At the store we've been collecting the books that mean the most to us...those books that touched our soul. Here are seven selections that are extra-special to Elsie.
Where Are the Children? by Mary Higgins Clark
Published in 1975 and considered M.H.Clark’s first suspense thriller. I devoured this book and it started me down the Mysteries To Die For Path. A Mother and her children——-Who Did it!!!
Marjorie Morningstar by Herman Wouk
Oh! I wanted to be Marjorie Morningstar, live on the Upper West Side and have an affair with Noel Airman. I have reread it many times. A coming of age book that I have reread since it’s publication in 1955.
Raised from the Ground by José Saramago
José Saramago speaks to my Portuguese roots and I always burst with pride knowing he won the Nobel Prize for Literature. We follow the May Tempo family as they attempt to escape abject poverty in the Portuguese countryside. My ancestors followed a similar path and I am the grateful recipient. Margaret Jill Costa is the preeminent Portuguese translator.
The remarkable memoir of Erin French, cook extraordinaire,. True grit, determination and courage have brought this Maine native to the heights of American culinary hoopla! Tragedy also stalked her. Erin channels David Chaplin, Bookstore1 Sarasota’s first manager. I miss this Mainiac!
Mrs. Mike by Benedict and Nancy Freedman
My love of romance and adventure stories evolved from the beautiful love story of Katherine Mary O’Fallon of Boston and Sergeant Mike Flannigan of the Canadian Mounted Police. I so wanted to marry a Mountie!
The Year of Magical Thinking by Joan Didion
In 2005 Joan Didion’s publication touched my heart and soul. My only child died 27 years ago and I searched for years for an answer to the endless shadows and endless time. She echoed my pain and anguish.
The Calligrapher's Garden by Hassan Massoudy
The Four Seasons as seen through the eyes of poets and writers conveyed through figurative calligraphy. Echoes of Seville, Cordoba, Silves, North Africa and the Middle East. Just plain beautiful.