MY TEN FAVORITE BOOKS by Lynne M. Spreen
News of the World by Paulette Jiles: A 71-year-old retired army captain in 1870, Texas, must return a 10-year-old girl, captured at 4 by Kiowa Indians, to her relatives in San Antonio. But she's become Kiowa. Now, as Captain Kidd travels with her, he begins to worry about what will happen at the end of her journey. A spectacular read.
Jimmy Bluefeather by Kim Heacox: Lovely, amazing, rich, wonderful book. Main character is 95, but there's a middle-aged woman and a kid just out of high school featured here, too. Add in the vanishing culture of a modern-day Alaskan village...no, I can't begin to describe it. But it's one of the best books I've ever read.
The One-in-a-Million Boy by Monica Wood: A divorced couple in their 40s, grieving over the death of their 11-year-old son, find redemption in their friendship with a still-evolving 104-year-old neighbor.
The Secrets of Flight by Maggie Leffler. The two main characters are a lonely 87-year-old woman who flew in WWII and has a terrible secret, and a 15-year-old girl who needs a friend. Fantastic story.
Major Pettigrew’s Last Stand by Helen Simonson A wonderful story about a 60-yr-old Englishman who, widowed, dares to love again.
The Signature of All Things by Elizabeth Gilbert. An entertaining and well-told story, full of historical, geographic, and cultural detail. I included it in this collection because so much of it is about a woman catching fire in the second half of life.
State of Wonder by Ann Patchett. You get two for one: a 45-year old main character, and a 70-year-old antagonist, both women, both richly drawn, locked in a struggle in the Amazon jungle.
Two Old Women by Velma Wallis This is a Native American folk tale. It's about two elders women who are left to die by their Athabascan tribe, and what happens next. An empowering story of reinvention. I love it and have reread it many times.
Still Life with Bread Crumbs by Anna Quindlen. A woman who is turning sixty must decide how her life will be now. She rejects New York City for a rustic cabin. VERY satisfying.
Gilead by Marilynne Robinson. One of my top five books of all time. An old man looks back on his life in the most beautifully wrought story one can imagine. It's very existential, and not for everybody. Read my review first and then decide.
