Amazing Grace: A Vocabulary of Faith by Kathleen Norris. More than a dictionary of words or theological terms, Norris shares with us her understanding of faith and how these ideas and terms have changed her life's journey. - Beth Hutcheson, Homewood

Blindness by Jose Saramago. What would happen if you suddenly went blind while stopped at a traffic light? Then you discover that you were just the first. Everyone is going blind. What would you do? What would everyone else do? A thought provoking, intense and thoroughly engrossing look at human nature. - Mondretta Williams, Leeds

Courting Trouble by Lisa Scottoline. Anne Murphy, a lawyer with a secret past, is trying to make a go of it in a new city when she picks up a newspaper and reads that she has been murdered. Scottoline weaves this intriguing tale with suspense, female bonding and a surprise in the penultimate chapter. - Billie Page, Hoover

The Death of Common Sense: How the Law is Suffocating America by Philip K. Howard. Howard has gathered evidence to support Americans frustration with government laws and the resulting paperwork. He passes judgement on a stifling U.S. legal system and tallies the cost of conforming to mountains of regulations claiming to protect us. - Karen Carroll, Leeds

Equivocal Death by Amy Gutman. Gutman has written a debut novel that not only keeps the reader in suspense until the jaw-dropping conclusion, but also illustrates the dynamics of high-power New York law firms and women’s roles in them. - Carrie Steinmehl, Hoover

Gap Creek by Robert Morgan. Gap Creek is an Appalachian town on the border of the Carolinas. Morgan tells the bitter tale of Julie Harmon and her husband Hank’s first year of marriage. Their love and endurance, both physical and emotional, is constantly tested. Readers will respect Julie's strength of character and wish her well. - Valerie Holmes, Trussville

The "Mitford" Series by Jan Karon. Karon has written seven delightfully entertaining and heartwarming stories of life in the small North Carolina mountain town of Mitford. Each novel features Father Tim Kavanagh, an Episcopal rector, his spirited wife Cynthia, and a host of other colorful characters you will soon think of as friends. - Dennis Nichols, Homewood

Month-by-Month Gardening in Alabama by Bob Polomski, edited by Felder Rushing. Programmed to tell you what to do and when, this Alabama gardeners' guide offers timely advice on topics including annuals, bulbs, herbs and vegetables, lawns, perennials, roses, shrubs, trees, water gardening and more. - Mindy Bodenhamer, Botanical Gardens

My Last Days as Roy Rogers by Pat Cunningham DeVoto. In 1950s Alabama, during the last polio summer, ten-year-old Tabitha Rutland, a tomboy with a passion for Roy Rogers, seeks adventure with her best friend Maudie May. An unforgettable story of human frailty, racial injustice and the healing power of love. - Pam Bainter, Hoover

Once Upon a Town: The Miracle of North Platte Canteen by Bob Greene. This book is the poignant story of simple acts of generosity that the citizens of North Platte, Nebraska performed by reaching out to over six million servicemen, greeting every troop train with food and affection. - Susan Spafford, Hoover

Snow Falling on Cedars by David Guterson. Set on an island off the coast of Washington state in the 1950’s, the story is nominally about a murder trial. Lingering memories of World War II, internment camps and racism helps fuel suspicion of a Japanese-American fisherman, a lifelong resident of the islands. This is a combination love story, murder mystery and painful history lesson. - Leslie West, Bessemer

Timeline by Michael Crichton. Let's call this one "Star Trekking Yankees in King Arthur's Castle." But don't wait for the movie, see this exciting quantum adventure now in your imagination. - Peggy Lawson, Leeds.

We Are Not Afraid by Homer Hickam. One of the October Sky students returns to his native West Virginia roots revealing the sources of small town American strength. Four confidence building attitudes, inspiring courage in the face of crisis, are reinforced with homespun anecdotes from Hickam and his childhood companions. - Diane Cole, Leeds

Winter Solstice by Rosamund Pilcher. This book reminds us that friendship, compassion, loyalty, and love can come together and renew us - even when the days seem darkest. Find out how through the lives of five very different people confronting challenges during the holiday season. - Doris Jarvis, Leeds

The Christmas Miracle of Jonathan Toomey by Susan Wojciechowski. A widow and her seven-year-old son enlist the town’s best and crankiest wood carver to carve a replacement for the family crèche. A gentle Christmas message of life renewed. - Carole Melton, Emmet O’Neal

Olivia Saves the Circus by Ian Falconer. Olivia the pig has no trouble telling the class what she did on vacation. She went to the circus! But in typical Olivia fashion, Olivia jumped in to help the circus acts! - Jennifer McBain, Trussville

Waiting for Wings by Lois Ehlert. A truly beautiful book that shows the celebration of butterfly metamorphosis. Every preschooler will be entranced by this subject and the illustrator’s rendition of this miraculous event. - Melissa Foster Wills, Leeds

Good Morning, Gorillas by Mary Pope Osborne. Great choice for the beginning chapter book crowd! Jack and Annie visit the African rainforest and learn to communicate with gorillas. - Mary Anne Cohen, Hoover

Horace Splattly: the Cupcaked Crusader by David Lawrence. Ten-year-old Horace Splattly is turned into a fire-breathing, high flying super hero by his sister’s magic cookies. Good for reluctant readers. - Lou Ellen Nichols, Gardendale

Love That Dog by Sharon Creech. Written in free verse, a young boy discovers, against his will, the pleasures of poetry. Great choice for the reader who has read everything! - Amanda Sizemore, Vestavia

Because of Winn-Dixie by Kate diCamillo. Were all the good things that happened to India Opal that summer because of Winn Dixie - the dog, not the grocery store? Or was it because of the wonderful, eccentric LIBRARIAN? - Grace Slaughter, Trussville

The Hero & the Crown by Robin McKinley. Aerin, Princess of Damar, is scorned because of her clumsiness and her foreign-born mother. Her struggle to discover her gifts and purpose is rewarded when she saves her land from the ultimate evil and finds true love in the process. - Laura Edge, Trussville

When did you start writing seriously?
Always an avid reader, I dabbled at writing for years. After taking a creative writing course, I got serious. Some of my short stories won awards and were published, but it took 16 years before one of my novels was published - Searching for Blanche. Sweet and Sour came out the following year.

Where do you get your ideas?
Characters come into my head and once they're fully formed, they write the story. I'm just the messenger.