Picks of the month

Because I’m a book editor, I’m frequently asked, somewhat jokingly, “Read any good books lately?" Obviously I read a lot of good books—and some not so good. That’s how we pick the best of the best for the Select Editions readership. As I’m sure we’ve mentioned before in this space, Select Editions editors review hundreds of submissions to extract the treasure reads from the blinding number of volumes published in the U.S. and abroad every year.

But if asked jokingly, the question usually has a serious intent because choosing a good book to read is serious business. No one these days has unlimited time for that favorite of all pastimes—favorite, that is, for those of us lucky enough to appreciate book reading for the sublime joy that it is. Wasting time on a so-so book can lead to what I call, “so-so book rage.” And the offended victim is not fit to live with until something really worthwhile shows up. So getting a hot tip on where to invest your reading time is gold.

This week I'm encouraging people to pick up William Kent Krueger’s Thunder Bay, a suspense novel set in Minnesota and the wilds of Canada; and How Starbucks Saved My Life by Michael Gates Gill, the memoir of a blue-blood New York City ad exec who lost his job, fell from grace, hit some hard times, and then found his way back serving lattes at a Manhattan Starbucks. The subtitle alone usually gets people started on this one: A Son of Privilege Learns to Live Like Everybody Else.

Of course, members of the Reader's Digest Select Editions and Today’s Best Nonfiction book series are privileged to receive these two stories directly at home through the mail. As you read those, let us know what books you're recommending to fellow book lovers this month.

—Tom