It’s a relatively rare thing that I pick up a book I’ve never heard of by an author I’ve never heard of and enjoy it immensely, but Cold Sassy Tree fits that description. (Well, strictly speaking, it doesn’t, since it was a tape of someone reading the book, and I saw that the Austin Lyric Opera is doing a production of the story on their website, but it’s close.) The book tells the story of Will Tweety, a resident of Cold Sassy, Georgia, and his family’s travails as Will’s grandmother dies and his grandfather marries a much younger woman. A beautifully told tale, chock-full of humor, drama, and pathos. Great stuff.