Read On :: Book Picks from Lynn Green

Lynn, my friend & former boss back in the day, is kicking off another series for us!

(Yes, there is a theme here - my life being not-so-exciting I'm using this blog to peak into others'.)

My best book finds always come from hearing about what others are reading. Since having a good book going is a must, this series asks what my best-read friends have on their bedside tables. As the editor in chief of BookPage, a magazine about books, Lynn is an expert on this topic!

Lynn's picks have never steered me wrong. Her descriptions make me want to read every one of these, but I think I'll start with The History of Love. Let me know what you think of the series!

-Stephanie

What's on your bedside table now:

Major Pettigrew’s Last Stand by Helen Simonson
The current pick of my book club. It’s a sweet romantic novel about a British widower who falls for a Pakistani shop keeper in his village, upsetting many of his very proper friends and neighbors. The author, Helen Simonson, has some very insightful things to say about human relationships and the difficulties in crossing cultural boundaries.

Book you can't wait to read next:

The Weird Sisters by Eleanor Brown, the story of three very different sisters who come back home to their small college town to care for their mother, who has been diagnosed with cancer. Their father is an eccentric Shakespeare professor who frequently communicates with the family by quoting the Bard. I love family stories, and since I’m one of three sisters myself, this novel sounds like it was made for me.

 
Last book you recommended to a friend:

Olive Kitteridge by Elizabeth Strout
This is not exactly a sleeper since it won the Pulitzer Prize for fiction in 2009, but it’s a quiet book, with amazing power to get right to the heart of its characters. Olive, in particular, is a character I’ll never forget — feisty, flawed and heart-breaking.

Favorite author(s):
I tend to read a book or two by a lot of different authors instead of picking one author and sticking with him (or her). A few contemporary authors that I really admire are Jonathan Franzen, Barbara Kingsolver, Ann Patchett and Michael Lewis.

Last book that made you neglect everything else to finish:

The Thousand Autumns of Jacob de Zoet by David Mitchell, an epic historical novel by an amazingly talented writer -- sort of Shogun meets The Da Vinci Code. I’m a slow reader but I finished all 500-plus pages of this one pretty fast because I was dying to know what happened to the two star-crossed lovers.

Favorite book you read with a book club:

The members of my book club tend to have very different opinions on books, but we all agreed that The History of Love by Nicole Krauss was wonderful — and it also prompted a great discussion.

Favorite book as a child:

The Enormous Egg by Oliver Butterworth. First published in 1956, and it’s still good!

Favorite book to give as a gift:

I just gave Laura Hillenbrand’s Unbroken to my mother-in-law because she was dying to read it. Everyone I know who has read this book raves about it. And it’s a wonderful choice for men who aren’t big readers because it includes sports, war and survival — three great topics for macho-readers!

Magazine(s) you love to subscribe to:

The New Yorker

Magazine you love to splurge on at the grocery:

Self — I am TRYING to get fit! Aren’t we all?