16.95

The plight of the monarch butterfly has captured public attention and sparked widespread interest in helping save their dwindling populations. In this in-depth portrait of the monarch butterfly, detailed instructions on how to design and create monarch-friendly landscapes are enriched by guidance on butterfly behavior and habits. You will find profiles of plant species that provide nourishment, including those that bloom in late season and sustain monarchs on their great migration. Gorgeous photographs of monarchs and plants, plus illustrations, maps, and garden plans, make this a visually engaging guide.

437 Edible Wild Plants of the Rocky Mountain West: Berries, Roots, Nuts, Greens, Flowers, and Seeds

By Caleb Warnock (Familius) $27.99

This thorough field guide documents 437 edible wild plants for Colorado, Montana, Idaho, Wyoming, Utah, Arizona, Nevada, and New Mexico. Self-sufficiency expert Caleb Warnock brings the ultimate guidebook to living off the land, including a section on poisonous plants to avoid. Packed with over 1,450 photographs and invaluable information on plant identification, flavor, seasonality, history, common synonyms, eating and preparation instructions, and more, you can have accurate information. Be aware: Much false information on wild edibles has been widely distributed on the internet.

Until next month, happy reading.

The staff at Covered Treasures can be reached at books@ocn.me.

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Between the Covers at Covered Treasures Bookstore – Reading the West

By the staff at Covered Treasures

“Courage is being scared to death … and standling up anyway.”—John Wayne

Westerns are part of our history and center on courage, strength, and justice. Here’s a sampling of outstanding fiction and nonfiction Western reads:

Where Coyotes Howl

By Sandra Dallas (St. Martin’s Press) $27.99

It’s 1916. The two-street town of Wallace, Wyo., is not what Ellen Webster had in mind when she accepted a teaching position, but within a year she’s fallen in love with the High Plains and with a cowboy. Life is hard, but Ellen and Charlie face it all together, growing stronger with each shared success, and each deeply felt tragedy. Ellen finds purpose as a rancher’s wife and in her bonds with other women. Bestselling Colorado author Sandra Dallas’ meticulous research and detail is an ode to western history.

White Sands Gold

By Mike Torreano (Wild Rose Press) $18.99

New Mexico Territory, 1890. In a hidden cavern, a treasure trove of gold sits alongside an ancient relic. To find her treasure-hunting brother, Lottie Durham enlists the help of an easygoing lawman. When a mysterious woman asks her to join the relic’s guardians, Lottie’s world spins. Should she take on this solemn obligation? Will a looming raid by a band of determined killers be the end of the guardians, the gold, and the relic? Local author Mike Torreano provides twists, turns, and adventure in this historically accurate Western.

The Son

By Philipp Meyer (Harper) $16.99

This critically acclaimed, bestselling epic, a saga of land, blood, and power follows the rise of one unforgettable Texas family from the Comanche raids of the 1800s to the oil booms of the 20th Century. This gripping novel maps the legacy of the American west with rare emotional acuity, even as it presents an intimate portrait of one family across two centuries.

Old Cowboys Never Die

By William W. Johnstone and J.A. Johnstone (Kensington) $16.95

After 30 years chasing stampedes into storms and pushing herds of cows across the plains, longtime buddies and cattle drivers Casey Tubbs and Eli Doolin are ready to hang up their spurs. But when they get to Abilene with their final cow delivery, the company lawyer has skipped town with their crew’s wages. That means one last job for Eli and Casey—steal it back. After pulling off the perfect crime, Casey and Eli start thinking this could be the start of a new career as outlaws. This is the first in a new series.

A Tale of Two Expectations

By James Mariner (Dorrance) $19

It is 1884 and Caleb O’Rourke leaves his home in Connecticut. Arriving in Montana, he is discovered by Matthew Rangely and becomes the cowboy of his visions. Five years later, willful, well-to-do, city-bred Marie Devereaux boards the new westbound Northern Pacific train and encounters Rangely, who convinces her to find her place in his little town. When Marie meets Caleb, her skill as a teacher and his willingness to learn result in changing expectations for both.

Blood and Thunder: The Epic Story of Kit Carson and the Conquest of the American West

By Hampton Sides (Anchor) $20

The Army of the West marched through Santa Fe in 1846, en route to invade and occupy the Western territories claimed by Mexico. Fueled by the new Manifest Destiny, this land grab would lead to a decades-long battle between the United States and the Navajos. At the center of this sweeping tale is Kit Carson, the trapper, scout, and soldier whose adventures made him a legend. Rich in detail and spanning more than three decades, this is an essential addition to our understanding of how the West was really won.

New Women in the Old West: From Settlers to Suffragists, an Untold American Story

By Winifred Gallagher (Penguin) $18

Hundreds of thousands of men and women traveled deep into the American West between 1840 and 1910. The traditional model of womanhood shifted. By 1914 western women became the first American women to vote; a right denied to women in every eastern state. Drawing on an extraordinary collection of research, Winifred Gallagher weaves together the legacy of persistent individuals who not only created homes on prairies but also played vital roles in forever redefining the American woman.

Until next month, happy reading.

The staff at Covered Treasures can be reached at books@ocn.me.

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Between the Covers at Covered Treasures Bookstore – The power of human connection

By the staff at Covered Treasures

“Social connection is such a basic feature of human experience that when we are deprived of it, we suffer.”—Leonard Mlodinow

If we have learned anything these last few years, it’s the powerful need for human connection. These nonfiction and fiction books are noteworthy reads centering on this.

We Are the Light

By Matthew Quick (Avid Reader Press) $27.99

A widower takes in a grieving teenager and inspires a magical revival in Majestic, Penn., a small, quaint town torn apart by tragedy. Everyone sees Lucas as a hero, except Lucas. Insisting that his deceased wife visits him as an angel, Lucas spends his time writing letters to his former therapist. Then Lucas and Eli form an unlikely alliance, embarking on a journey to heal their neighbors and themselves. This unforgettable, optimistic tale reminds us that life is full of guardian angels.

Together: The Healing Power of Human Connection in a Sometimes Lonely World

By Vivek H. Murthy, MD (Harper) $29.99

Dr. Vivek Murthy’s message is about the importance of human connection, the hidden impact of loneliness, and the social power of community. He makes a case that loneliness affects not only our health but also how our children experience school, how we perform in the workplace, and the sense of division and polarization in our society. At the center is our innate desire to connect. We are, simply, better together.

The Good Life: Lessons from the World’s Longest Scientific Study of Happiness

By Robert Waldinger, MD and Marc Schultz, PhD (Simon & Schuster) $28.99

What makes a life fulfilling and meaningful? The stronger our relationships in all their forms—friendships, romantic partnerships, families, coworkers, book club members, Bible study groups—the more likely we are to live happy, satisfying, and healthier lives. The Harvard Study of Adult Development reveals that the strength of our connections with others can predict the health of our bodies and brains as we go through life. It’s never too late to strengthen current relationships and to build new ones.

B.F.F.: A Memoir of Friendship Lost and Found

By Christie Tate (Avid Reader Press) $28

A heartwarming memoir about Christie Tate’s lifelong struggle to sustain female friendship and the friend who helps her find the human connection she seeks. With Meredith, 20 years older, by her side, Christie embarks on a brutally honest exploration of her friendships past and present. B.F.F. explores what happens when we finally break the habits that impair our ability to connect with others, and the ways that one life can change another.

The Body Keeps the Score: Brain, Mind, and Body in the Healing of Trauma

By Bessel Van Der Kolk, MD (Penguin) $19

Dr. Bessel van der Kolk, one of the world’s foremost experts on trauma, has spent over three decades working with survivors. He uses scientific advances to show how trauma literally reshapes both body and brain, compromising sufferers’ capacities for pleasure, engagement, self-control, and trust. He explores innovative treatments, exposes the tremendous power of our relationships to hurt and to heal, and offers new hope for reclaiming lives.

The Half Known Life: In Search of Paradise

By Pico Iyer (Riverhead Books) $26

Paradise: that elusive place where the anxieties, struggles, and burdens of life fall away. Pico Iyer brings together a lifetime of explorations to upend our ideas of utopia and how we might find peace amid difficulty and suffering. He brings together the outer world and the inner to offer us a surprising, original, often beautiful exploration of how we might come upon paradise amid our very real lives.

A Thread of Grace

By Mary Doria Russell (Ballantine) $17

It is 1943, and 14-year-old Claudette Blum and her father are among thousands of Jewish refugees scrambling over the Alps toward Italy. The Blums discover that Italy is anything but peaceful, as it quickly becomes an open battleground for the Nazis, the Allies, Resistance fighters, Jews in hiding, and ordinary Italian civilians trying to survive. It tells the little-known story of the vast underground effort by Italian citizens who saved the lives of 43,000 Jews during the final phase of World War II. Profoundly moving, it engages the value and depths of human connection.

Until next month, happy reading.

The staff at Covered Treasures can be reached at books@ocn.me.

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Between the Covers at Covered Treasures Bookstore – March mystery madness

By the staff at Covered Treasures

“Good books don’t give up all their secrets at once.”—Stephen King

March is a month of basketball and spring break. It’s also a great time to hunker down with some good mysteries, whether you are staying at home or traveling.

Standing Dead

By Margaret Mizushima (Crooked Lane Books) $28.99

Critically acclaimed author Margaret Mizushima brings the eighth installment of her award-winning Timber Creek K-9 mysteries. Deputy Mattie Wray and her sister, Julia, travel to Mexico to visit their mother only to discover that she and her husband have vanished without a trace. Back in Timber Creek, Mattie finds chilling notes that lead her, Robo, and the sheriff’s department to a grisly discovery, and the suspicion that her mother and sister are in danger. In a last-ditch gambit, Mattie must go undercover into a killer’s lair to save her mother or die trying.

Saguaro Sanction

By Scott Graham (Torrey House Press), $16.95

When Janelle Ortega’s cousin is found murdered at a remote petroglyph site in Saguaro National Park, she and her husband, archaeologist Chuck Bender, are drawn deep into a threatening web of hostility and deceit stretching across the U.S.-Mexico border and back in time 1,000 years, to when the Hohokam people thrived in the Sonoran Desert. Book eight in Scott Graham’s National Park Mystery Series introduces readers to the landscapes and cultural histories of Saguaro National Park, providing an inside look at its wonders and archaeological and cultural complexities.

Exiles

By Jane Harper (Flatiron Books) $27.99

Mystery follows federal investigator Aaron Falk, even on vacation in Southern Australian wine country. It’s the one-year anniversary of Kim Gillespie’s disappearance at a busy town festival, abandoning her baby. When Kim’s older daughter makes a plea for anyone with information to come forward, Falk and his old buddy, Raco, can’t leave the case alone. Falk is welcomed into the tight-knit circle of Kim’s friends and loved ones. But the group may not be what it seems.

Finlay Donovan is Killing It

By Elle Cosimano (Minotaur Books) $17.99

Finlay Donovan is killing it—except, she’s really not. She’s a stressed-out single mom and a struggling novelist, and her life is in chaos. When Finlay is overheard discussing the plot of her new suspense novel, she’s mistaken for a contract killer, and inadvertently accepts an offer to dispose of a problem husband to make ends meet. Finlay discovers that crime in real life is a lot more difficult than its fictional counterpart, as she becomes tangled in a real-life murder investigation. This is the first in a witty new series.

My Sister’s Grave

By Robert Dugoni (Thomas & Mercer) $15.95

Tracy Crosswhite has spent 20 years questioning the facts surrounding her sister Sarah’s disappearance and the suspect’s murder trial. Tracy became a homicide detective and dedicated her life to tracking down killers. When Sarah’s remains are finally discovered, Tracy is determined to find the answers. She unearths dark, long-kept secrets that will forever change her relationship to her past and open the door to deadly danger. This is the first book in the bestselling series that has millions of readers around the globe.

How to Sell a Haunted House

By Grady Hendrix (Berkley) $28

Grady Hendrix takes on the haunted house in a new thriller that explores the way your past and your family can haunt you like nothing else. Louise’s parents have died; she dreads going home to deal with her brother and all the details. Unfortunately, she’ll need his help because it’ll take more than some new paint and clearing out a lifetime of memories to get the house on the market. But some houses don’t want to be sold, and their home has other plans for both of them.

The Violin Conspiracy

By Brendan Slocumb (Vintage) $17

Ray McMillian is a Black classical musician on the rise, undeterred by the pressure and prejudice of the classical music world, when a shocking theft sends him on a desperate quest to recover his great-great-grandfather’s heirloom violin on the eve of the most prestigious musical competition in the world. Ray must not only reclaim his precious violin but prove to himself, and the world, that there has always been a truly great musician within him.

Until next month, happy reading.

The staff at Covered Treasures can be reached at books@ocn.me

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