Little Women
LOUISA MAY ALCOTT
This is the first copy of Little Women that I received from a family friend when I was 10. You can tell by how battered up it is that I’ve read it a lot. I haven’t read it since junior high, but it was a favorite for a long time. I am still friends with that family today.
Tidewater on the Halfshell
JUNIOR LEAGUE OF NORFOLK-VIRGINIA BEACH
Next up: I brought a cookbook. I am one of those people who didn’t really cook much growing up other than making cookies. So when I got married, I didn’t have a very good skill set. This is one of my first cookbooks and it’s from a Junior League in Virginia. You can tell by all the stains and what not that I used it a lot. I still make some of the recipes for Thanksgiving. I love cookbooks and have a pretty good collection but this one is one of my favorites.
I have also bought it for my sister and sister-in-law so I try to pass it on.
Angela’s Ashes
FRANK MCCOURT
Angela’s Ashes was written in 1996 and won that year’s Pulitzer Prize. It’s an excellent book, but I selected it because it was the first book that my book club read together nearly 20 years ago. We’ve been getting together monthly ever since. The nice thing about this group is that some books are selected that I would probably never select on my own. It’s nice to get that variety. Plus, these women are life-long friends so we know what each other like.
I really read across the board. Some science fiction is too over the top for me, though. I really appreciate good writing because not everyone is a good writer. If the writing is good and there is a good story or if there is something of value that I can learn, that’s what I tend to gravitate towards.
Humans of New York: Stories
BRANDON STANTON
This one currently sits on my nightstand. I love oral histories – and this is basically just that. This author is interviewing random people from different walks of life and the photography is interesting. It’s not something I would sit down and read straight through but it’s just nice when you need some peace and quiet or something to think about before going to bed.
This was a Christmas gift from my sister Kelly in 2015, and she is one of the few people in my family that is brave enough to buy me a book. My interests in books are varied. I view books as an outlet for the imagination and for learning.
