book picks
Book buyers’ picks Aprıl
What authors
are reading
NONFICTION
Cooked, by Michael Pollan. Pollan, author of
The Omnivore’s Dilemma, is one of my favorite writers for helping me navigate what I
choose to eat. In Cooked, he turns to his own
kitchen and examines how the four elements—earth, fire, water and air—transform
natural ingredients into delicious food and
beverages. Pollan goes on to discuss how food
prepared at home nourishes not only our
bodies, but also our relationships with friends
and family. (April 23)
what most men of that time did: He used his
daughters as pawns in his quest to gain favor
in court or strengthen connections to the royal
family. While his daughter Anne does go on
to attain her father’s greatest ambition, it’s at
the cost of losing the people she loves most in
the world. (April 9)
—Beth Alley, inventory control specialist, books
—Chris Burns
inventory control specialist, books
FICTION
Starting Now: A Blossom Street Novel, by
Debbie Macomber. After being let go from
her job at a high-pressure law firm, Libby
Morgan realizes she’s put her career ahead of
friends and the opportunity to have a family.
Libby ends up spending her afternoons at
a friend’s yarn shop, A Good Yarn; the store
becomes a second home and the women there
a second family. The highest praise I can think
to give is that Macomber’s novels are as cozy
as the yarn shop she lovingly describes in this
series. (April 2)
—Lindsay Bubitz, assistant buyer, books
Don’t Go, by Lisa Scottoline. As Dr. Mike
Scanlon operates on a wounded soldier in a
war-torn country, his wife dies at home in the
suburbs, in an apparent household accident.
He returns home to bury her, only to discover
that the life he left behind has fallen apart. His
medical practice is in jeopardy, and he is a
complete stranger to his young daughter.
Worse, he learns a shocking secret that sends
him into a downward spiral. I’ve long been
a fan of Scottoline as an author and as a person.
This book shows just how skilled a writer she is
as she takes on unfamiliar terrain. (April 9)
—Shana Lind-Stowers, assistant buyer, books
JAKE STANGEL
A WORK FRIEND came
by my cubicle one day
to recommend a book:
“You’ve got to read
Pillars of the Earth. It’s
the best book I’ve ever
read!” I’d never heard
of Ken Follett but
decided to read a few
pages of this book the next time I visited
the bookstore. My friend failed to tell me
that the book was huge! The kind of book
that requires commitment and true grit to
complete. Pillars is historical fiction at its
finest. All I will say is it begins in 12th-
century England with a man’s desire to
build a cathedral and ends with you sob-
bing like a baby weeks later when you
realize the story is coming to an end.
Mary Williams
—Mary Williams, author of
The Lost Daughter: A Memoir (April 9)
The Kingmaker’s Daughter, by Philippa
Gregory. I may be an unyielding fan of historical fiction, but I’m thankful I can enjoy it
from this century. Richard, Earl of Warwick,
was the most powerful magnate in 15th-cen-
tury England. Without a son and heir, he did
tury England. Without a son and heir, he did
Palisades Park, by Alan Brennert. Meet the
Stopka family: Eddie and Adele and their
children, Antoinette and Jack. Eddie and Adele
sell french fries at a stand at New Jersey’s
Palisades Park. Toni helps her parents while
harboring dreams of being a high diver. Even
though each member of the family has his
or her own dreams, events such as Pearl
Harbor and the amusement park’s early-’70s
closure only bring the family closer together.
What struck me most about this novel is how
Brennert deftly shows that as long as humans
are involved, there’s no such thing as a simpler
time. (April 9)
What struck me most about this novel is how
t time. (April 9)
HARRY BENSON
I’M VERY impression-
able, so I don’t read in
my own genre. I think
it would be terrible to
steal someone else’s
idea, even inadver-
tently, and it would
be even worse to get
caught doing it! I do
read occasional fiction, however: right
now, Wolf Hall, by Hilary Mantel, which is
brilliant. Her prose is like chamber music.
And I have the sequel, Bring Up the
Bodies, waiting on my bookshelf.
—Stuart Woods, author of
Stuart Wood
Unintended Consequences (April 9)
The Costco
Connection
All books mentioned on this
page are available in most
Costco warehouses.
—Jonna Erickson-Outlaw
assistant buyer, books
PHOTODISC
FRAN COLLIN
