Central Kansas Library System

"All the elements of a Christmas romance are present, with a wary heroine slowly coming to trust the heaven-sent hero who's almost too perfect to be true." —Publishers Weekly

Lindsay Miller is knee-deep in Christmas cards and homemade fudge, but she's never felt more like a Grinch. Why can't Christmas be full of magic, like in her favorite movie, A Christmas Carol?

Enter Fred, a sexy and...

Crotchety and cranky Rudy-aka Santa-is in a foul mood every Christmas season. He talks to lots of children and even more parents but not with guys looking for dates. Only when his best helper makes him a very special gift does he meet someone to his liking. Kind of. Because that someone is made of flour and spices-and to impress him, Rudy seriously has to work on his seduction skills.

After his Aunt Dee Dee sends him a windfall, Ethan decides to bail on the family holiday drama and go on a college skiing trip instead. Then a reservation snafu lands him in the same room as Henry, another student on the trip, and Ethan stumbles onto a bonus present of another kind: one that could last through Christmas and beyond.

Bianca worries that her daddy, Gavin, is lonely and decides he needs a boyfriend for Christmas. So she enlists her father's best friend, the straight and unattached Curtis. Gavin has a Christmas wish, too, and Curtis setting him up on disastrous dates isn't part of it! Meanwhile, Curtis finds life becoming complicated as he tries to please Bianca, make Gavin happy, and fend off his own unexpected mixed feelings. Will anyone's wish come true?

Since Hank Calder's four-year-old niece, Josie, came to live with him, his life has been plenty dramatic, thank you, and the last thing he needs is a swishy, flaming twinkie to complicate things. But when Justin, the daycare worker at his gym, offers to do something incredibly nice for Hank-and for Josie-Hank is forced to reconsider. Justin may be flamboyant in his speech and gestures, but his heart and kindness are as rock steady and dependable as...

When a funeral calls his friend Martin away, sunbelt resident Chris is left alone in Martin's cabin in the dead of winter-and in a blizzard to boot. When the power goes out, Chris thinks he's going to freeze to death. Luckily, Horace drops in to check on him-and then runs out after a few kisses, leaving Chris upset and feeling used. Horace does come back with explanations, but is their time together keeping each other warm enough for them to see they...

Miracles don't just happen on 34th Street. They can happen right in your living room—if you're willing to believe...
 
What grown woman claims to have seen Santa Claus? Mandy Reese, for one—on a very special Christmas Eve when she was eight years old. These days, Mandy works at a year-round Christmas store in Tall Pine, California, where customers love to hear about her childhood encounter with Saint Nick. But when...

Capturing in verse the ageless spirit of Zen, these 150 poems reflect the insight of famed masters from the ninth century to the nineteenth. The translators, in collaboration with Zen Master Taigan Takayama, have furnished illuminating commentary on the poems and arranged them as to facilitate comparison between the Chinese and Japanese Zen traditions. The poems themselves, rendered in clear and powerful English, offer a unique approach to Zen Buddhism,...

He's living a lie. Dante Ramos: Champion. Ladies' man. Party animal. Women want him, and men either want to be him or put his lights out for sleeping with their girlfriends. It's all an act. Inside, he's so full of self-loathing he's on a fast-track to self-destruction. She's living in the shadows. Meeting Michelle at a support group for assault survivors shows Dante a new world of possibilities. Finally, someone in his life might understand him,...