Voices by Ursula K. Le Guin

Once, Ansul was a light of reason and education on the Western Shore. But, for the past seventeen years, it's been occupied by the Alds of the western desert. They, believing that all writing is a sin and a form of devil-worship, destroyed Ansul's library and university. The occupied population has resorted to hiding their remaining books, often finding ways to bring them secretly to the house of Arcamand, where the old Waylord of Ansul resides. Memer is a resident of the house of Arcamand. Since she was a small child, she's had the secret ability to enter a hidden room in the house, and enjoyed nothing more than spending time with the books there. When the Waylord discovers her ability to enter the room, he begins to teach her to read and write, and to appreciate the written word in all its forms. But trouble is brewing in Ansul, and subterranean whispers for liberty break the surface when Orrec Caspro, the great poet and orator, arrives in Ansul, seeking the lost books of the old university.

When the Morning Comes by Cindy Woodsmall

Hannah Lapp has left her Old Order Amish community and ex-fiance behind to live in the Englischer world with her aunt Zabeth. She finds the difference in culture, the moral ambiguity, and the complex demands of her new world distressing, but tries her best to cope. She finds a new friend in Zabeth's quasi-son Martin, and develops a protectiveness for Martin's nephew and niece. Meanwhile, back in Owl's Perch, Paul Waddell, Hannah's ex-fiance, is waiting for her to come home. Sarah, her sister, suffers a mental break, and Mary, her best friend, gets married against doctor's orders. Will Hannah be able to stay away when she learns what's happening back home?

When the Morning Comes is the second book in the Sisters of the Quilt series by Cindy Woodsmall. The first book in the series, When the Heart Cries, was my book club's pick for March, and I liked it enough that I decided to finish the series and find out what happens to Hannah. Until we read Heart Cries, I had no idea that the Amish romance sub-genre even existed. I was half-expecting rushed couplings in the hayloft, or lusty beaus tearing off prayer kapps and aprons in fits of passion. Instead, what I discovered was melodrama, and When the Morning Comes is a continuation of the dramatic events of the first book.

Strange Flesh by Michael Olson

Heartache and a passion for hacking have comprised James Pryce's post-college years. Unsurprisingly, when he's offered the chance to work for his lost love, Blythe Randall, James quickly takes the job. She and her brother, Blake, need his cyber-spy services to track down their wily half-brother, Billy, who's sworn to destroy Blake, and has the cash to back up his threats. James's investigation launches him from a lifestyle of casual sex with strangers into a virtual reality of deviant sexual behaviour. But his involvement in this online world of depravity and his cover as a video journalist start to bleed into his real life when he becomes involved in a project to develop virtual reality sex toys. By the time he realizes the truth, it may be too late for him to escape his carnal new reality.

Zinovy's Journey by Ginny Jaques

Imagine a world where religion has been eliminated and the disparate cultures of the world have been assimilated into a single, secular state. Now insert a Russian soldier-hitman who's fled to the International Space Station after refusing to assassinate the mother of his yet-unborn child. Then destroy Earth. You now have the setting for Zinovy's Journey, by Ginny Jaques. It's the spiritual and physical journey of a man who has learned to trust only himself, and to love no one. But will Zinovy be able to find a place for himself in this new world?

Suggested book for October, 2011

The Year of the Flood by Margaret Atwood

Genre: Science fiction

In a dystopian future populated by rakunks, pigoons, and the CorpSeCorps, mankind is nearly wiped out by "the waterless flood." Toby and Ren, former followers of Adam One and members of God's Gardeners are some of the few survivors; one locked in the quarantine room of a brothel, the other hiding in a high-end spa. Discover the world of Oryx and Crake from another perspective in The Year of the Flood, by Margaret Atwood.

View my suggested books by Margaret Atwood

The Year of the Flood