Staff Recommendations, Week of March 17, 2026

 Happy St Patrick's Day, readers. Here are some great books to read.

Daniel suggests Life: A Love Story, the latest from Elizbeth Berg: "Flo may be 92 years old with a terminal illness, but that doesn’t mean she’s lost her sense of wonder about the world and the people in it. While she makes her way through the day, in letters to her once young neighbor, she documents various objects in her home and their hidden meanings. Through it all, she comes to see the value of connection and how the best relationships have ups and downs, particularly true for her long, loving, and often complicated marriage. Berg’s latest highlights her gifts as a writer of small graces, gentle humor, and philosophical musings."

Elizabeth Berg is at Boswell next week! See her here in conversation with Christina Clancy on Wednesday, March 25, 6:30 pm. More details about this 'show and tell' event at boswellbooks.com/event/2026-03-25/elizabeth-berg-life-love.

Jenny recommends The Fountain by Casey Scieszka: "The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue by VE Schwab and Tuck Everlasting by Natalie Babbitt are two of my favorite books, so the comparisons to Casey Scieszka’s new novel The Fountain had me intrigued! Vera Van Valkenburgh knows she’s immortal, but she has no idea how she ended up that way. After decades of moving around and slipping in and out of different identities, she returns home to the Catskills, determined to find answers to why she simply can not die. I enjoyed the blend of humor and romance, and the mystery of Vera’s life kept the pages turning. Mixed in is the philosophical question of what makes life meaningful. And why is she immortal? I was guessing all the way up to the end!"

Greta recommends Lucien, a paperback original novel by JR Thorton: "Atlas and Lucien are paired to be roommates in their first year at Harvard. This experience will alter their lives. Dominated by Lucien's commanding presence, Atlas paints forgeries to finance their endeavors. Things quickly unravel, leaving lingering questions unanswered. Author JR Thorton quietly critiques the ivy league institution as well as the art world. Lucien is an exploration into character, what makes a person thrive and what tears at one's sense of individualism."

From Kathryn, notes on The Utterly Unacceptable Atrocity of Isabelle Marsden by Nan Sanders Pokerwinski: "After escaping a traumatic experience while living in Chicago, Isabelle Marsden picks a random spot on the map, leading her to a found family fever dream in Lawrence, Kansas. This was a lovely, feel-good story filled to the brim with quirky characters, wild mishaps, and proof of the value of art and community in times of crisis."

And from Kay, who supports The Girl Who Made a Mouse from Her Grandfather's Whiskers, a novella by Kenneth Hunter Gordon: "In a distant future, ships of humans and two varieties of robots crash-land on an uninhabited planet. They separate into two groups of humans and robots, and within 100 years the groups evolve into distinct cultures. The novella's intimate setting magnifies differences between the cultures, and the result is as distressing as it is charming."

Read on!