"I love it for its portrayal of a good man whose goodness is misunderstood and unrewarded by almost everyone in the small town he gives his life to serve. I think often of its great last line: “What does it matter? Grace is everywhere.”"

"Set in the small vacation town of Littleport, Maine, you’ll meet visitor Sadie Loman and resident Avery Greer. These two are inseparable for almost a decade—until Sadie Loman is found dead. Secrets that have been hidden for years will be uncovered in this thrilling story."

"A teacher gave me Flannery O’Connor’s short story collection in the ninth grade. I grew up in a small town where girls were taught to be polite and not laugh too loud or talk too much or show interest in anything that might scare away the boys. It was a revelation to read O’Connor’s work. Here was a woman from a small Georgia town (like me!) who in direct contravention to her sex and social class was writing the kinds of stories that I was not only interested in reading, but wanted to start writing myself. Her bravery and clarity of vision laid an early foundation for my own work."

"This is my favorite Fellini movie. It’s so fun and sweet and bold and effortlessly weird. You feel this young filmmaker surprising himself. It also captures the claustrophobic yet epic feeling of growing up in a small town and hanging out with your childhood friends all the time. And the whole carnival sequence is so great . . . especially the aftermath, when Alberto Sordi is wandering around the town square at dawn dragging an oversize clown head."