Grace from the Garden by Debra Engle talks about gardening of course, but really it’s about how people pulling together can make a difference. These graceful essays show how gardening and gardeners, in all their wide diversity, affect lives and make the world a little friendlier. Some of the projects described include:

-An inner city community garden run by an former professional basketball player

-“Garden Angels”, a group of volunteers who install and maintain small gardens for elderly who are no longer physically able to

-Juvenile offenders who work off community service hours in a local vegetable garden where they learn to give back

-A doctor in the United States who has built greenhouses for hospitals in famine-threatened North Korea

-The story of the Portland Memory Garden, built for people suffering from Alzheimer’s and their caregivers

Gardens, whether big or small change, heal, and draw people together making the world better for all of us.

Young and wealthy, a secure position in society and recently widowed, Lady Emily Ashton enjoys a degree of independence that many Victorian women do not. She spends her time studying Greek literature, avoiding marriage proposals and traveling. Set in the late-Victorian era, this deft historical mystery is peopled with interesting, complex characters, witty conversations and an engaging mystery involving the theft of items once owned by Marie Antoinette. Fun and clever with just a touch of romance, this book will keep you turning the pages a fast as you can read.

A Poisoned Season is the second in the series, following And Only to Deceive. The third title, A Fatal Waltz arrives later this month.

Fans of comedy can probably look back and wonder where they were when they found out that comedian Chris Farley had passed away at the age of 33. If they read the papers at that time, they can also recall not being shocked.

The hot nonfiction title The Chris Farley Show, cowritten by his brother Tom, is an illuminating character study broken into 3 acts. Act I paints the portrait of a deeply religious and well-intentioned boy from Madison, Wisconsin with a Midwestern innocence that he never lost even at the darkest hour. Act II shows a fireball ascent through the ranks of Second City, Saturday Night Live , and motion pictures by a natural talent with spot-on instincts in terms of timing, physicality, and energy. Unfortunately, Act Three ends like it does in the real world, as the professional parallels between himself and idol John Belushi materialize in an all-too real fashion. The conclusion is painful, as the book shows us a kinder man than the one John Q. Public merely saw take pratfalls for the amusement of unseen millions.

The writing style takes a while to get used to, as the linear narrative of the author is consistently backed up by quotes from his friends, family and celebrity co-workers. It’s worth it. You’ll wish you could change the ending, though.