Three Good Books to Read

Hi there! A dear friend has chosen three books she considers good reads.  The book club will be choosing one of these books.  Here is what she has picked:

1)   The History of Love by Nicole Krauss.  I have read this books, and  I think it is a good book club selection book.  Published in 2006, this 250 page read will be widely available and a relatively quick book to read.  In my opinion, it is well written and interesting. 

The following is from the Amazon.com review:

The History of Love spans of period of over 60 years and takes readers from Nazi-occupied Eastern Europe to present day Brighton Beach. At the center of each main character's psyche is the issue of loneliness, and the need to fill a void left empty by lost love. Leo Gursky is a retired locksmith who immigrates to New York after escaping SS officers in his native Poland, only to spend the last stage of his life terrified that no one will notice when he dies. ("I try to make a point of being seen. Sometimes when I'm out, I'll buy a juice even though I'm not thirsty.") Fourteen-year-old Alma Singer vacillates between wanting to memorialize her dead father and finding a way to lift her mother's veil of depression. At the same time, she's trying to save her brother Bird, who is convinced he may be the Messiah, from becoming a 10-year-old social pariah. As the connection between Leo and Alma is slowly unmasked, the desperation, along with the potential for salvation, of this unique pair is also revealed.

2)  The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Society by Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows. This book is on my stack of books to read, given to me by another reading friend who thought it was wonderful. Published in 2009, this 290 page book will also be quite available as a used or a library book.  It looks to me to be a delightful book to read.

The following was taken from Annie Barrows website (see http://www.anniebarrows.com/otherbooks/  for the complete book description)

January, 1946: London is emerging from the shadow of the Second World War, and writer Juliet Ashton is looking for her next book subject. Who could imagine that she would find it in a letter from a man she's never met, Dawsey Adams, a native of the island of Guernsey, who has come across her name in a book?  ....
A celebration of the written word in all its guises, The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society is the debut novel by the aunt-and-niece team of Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows.

3)   365 Thank Yous by John Kralik.  This is a non-fiction that the recommending reader has read and found inspirational.  This was published by Hyperion in 2010,  is 240 pages, and has what I can see as only 2 amazon reviews.  It is non-fiction, and I have to admit, it does sound pretty inspirational.  My Mama always told me that you can't catch flies with vinegar.

From the author:
A Simple Act of Gratitude is a book that tells the story of an inspiration, the writing of 365 Thank You Notes, and how my life was changed by the people who received them.  You can read more at his website, and even send a thank you to someone from his site (http://www.365thankyounotes.com/)