This young adult post-apocalyptic fantasy novel is fantastic escapism—but escapism with depth and a message of hope. Have you sometimes wondered if another world exists? One that feels like returning to a home that we’ve never been to but somehow always felt existed? Jenny McClain Miller & Greg Miller have created that world with Atheria. 

If we're lucky, throughout our lives, a few books come along that will change us. Such is the case with a new book of poetry by Alexis V. Jackson.

My Sisters' Country is incredibly beautiful, evocative, and, through its phenomenological approach, teaches us much about the lived experience of black women.

Englishman Derry Brabbs is well respected as a photographer of historic sites and landscapes. He has brought those interests together in his book Great Pilgrimage Sites of Europe.

As you might expect, photography is at the heart of things here. Brabbs offers an eclectic selection of 33 sites found in across 13 countries in western Europe.

If you love books you can dip in and out of for nuggets of information, inspiration, and conversation, The Musician's Lifeline could be your book.

If I could give Alex Bryant’s debut novel, The Identity Thief, the first in The God Machine series, a single identity, it would be: Addictive.

I have found THE MOST FASCINATING book on eating outdoors. And I will tell you that once I started the book, I could not put it down (hello, 5am bedtime), and I have recommended it to all my friends who hike, meander, and eat in the wild. It has inspired me to look at being outside differently, and taught me much about food, walking and hiking, history, and culture.

Community building must become the heart of any school improvement.
~Thomas Sergiovanni

Do you love to take photos when you travel? Do you wonder about how to take great photos - both in terms of technique and how to tell a story? It's hard to find advice from an expert (unlike travel guides, right?) that combine photography and storytelling. Enter David Noyes, and his excellent new book, The Photographing Tourist: A Storyteller's Guide to Travel and Photography. 

Some books come into your life and stay with you. For whatever reason, they strike a chord and fit right in. And while this is rare, it does happen. One book that is forever lodged in my heart is Lassoing the Sun: A Year in America's National Parks, by Mark Woods. It's a personal look at natural spaces, at family and friends, at moving and doing, at being in nature. It's a thoughtful record of exploration and listening and thinking, of love, of essence of place.

Truth: international experiences change your life. That's why we do it - why we travel, learn new languages, try different foods, fall in love with colors and textiles, walk beaches and ancient paths, explore, make new friends, and keep traveling. International experiences can come in a plethora of forms - study abroad, gap year, weekend travel, year-long RTW trips, cooking classes, couchsurfing, sporting events - the list is endless, which is exciting!