Saralee Says
There is no better way to celebrate the holidays than by sharing a favorite book with someone who is special in your life.You can’t go wrong by giving your best friend, child, mother-in-law, spiritual leader or significant other a book as an expression of appreciation. A book does not contain calories, you don’t have to worry about getting the right size and you can spend anywhere from $5 to $500 and get a quality gift. So what books do I, as a feminist bookaholic wish everyone would read?
Little Women by Louisa Alcott (Puffin). First published in 1868, the story is timeless because it is about a wife and her daughters coming into their own.The March sisters make wise and foolish choices and their mother is a single mother as her husband is out fighting for the Yankees during the Civil War.
I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou (Bantam). Originally published in 1969, this book is a compelling story and after reading it I understood why many schools put it on their required reading list.
Personal History by Katherine Graham (Vintage Books). Published in 1997, this is the best biography of the last century. Kay Graham takes over the Washington Post after her husband commits suicide and overcomes both personal and professional obstacles.
Traveling Mercies - Some Thoughts on Faith by Anne Lamott (Pantheon Books). This is one of the best spiritual books I have ever come across. The compassionate and personal story of an author who turns her life around after discovering Jesus.
Reviving Ophelia (Ballantine). One of the most controversial books ever written while addressing familiar issues for young women. Your feelings about this book will be strong — you will either like it or hate it.
We Are Our Mothers’ Daughters by Cokie Roberts (Morrow). This is a personal portrait by an insider of the powerful women who are role models.
Friendship Cake by Lynne Hinton (Harper). In real life, the author is a white ordained minister of an African-American congregation in North Carolina. Her books about a group of women whose lives interconnect to write a cookbook for their church is more realistic than Jan Karon’s Mitford series.
One True Thing by Anna Quindlen (Dell) is a story that will make you treasure every day as a daughter moves home to take care of her mother who is dying of cancer.
Speak Now Against the Day by John Egerton (Knopf) is a Nashvillian’s account of the true south before the Civil Rights movement. After you read this, curl up with Egerton’s updated Southern Foods (University of North Carolina).
Magician’s Assistant by Anne Patchett (Harcourt Brace). Before she received worldwide acclaim this Nashvillian wrote the story of a woman’s journey for independence and also love.
Larry’s Language
My holiday list of books I am going to give to others (in other words, the books I really want someone to give me) include:
Who Says Elephants Can’t Dance: Inside IBM’s Historic Turnaround by Louis V. Gerstner, Jr. (HarperBusiness). Unlike Jack Welch’s book about General Electric, this is a company that was in cardiac arrest and not going to make it to ICU when Gerstner took over. Gerstner turned IBM around and details the personalities and providence that allowed him to succeed.
Bush at War by Bob Woodward (Simon & Schuster). While the writing is pedestrian, Woodward knows the inside players in the Washington Beltway. This book is a must because you hear directly from President Bush, Secretary of State Powell, Secretary of Defense Rumsfeld and their advisors about the state of the world at war.
Just as wise is Guns, Germs and Steel by Jared Diamond (Norton). Why did Western Europe and North America succeed so ably in technology, science and agriculture while the rest of the world lagged behind? Professor Diamond answers in terms of luck, rainfall patterns disease, mineral deposits and climate.
What Went Wrong? by Bernard Lewis (Harper). This book reveals the impact of Islamic religion from the 8th to the 21st century and why the world’s greatest 12th century culture declined.
Breakdown: How Americas Intelligence Failures Led to September 11 by Bill Gertz (Regnery Publishing). If it were not so serious, this sad catalog of misfires and lack of cooperation would remind you of a junior high school social clique.
Nelson Mandela’s Favorite African Folktales by Nelson Mandela (W.W. Norton). Nobel Peace laureate Nelson Mandela writes: "It is my wish that the voice of the storyteller may never die in Africa, that all the children of the world may experience the wonder of books." This magical book is a wonderful variety of tales drawn from the African continent beautifully illustrated in vibrant color.
On the lighter side, the holidays can be a time for pure enjoyment with Four Blind Mice by James Patterson (Little Brown). DC police detective Alex Cross returns for his last case and unlike the last two Cross novels, this one is electrifying and suspenseful.
Chasing the Dime by Michael Connelly (Little Brown). Connelly is almost the best mystery writer working today (James Lee Burke still holds that title) and Chasing the Dime is a hardboiled, cutting edge crime story.
The Lord of the Rings (The Fellowship of the Ring, The Two Towers, and The Return of the King) trilogy by J.R.R. Tolkien (Houghton Mifflin). The all time all world fantasy classic where good really does triumph over evil.
Reversible Errors by Scott Turow (Farrar Straus & Giroux) The life of the law and lawyers with far more realism than John Grisham ever imagined. Turow’s characters are based in Chicago with all its grit, grime and glory.
