#40, Our Souls at Night, by Kent Haruf

I've read a couple of Mr. Haruf's books before, and found them to be very satisfying.  He examines small town life in and around Holt, Colorado.  In this book, Addie Moore, a 70-year-old widow, asks her near neighbor Louis Waters, whom she knows slightly, to come to her at night to help her combat the loneliness she feels.  Just to lay in bed with her and talk, to share one another's company.  It is a sweet and tender book about taking chances, reaching out, and breaking down barriers.  I wondered a little why, in the end, they did not get married, but that is a small point.