New & Recent Books

by Jacqueline Houtman, Walter Naegle, Michael Long A new biography for middle school ages and up… “We need, in every community, a group of angelic troublemakers” — Bayard Rustin To many, the civil rights movement brings to mind protests, marches, boycotts, and freedom rides. They often think of people like Martin Luther King, Jr. or Rosa Parks. They seldom think of Bayard Rustin. Raised by his Quaker grandmother to believe in the value of every human being, Bayard made trouble wherever … Read More

by Jennifer Kavanagh What if the facts on which we base our lives are shown to be unreliable? What if our expectations are confounded? What if we let go of those assumptions and expectations? What if we let go of our familiar, habitual ways of thinking? What if we let go of the very need to know? Unknowing is at the centre of spiritual life. It is only by creating a space in which anything can happen that we allow … Read More

by Jennifer Kavanagh This is Quaker Jennifer Kavanagh’s first novel. B is not a child of his time. As an outsider, he hides his secrets well. Freedom is all he dreams of. But when it comes at last, it is in the most unexpected way – and at a considerable cost. Roundfire Books, an imprint of John Hunt Publishing 2015 149 pp. ISBN: 978-1782798842 Endorsements “I think the book is wonderful. Vivid and absorbing and thought-provoking. Nor did I find … Read More

by Eileen Flanagan At age forty-nine, Eileen Flanagan had an aching feeling that she wasn’t living up to her potential—or her youthful ideals. A former Peace Corps volunteer who’d once loved the simplicity of living in a mud hut in Botswana, she now had too many e-mails in her inbox and a basement full of stuff she didn’t need. Increasingly worried about her children’s future on a warming planet, she felt unable to make a difference—until she joined a band … Read More

by Douglas Gwyn A well-known Quaker historian explores the qualities of Quaker faith and practice that contribute to living sustainably in the world today. He explores such paradoxes as equality and community, unity and differentiation, integrity and personal discernment, and other aspects of life that Quakers have worked to bring into balance through their 350-year history. How have Quakers learned to create the kind of individual and community life that can prepare us to live fully and responsibly into a … Read More

by Ann Trueblood Raper A Quaker Courtship is an intimate, endearing story of love and a tantalizing glimpse of the life, key leaders and organizations among Quakers in 1922, revealed in letters, photographs and telegrams exchanged almost daily by Paul Furnas and Betty Walter as they met, courted and planned to marry. Paul and Betty were Quakers from different branches of Friends: the Furnases were Orthodox and the Walters were Hicksite. Their own courtship coincided with an effort among young … Read More

BOUNTY: Lopez Island Farmers, Food, and Community is a 124-page book that combines photographs, profiles, and recipes to present an intimate, behind-the-scenes view of what it takes to bring food from earth to table on Lopez Island. Photography by Steve Horn, Summer Moon Scriver, and Robert S. Harrison; profiles by Iris Graville; recipes created by Chef Kim Bast. Available from the author: iris@irisgraville.com

Hands at Work – Portraits and Profiles of People Who Work with Their Hands is a collection of dramatic black and white portraits, by Summer Moon Scriver along with companion profiles by Iris Graville, that captures the drama and tells the stories of people who work with their hands. The 144-page coffee-table book offers 23 full-length profiles and three themed collages of people passionate about their work. Many of the 126 black-and-white art images are printed larger than life. Viewed … Read More