The Dead Beat: Lost Souls, Lucky Stiffs, and the Perverse Pleasures of Obituaries by Marilyn Johnson

“Selma Koch, a Manhattan store owner who earned a national reputation by helping women find the right bra size, mostly through a discerning glance and never with a tape measure, died Thursday at Mount Sinai Medical Center. She was 95 and a 34B.”

The Dead Beat tells the story behind the obituary page – the people who spend their lives writing about the dead, and the thoughtful and quirky life stories they tell. You will be humbled, edified, and warmed by Johnson’s account of the craft of obituary writing and how it preserves and shares with us lives well lived.

Mary Ellen

Open by Andre Agassi

Remarkably candid book from a tennis icon who grew to hate the sport he’d been groomed for. Pressured for success from the cradle, Agassi shares his angst-filled journey to find self-identity both on and off the court. In the process, he opens himself to acceptance of his talent, love, and giving back to his hometown community in Las Vegas. Wide-ranging appeal for non-sports fans and sports fans alike.

Kyra

Why My Third Husband Will be a Dog by Lisa Scottoline

You may know Lisa Scottoline as the New York Times bestselling author of thrillers featuring strong women. In this book, based on a collection from her weekly Philadelphia Inquirer column, you’ll meet the real Scottoline and she’s hilarious. From her marital history (twice divorced from men she calls Thing One and Thing Two) to being caught braless in the emergency room to learning to build a chicken coop, she will have you giggling as she lets her hair down, roots and all.

Dedra

The Pioneer Woman Cooks : recipes from an accidental ranch wife by Ree Drummond.

“Who needs Julia Child? I’ve got Pioneer Woman.” Baltimore Post

Ree Drummond started blogging and built The Pioneer Woman website into an award-winning site, where she shares recipes, showcases her photography, and documents her hilarious transition from city life to ranch wife. This cookbook is like your best friend giving you advice rather than an expert telling you what to do. And she uses easy to find ingredients in her recipes!

Dedra

Out of the Canyon by Art & Allison Daily

Art Daily suffered a horrible tragedy when a boulder fell from Glenwood Canyon wall killing his wife and two sons, leaving him untouched. He faced a bleak future until a stranger, a woman struggling with her own grief, met him and reached out. This story is a riveting and powerful witness to the healing power of love and spirit over the worst, most unimaginable loss.

Mary Ellen

The Zookeeper’s Wife by Diane Ackerman

This is the remarkable WWII story of Jan Zabinski, the director of the Warsaw Zoo, and his wife, Antonina, who, with courage and coolheaded ingenuity, sheltered 300 Jews as well as Polish resisters in their villa and in animal cages and sheds. Using Antonina’s diaries, other contemporary sources and her own research in Poland, Ackerman takes us into the Warsaw ghetto and the 1943 Jewish uprising and also describes the Poles’ revolt against the Nazi occupiers in 1944.

Linda R @Highlands Ranch

Strength in What Remains by Tracy Kidder

In 1994, Deogratias, a young Burundian medical student and refugee, fled to New York City. Sleeping in abandoned buildings and in shrubs in Central Park, he was eventually adopted by an older couple who sent him to Columbia University to continue his education. Pulitzer Prize-winning author Tracy Kidder recounts Deo’s struggles in the United States, his horrifying memories of the Burundian and Ruwandan civil wars and his heroic efforts to open a free medical clinic in Burundi.

Jill

Boxing for Cuba by Guillermo Vincente Vidal

This poignant memoir of Guillermo Vincente Vidal tells of his early days in Cuba during Fidel Castro’s rise to power, his arrival in Colorado as part of Operation Peter Pan and the discrimination, poverty and uncertainty he faced. “Bill” Vidal grew up to be a respected public servant who has given back to the community in many ways, now as Deputy Mayor and Manager of Public Works in Denver.

Donna C.

Mistress of the Monarchy: The Life of Katherine Swynford, Duchess of Lancaster by Alison Weir

No one does royal biographies better than Alison Weir; I own them all. For those of us who have read and reread Katherine by Anya Seton this is the true story of Katherine Swynford, the commoner who became the mistress of the charismatic John of Gaunt, son of Edward III. This strong, powerful woman was the ancestress of the Tudors, Stuarts, nearly every monarch in Europe and six American presidents. Their love affair was the scandal of the fourteenth century. Wonderfully researched, but eminently readable, this is a must read for lovers of British history.

Dedra

Rome 1960: the Olympics That Changed the World by David Maraniss

Fascinating how many household names came out of this Olympics – Mohammed Ali, Rafer Johnson, Wilma Rudolph. Great for all sports fans.

Dedra