“A History of Loneliness” John Boyne is about an honorable Irish priest who finds the church collapsing around him  “A Spool of Blue Thread” by Anne Tyler details four generations of Whitshanks, whose lives unfold in a sprawling, Baltimore house that has always been their anchor.  “The Last Good Paradise” by Tatjana Soli is a black comedy set on an island resort, where guests attempting to flee their troubles realize they can’t escape who they are. “A Touch of Stardust” by Kate Alcot takes readers  behind the scense on the set of Gone with the Wind, where Clark Gable and Carole Lomabard are having a torrid affair.   “The Secret Wisdom of the Earth” by Chris Scotton tells about an act of violence in a small, Southern town and how it changes a young man’s view of human cruelty and compassion.   “Trigger Warning” by Neil Gaiman is a collection of short fictions and “disturbances.”