NCW Libraries

For more than thirty years, Edie and Richard Middlestein shared a solid family life together in the suburbs of Chicago. But now things are splintering apart, for one reason, it seems: Edie's enormous girth. She's obsessed with food—thinking about it, eating it—and if she doesn't stop, she won't have much longer to live.
When Richard abandons his wife, it is up to the next generation to take control. Robin, their schoolteacher daughter, is...

The story of a young couple from Brooklyn who marry young, have little money, and face bitter parental opposition, but are determined to make something of their life together. "In Brooklyn, New York, in 1927, Carl Brown and Annie McGairy meet and fall in love. Though only eighteen, Annie travels alone to the Midwestern university where Carl is studying law to marry him. Little did they know how difficult their first year of marriage would be, in a...

When his ex-wife asks him to investigate a sudden crime wave in the Mid-West, Harry Duncan quickly finds himself in conflict with a violent syndicate that targets both him and his ex. When a crime wave hits several small midwestern towns, the U.S. Attorney for the region calls on Harry Duncan to investigate. An ex-cop known for his unorthodox methods, Duncan is reluctant to go up against a widespread criminal organization, but the attorney in question...

En vísperas de las Navidades del año 1971, en Chicago se anuncia una gran nevada. Russ Hildebrandt, pastor en una iglesia progresista de un barrio residencial, está a punto de liberarse de un matrimonio que considera desdichado, salvo que su esposa, Marion, que tambien tiene sus secretos, se le anticipe. Clem, el primogenito, viene de la universidad infundido de un moralismo extremo que lo ha hecho tomar una decisión que causará estragos. Su...

When it comes to defining what we know as all-American baking, everything from Bundt cakes to brownies have roots that can be traced to the great Midwest. German, Scandinavian, Polish, French, and Italian immigrant families baked their way to the American Midwest, instilling in it pies, breads, cookies, and pastries that manage to feel distinctly home-grown.

A small Midwestern community becomes the epicenter of miracles when a mysterious woman brings a healing horse to town.

"An enchanting and timeless all-American story that follows the inhabitants of a small Midwestern town in their quest to revive its flagging heart"--

When an unspeakable crime is committed, all evidence points to the suspect in custody who offers up a single note in defense, Get Jack Reacher! The law has its limits, but Reacher does not when his fight for the truth pits him against an unexpected enemy with a skill for violence and a secret to keep.

The story of Jack Gladney, his fourth wife, Babette, and four ultramodern offspring as they navigate the rocky passages of family life to the background babble of brand-name consumerism. When an industrial accident unleashes an "airborne toxic event," a lethal black chemical cloud floats over their lives. The menacing cloud is a more urgent and visible version of the "white noise" engulfing the Gladneys-radio transmissions, sirens, microwaves, ultrasonic...

A transgender reporter's narrative tour through the surprisingly vibrant queer communities sprouting up in red states, offering a vision of a stronger, more humane America. Ten years ago, Samantha Allen was a suit-and-tie-wearing Mormon missionary. Now she's a senior Daily Beast reporter happily married to another woman. A lot in her life has changed, but what hasn't changed is her deep love of Red State America, and of queer people who stay in so-called...