Sure Bet Book Picks For Most Moms

A good book is an excellent option for a Mother's Day present.  My mother is getting one on Sunday [can't divulge the title here but I will tell you the book is mentioned in this post].

Not surprisingly, no one buys me books for Mother's Day.  I mean who buys the lady who matches people with the best book for them as her career a book? Probably not the best idea.

But, as a mother and a readers' advisor, I figure I can give you some "sure bet" ideas for the mothers on your shopping list.  But first, what do I mean by "sure bet." Of course I know that I cannot guarantee a list of books that everyone, everywhere will enjoy every time, but over the course of a career, it does help you, the librarian, to come up with some key titles or authors that you feel like you can confidently suggest to a wide swath of readers who give you nothing more than that they want a good story. These titles become your security blanket of go-to authors, otherwise known as "sure bets." For more on "sure bets" from me, click here for this post from 2011.

So here I have broken down some authors and titles to make your shopping go a bit more smoothly.

Sure Bet Authors:

• Adriana Trigiani-- I have yet to have a general fiction reader dislike her books
• Jacqueline Winspear-- If your mom likes historical fiction and mysteries, the Maisie Dobbs series is also a crowd pleaser.  
• Speaking of mysteries, Alan Bradley and Louise Penny write series that I cannot get enough of, and I am not a huge mystery fan.
• Gillian Flynn is great only if your mom doesn't mind high suspense, huge plot twists, and bad women (including more than a few horrible mothers).  Flynn is an amazing writer but you better get along well with your mom before you hand her something like Sharp Objects.

Sure Bet Titles:

At the BPL, we have taken many of our past book discussion titles and placed them on spinners near our desk.  While they are ostensibly there for other book clubs, they have also become a de facto "sure bets" collection for the staff when we need a "good read" for a patron. Why? Well, between Kathy's group and my group, we have seen the hand picked selections on these spinners go over well with a widely diverse group of (mostly) women.  We are confident that others will enjoy them too.  To access detailed reports about all of the books my group has discussed, click here.  I begin each of these discussion reports with a vote by the group on how they felt about the book, so you can sort through and see the most enjoyed titles.

But here are a few other titles I have read that I would feel confident gifting to most moms. All have very little to zero sex and/or violence, happier endings, are solidly written, and have an overall compelling pace. Please click on the titles for a full review, by me, on each.

• Where'd You Go Bernadette by Maria Semple
• Beautiful Ruins by Jess Walter
• The Good Thief by Hannah Tinti
• Digging to America by Anne Tyler (especially if the mother in question adopted a child)
• Away by Amy Bloom
• The Hunchback of Neiman Marcus by Sonya Sones

I hope this list helps you to find your mom a good read for her to settle down with this Sunday.  [That's what I plan to do.] A trip to your local independent book store should be all you need to get a copy of one of these books in plenty of time.  Click here to find your local store.  If you were wondering, my book store of choice is The Book Table in Oak Park.