Books to Inspire: February 2026
An American Marriage
By Tayari Jones
Tayari Jones’ An American Marriage is a stirring examination of how love endures, fractures, and reshapes itself under extraordinary strain. Newlyweds Celestial and Roy are torn apart when Roy is wrongfully incarcerated, and what follows is not just a story of injustice, but of the quiet, complicated aftershocks that ripple through a marriage. Jones writes with sharp emotional insight, showing how love is not just passion or loyalty, but also honesty, self-respect, and the ability to let others grow.
The novel asks uncomfortable questions: How long do promises hold? Can love survive absence? And what happens when two people’s paths no longer meet in the same place? With elegance and compassion, An American Marriage reveals that love comes in many forms. Romantic, familial, and communal and sometimes, its truest expression is allowing each person to become who they are meant to be.
An American Marriage by Tayari Jones was first published in 2018. Other notable works by Jones include Leaving Atlanta (2002), The Untelling (2005), and Silver Sparrow (2011). A copy can be found in the fiction section of Neilson Hays Library.
The Invisible String
Written by Patrice Karst and illustrated by Joanne Lew-Vriethoff
Patrice Karst’s The Invisible String is a gentle, reassuring picture book that introduces children to the idea that love doesn’t disappear just because someone isn’t physically close. Through simple language and warm illustrations, Karst follows two siblings who learn that everyone is connected by an “invisible string” that stretches across distance, change, and even loss. What makes the book resonate is its quiet recognition that love is both grounding and expansive, something that holds us close while giving us courage to explore the world.
Whether a child is experiencing separation anxiety, navigating new transitions, or simply curious about how relationships endure, this story offers comfort without sentimentality. It reminds readers young and old that true closeness isn’t defined by proximity, but by care, memory, and emotional connection, those unseen threads that keep us tethered to the people who matter most.
The Invisible String by Patrice Karst, illustrated by Joanne Lew-Vriethoff, was first published in 2000. A hardcover copy is available in the Children’s Corner of Neilson Hays Library.
Prepared by Kit Lang @mskitlang. The Neilson Hays Library is Thailand’s premier English-language library. The Children's Program offers Saturday Story Time, a cozy Children's Corner, and special holiday events. Adult Programs include concerts, art exhibitions, book clubs, and book sales. Located in a UNESCO-awarded historic building with a garden and cafe on site: 195 Surawong Road, Bangkok 10500, Thailand. Follow us on Instagram and Facebook.