What To Read Next If You’ve Read Everything Else

We are asked to recommend books every day. One of our more challenging requests is to find a book for someone who reads all the time. This person will likely have read all of the books on the best seller lists.  This kind of request always conjures up some terrific titles from everyone here on the staff, so I played mystery shopper today and had everyone give me their favorite book recommendations for my “cousin in Ohio who is turning 45 and is a voracious reader”.

From Edye: A Ticket To The Circus by Norris Church Mailer ($26.00)  A great American love story, this warm, funny, revealing memoir introduces the world to the late Norman Mailer’s greatest inspiration, his wife of more than 30 years–Norris Church Mailer who has led a life as large and as colorful as her husband’s, and every bit as engaging. With southern charm and wit, Norris Church Mailer depicts the full evolution of her life, from her childhood all the way through her intense marriage with Norman and his heartbreaking death. This unforgettable memoir will enchant readers with its honesty and insight into how we grow up and how we love.

From Elizabeth: Crossing To Safety by Wallace Stegner ($14.95) Called a “magnificently crafted story . . . brimming with wisdom” by Howard Frank Mosher in “The Washington Post Book World, “Crossing to Safety has, since its publication in 1987, established itself as one of the greatest and most cherished American novels of the twentieth century. Tracing the lives, loves, and aspirations of two couples who move between Vermont and Wisconsin, it is a work of quiet majesty, deep compassion, and powerful insight into the alchemy of friendship and marriage.

From Kathleen: Trinity by Leon Uris ($7.99) From the acclaimed author who enthralled the world with “Exodus, Battle Cry, QB VII, Topaz, ” and other beloved classics of twentieth-century fiction comes a sweeping and powerful epic adventure that captures the “terrible beauty” of Ireland during its long and bloody struggle for freedom. It is the electrifying story of an idealistic young Catholic rebel and the valiant and beautiful Protestant girl who defied her heritage to join his cause.

From Nancy: Little Heathens: Hard Times and High Spirits on an Iowa Farm During the Great Depression by Mildred Kalish Armstrong ($14.00) “I tell of a time, a place, and a way of life long gone. For many years I have had the urge to describe that treasure trove, lest it vanish forever. So, partly in response to the basic human instinct to share feelings and experiences, and partly for the sheer joy and excitement of it all, I report on my early life. It was quite a romp.” So begins Mildred Kalish’s story of growing up on her grandparents’ Iowa farm during the depths of the Great Depression. With her father banished from the household for mysterious transgressions, five-year-old Mildred and her family could easily have been overwhelmed by the challenge of simply trying to survive. This, however, is not a tale of suffering. Kalish counts herself among the lucky of that era. She had caring grandparents who possessed–and valiantly tried to impose–all the pioneer virtues of their forebears, teachers who inspired and befriended her, and a barnyard full of animals ready to be tamed and loved. She and her siblings and their cousins from the farm across the way played as hard as they worked, running barefoot through the fields, as free and wild as they dared.