FICTION
Mrs. Lincoln’s Dressmaker by Jennifer Chiaverini. In 1861, Elizabeth Keckley was chosen to be Mrs. Lincoln’s “modiste.” Ms. Keckley was an uneducated slave who used her talents with a needle to buy her freedom. She became Mrs. Lincoln’s confidant. The book is well-documented historically, showing a different side of Mrs. Lincoln.
A Piece of the World by Christina Baker Kline. The book is a fictional memoir of the woman portrayed in Andrew Wyeth’s painting “Christina’s World.”
Major Pettigrew’s Last Stand by Helen Simonson. A tradition-bound British major develops a relationship with a well-educated Pakistani shop owner. The local community does not approve.
The Dutch House by Ann Patchett. A brother and sister are exiled by their stepmother from the house they grew up in.
My Friends by Fredrik Backman. A dying artist gives his most famous painting to an unlikely teenage artist. What will she do with it?
Wunderland by Jennifer Cody Epstein. Two teenage girls grow up in Berlin during the rise of Nazism. One joins the Nazi Youth Movement, while the other and her family, Jews, are persecuted.
How to Age Disgracefully by Clare Pooley. A woman is hired to start a senior citizens center. A motley crew gathers. During their first meeting a piece of ceiling falls on a member and she dies, leaving a dog that the other members care for.
A Day Like This by Kelly McNeil. A woman goes out in a storm to take her daughter to a doctor. She has an accident and wakes up in a hospital. She asks about her daughter and is told she did not have one. She goes looking for her and returns to a life she does not know.
NONFICTION
Daughters of the Bamboo Grove by Barbara Demick. This riveting account of Chinese twins and the adoption of one by a U.S. family provides an in-depth look at China’s one-child family.
All Standing by Kathryn Miles. This is the true story of the “Jeanie Johnston,” the only one of the Irish famine ships to never lose a passenger.
Then Again by Diane Keaton. A very personal memoir tells the story of Keaton’s life in Hollywood and her relationship with her mother.
Normal Women: Nine Hundred Years of Making History by Phillippa Gregory. This comprehensive tome explores the roles and contradictory actions of women from different levels of English society through the centuries and their unheralded impact on everyday life.
The Body by Bill Bryson. Bryson provides a layperson’s head-to-toe guide to the wonders of the human body, conveyed in his warm, often wry, signature style.
Lost in Thought: The Hidden Pleasures of an Intellectual Life by Zena Hitz. Read this book and rediscover the impractical splendors of a life of learning.
Memorial Days by Geraldine Brooks. This memoir chronicles the author’s way of dealing with the unexpected death of her husband, Tony Horwitz. It is a beautifully written story of love and loss.
MYSTERY
The Summer Guests by Tess Gerritsen. Retired CIA agents in coastal Maine sip martinis and solve mysteries in this good summer read by a Maine author.