(Better yet, give both books together-swoon.) And then it packs this big emotional punch at the end-and again, that package! Give it to the host of every party you attend, give it to your mother, give it to your hard-to-buy-for great aunt, there’s no one it won’t charm. You can read it in one sitting and it turns out Keegan couldn’t write a bad or unnecessary sentence if her life depended on it. This year’s Foster by Claire Keegan may not be set over Christmas, but this story about a young girl sent to stay with relatives for the summer shines nearly as bright. Plus it came in this small, gorgeous package. Set over the course of a Christmas season, each sentence exquisite, with a moral dilemma at its heart and an uplifting ending, it was the perfect gift for almost anyone. Last year I gave all my friends copies of Small Things Like These by Claire Keegan, and I encouraged our customers to do the same (many of them did).

What may seem like an odd pairing makes for timeless reads and lessons on love (or, at the very least great salad dressings).

When giving recommendations, I always ask the customer two questions: Are you looking for something (1) classic or contemporary? and (2) fiction or nonfiction? I then ignore both of their responses and suggest Heartburn by Nora Ephron (laugh-out-loud ‘anti-rom’-com, autobiographical novel of Ephron’s divorce) and The Art of Loving by Erich Fromm (1956 philosophical work on love’s role in our lives, selves, society and civilization). Nora Ephron, Heartburn & Erich Fromm, The Art of Loving Remember the scene in You’ve Got Mail in which Kathleen Kelly tells Birdie that she’s going to close the shop? Don’t let that happen to your neighborhood treasure! Visit an indie bookstore, and pick up one of these books-for yourself or for a loved one.īig thanks to the booksellers at Sweet Pickle Books (New York, NY), The Book Shop of Beverly Farms (Beverly, MA), Yu & Me Books (New York, NY), Book Soup (West Hollywood, CA), Book Catapult (San Diego, CA), and Book Club (New York, NY) for their generous recommendations.

Small things like these book review