Week 3

Assignment 3

Conversation 1: My first thought was to recommend Wild by Cheryl Strayed, since this memoir focuses on a woman's journey for self-discovery along the West coast with descriptions of the places she hikes through and much of her own reflections. However, this book was an Oprah Book Club 2.0 pick, which means that the customer has probably already read it. Therefore, another suggestion I would give would be Traveling with Pomegranates by Sue Monk Kidd, which is similar to Eat, Pray, Love because of its reflective nature, its focus on travel (Greece and France), and its strong female characters (a mother and daughter). Finally, if the customer wanted to veer away a little bit from travel writing, but still wanted a book that was reflective, had some light humor, and focused on a brave and interesting female character, I would suggest The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls, which is a memoir about Walls' childhood with her alcoholic, often homeless parents.

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Conversation 2: There are two suggestions that I would give the customer. First, since the customer specifies that they do not like teen angst, I would recommend The Historian by Elizabeth Kostova, which is a more refined read on the topic of vampires. This historical fiction novel delves into the folklore of Vlad Tepes. While a long book, it is fast paced and has all the characteristics of a Gothic novel combined with detective fiction, adventure, and thriller. If the customer is looking for a book that is a little less deep and instead more fun (yet still with none of the teen angst), I would suggest The Southern Vampire Mysteries (or The Sookie Stackhouse Novels) by Charlaine Harris, which feature a tough, spunky heroine and are fast paced, quick, short reads.

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Conversation 3: The customer here seems to be desiring non-fiction (since they enjoyed the fact that the story was true), and especially narrative non-fiction (since non-narrative non-fiction is usually not a fast paced read). My first suggestion would be anything written by Edward Klein or David O. Stewart, since their non-fiction books are similarly fast-paced and on the topic of presidents. I would also suggest Destiny of the Republic: A Tale of Madness, Medicine, and the Murder of a President by Candace Millard and The Hour of Peril: The Secret Plot to Murder Lincoln before the Civil War by Daniel Stashower, since these are both fast-paced narrative non-fiction books that feature murder plots and presidents. The Hour of Peril would particularly be an interesting read for the customer if they are from Baltimore, since it focuses on the failed Baltimore Plot to assassinate Lincoln.