Jenny’s Paper & Ink Books
I used to be a bookstore owner and operator before I decided to close my retail space. If I could only have sold thirty books, these are the ones I probably would have chosen. Across genres, they are all ones I personally recommend, some more well-known than others.
Scroll to the bottom for my bonus picks for memoirists and those who want to release their story.
These three are for my mystery and suspense readers. You think “Gone Girl” was eerie? Be sure you try Gillian Flynn’s others, especially, “Sharp Objects”. Fascinating read AND so cringe-worthy. Want a good mystery with quirky characters you fall in love with? Enjoy “Still Life” by Louise Penny and thirteen or so in the series centered around small town living. Did you know about “Cuckoo’s Calling?” Robert Galbraith is a pen name for J.K. Rowling and the story’s great (not all of her bustouts have been). Don’t miss these chills and thrills.
My favorite contemporary fiction recommendations. Do yourself a favor, and don’t read the synopsis of “This Is How It Always Is”. Just pick it up and trust me, especially if you’re a parent. “I’ll Be Your Blue Sky” reminds me of another favorite, “The Language of Flowers”. They both include depth with delight. Enjoy a relatable Muslim family full of religious identity and angst in, “A Place for Us” while visiting the classic, “Secret Life of Bees” if you haven’t already. Each of these books teach us through story-telling about communities and cultures different than our own with page-turning prose.
If I hadn’t felt responsible to read across all genres when I operated the bookstore, I would have camped out in historical fiction. Maybe it’s the gripping love stories in all four of these. Maybe it’s the settings of other lands that hold memories of people I didn’t know intimately until now. Because while the characters are often fictitious, the events surrounding them are not. Why do the Scots wear kilts and tartan, but had the clans dispersed from the Scottish Highlands? Outlander will tell you while your heart wrenches at Jamie and Claire’s long-enduring love story and marriage. And that’s just one example. Highly recommend the above.
I’m not a big fantasy fan, but I adore each of these books and think you will, too. History buffs? Stephen King’s 11/22/63 is SO well-written and fascinating. If you’ve never read Stephen King before because you thought he only wrote about possessed cars and dogs that keep you up at night, read this one. Learn ALL about Lee Harvey Oswald and why stopping this assassination, even for a time-traveler, proves difficult, if not impossible. Dystopian your thing? Don’t miss, “Never Let Me Go”. If you want worldbuilding, super powers, and a story that spans centuries, be sure to try, “Discovery of Witches”. Huh! Three of my four choices are about time travel. Interesting!
Highly recommend reading “Columbine” with “A Mother’s Reckoning” by Sue Klebold. True Crime is so popular right now, mainly through podcasts and HBO documentaries. But these two books are so well-researched and fascinating. Michelle McNamara’s story is even more so because one, she started out as an armchair investigator determined to get to the bottom of why the Golden State Killer hadn’t been caught. The irony? Since this book’s publication, he has been caught while she passed away prematurely.
Because every good bookstore has a Classics section with books written more than 50 years ago. These are three that are relatively easy to read and enjoyed by almost everyone, including children and young adults.
One of the hardest parts of owning a bookstore was when customers would enter asking for one particular and obscure non-fiction read. It was impossible, of course, to house Humanity’s Library in 800 square feet and I hated telling them no. So for my purposes here, the three non fictions I chose to highlight are in my favorite niche, self-knowledge. I believe that if we know how we’re uniquely wired and what motivates us, we can experience the fullness of what it means to be human. There are many books about the Enneagram, but “The Wisdom of the Enneagram” is one of the classics. “Style Statement” is less known, but especially if you want to dive deeply on knowing your branding and what you want to present to the circles you travel in, enjoy exploring the options in this book.
And, of course, a Children’s section is needed. How could I ever choose only four? Because adults should read these, too. Laugh, be inspired, enjoy a walk down memory lane, and read the classic story instead of watching Disney’s version of Beauty and the Beast. Be sure to read these outloud to a young person in your life!
Yes, somehow I picked only three memoirs as a writer of memoir who teaches others how to write their stories. I chose these three because like so many other beloved and awe-inspiring memoirs, like “The Glass Castle,” “Wild,” and “Educated”, these three also open us up to worlds we have not understood before. Rural and conservative America? Check. Angry Religious Zealots and the children who grow up in that environment? Check. And I just have to send a very loud shout-out to Chanel Miller. She slayed us with her impact statement. Victim blaming and looking the other way when the “good ol’ boys” misbehave is still a thing. But Miller’s story leaves you thinking twice. Three times. A dozen. Plenty of opportunities with her story to help us better understand what we put victims of sexual assault through when all they want is justice and to protect others.
The following nine books are my recommendations for writers of memoir and journals.