Orem Library

Paul Auster's eighteenth novel opens with a scorched pot of water, which Sy Baumgartner--phenomenologist, noted author, and soon-to-be retired philosophy professor--has just forgotten on the stove. Baumgartner's life had been defined by his deep, abiding love for his wife, Anna, who was killed in a swimming accident nine years earlier. Now 71, Baumgartner continues to struggle to live in her absence as the novel unfolds into spirals of memory and...

Villagers like to come to rest and cool down in the shade of a huge, old tree. But when a young traveler decides to join them one day, a rich man on whose land the tree stands demands they leave because he owns the tree and therefore its shade. Thinking fast, the traveler strikes a deal: one that will enable him to outsmart the rich man--and ensure that the villagers will always have access to the shade tree's shade, wherever it may fall. With simple,...

Claire Powell's life is turned upside down when her beloved husband admits to a "near affair." But when Stephen accepts a partnership with an Atlanta law firm without consulting her and buys a historic Southern home sight-unseen--it pushes their already-fractured marriage to the breaking point. Claire's world spirals, and she soon finds herself in a marriage she no longer wants, in a house she never asked for. In 1863, Charlotte Thursmann, pregnant...

Secrets! Magic! Enemies to... something more? Jack Alston, Lord Hawthorn, would love a nice, safe, comfortable life. After the death of his twin sister, he thought he was done with magic for good. But with the threat of a dangerous ritual hanging over every magician in Britain, he's drawn reluctantly back into that world. Now Jack is living in a bizarre puzzle-box of a magical London townhouse, helping an unlikely group of friends track down the final...

Halim and Mina run a traditional caftan store in one of Morocco's oldest medinas. To keep up with the commands of the demanding customers, they hire Youssef. Slowly Mina realizes how much her husband is moved by the presence of the young man.

Seventeen-year-old self-absorbed Emmett navigates love and relationships in this queer retelling of Emma.

Jadunath Kunwar's beginnings are humble, even inauspicious. His mother, while pregnant, nearly dies from a cobra bite. And this is only the first of many challenges in store for Jadu. As his life skates between the mythical and the mundane, Jadu finds meaning in the most unexpected places. He becomes a historian. He has a daughter, Jugnu, who grows up to be a television journalist and then escapes her marriage for a career in the United States. And...

Three brothers are surprised when they find themselves forced to care for a baby during the holidays, during the journey they begin to rebuild their relationships as brothers while rediscovering their love for Christmas.

Dixon was once an Olympic-level runner. But he missed the team by two-tenths of a second, and ever since that pain decades ago, he hasn't allowed a goal to consume him. But when his charming older brother, Nate, suggests that they attempt to be the first Black American men to summit Mount Everest, Dixon can't refuse. The brothers are determined to prove something--to themselves and to each other. Dixon interrupts his orderly life as a school psychologist,...

Life is a constant struggle for the eighteen-year-old Nowak twins as they raise their three younger siblings in rural Poland under the shadow of the Nazi occupation. Helena discovers an American paratrooper stranded outside their small mountain village. Risking the safety of herself and her family, she hides Sam--a Jew--but Helena's concern for the American grows into something much deeper. Helena is forced to contend with the jealousy her choices...