The Forty Rules of Love, by Elif Shafak [$25.95 hardcover] – An American housewife is transformed by an intriguing manuscript about the Sufi mystic poet, Rumi. In this lyrical, exuberant follow-up to her 2007 novel, The Bastard of Istanbul, acclaimed Turkish author Elif Shafak unfolds two tantalizing parallel narratives - one contemporary and the other set in the thirteenth century, when Rumi encountered his spiritual mentor, the whirling dervish known as Shams of Tabriz-that together incarnate the poet's timeless message of love. Ella Rubenstein is forty years old and unhappily married when she takes a job as a reader for a literary agent. Her first assignment is to read and report on Sweet Blasphemy, a novel written by a man named Aziz Zahara. Ella is mesmerized by his tale of Shams's search for Rumi and the dervish's role in transforming the successful but unhappy cleric into a committed mystic, passionate poet, and advocate of love. She is also taken with Shams's lessons, or rules, that offer insight into an ancient philosophy based on the unity of all people and religions, and the presence of love in each and every one of us. As she reads on, she realizes that Rumi's story mirrors her own and that Zahara - like Shams - has come to set her free.

Mystery Of Everett Ruess: A Vagabond For Beauty, by W. L. Rusho [$16.99 paper] – The story of Everett Ruess, who disappeared in the wilderness of Southern Utah in 1934, has for decades been one of the most intriguing mysteries of western lore. A Californian off on an adventure at age 20, he loved poetry, nature, art, and beauty. His family tracked his wanderings for four years, and then Everett disappeared without a trace. W. L. Rusho is an historian and expert on the life of Everett Ruess. His first book on Ruess was published in 1985, and he authored two (four, six, eight?) more books on the subject.