- The Girl with the Pearl Earring, Tracy Chevalier
- Falling Angels, ibid
- Chronically Happy: Joyful Living in Spite of Chronic Illness, Lori Hartwell
- Please Understand Me: Character & Temperament Types, David Keirsey and Marilyn Bates
- Katherine, Anya Seton
- Bird by Bird: Some Instructions on Writing and Life, Anne Lamott
- Victorian London: The Life of a City, 1840-1870, Liza Picard
- Elizabeth’s London: Everyday life in Elizabethan London, ibid.
- Innocent Traitor: A Novel of Lady Jane Grey, Allison Weir
- The Lost Painting: The Quest for a Caravaggio Masterpiece, Jonathan Harr
- Thunderstruck, Erik Larson
- Isaac’s Storm: A Man, A Time, and the Deadliest Storm in History, ibid
- The Warrior Queens, Antonia Fraser
- Mary, Queen of Scots, ibid
- Love and Louis XIV: The Women in the Life of the Sun King, ibid
- Journey From the Land of No, Roya Hakakian
- Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood, Rebecca Wells
- Little Altars Everywhere, ibid
- Leaving a Trace: On Keeping a Journal, Alexandria Johnson
- The Hidden Writer: Diaries and the Creative Life, ibid
- Wisdom of the Celtic Saints, Edward Sellner
- Open the Door: A Journey to the True Self, Joyce Rupp
- Praying by Hand: Rediscovering the Rosary as a Way of Prayer, Basil Pennington, O.C.S.O.
- The Wounded Healer: Ministry in Contemporary Society, Henri J.M. Nouwen
- Compassion: A Reflection on the Christian Life, Nouwen, et al
- Called to Question: A Spiritual Memoir, Joan Chittister
- The Gift of Years: Growing Older Gracefully, ibid
- There is a Season, ibid
- The Story of Ruth: Twelve Moments in Every Woman’s Life, ibid
- The Dark Night of the Soul: A Psychiatrist Explores the Connection Between Darkness and Inner Growth, Gerald May, M.D.
- Kitchen Table Wisdom: Stories That Heal, Rachel Naomi Remen, M.D.
- How Much is Enough? Hungering for God in an Affluent Culture, Arthur Simon
- The Challenge and Spirituality of Catholic Social Teaching, Marvin L. Krier Mich
- Cloud of Witnesses, Jim Wallis and Joyce Hollyday
- Joan: The Mysterious Life of the Heretic Who Became a Saint, Donald Spoto.
- The Bible: A Biography, Karen Armstrong
- How Firm a Foundation: Leaders of the Liturgical Movement, Robert L. Tuzik, ed.
- Prayers of the Women Mystics, Rhonda De Sola
- Woman, Why Do You Weep? Spirituality for Survivors of Childhood Sexual Abuse, Sandra M. Flaherty
- Touching the Holy: Ordinariness, Self-Esteem, and Friendship, Robert J. Wicks
- Thirsty for God: A Brief History of Christian Spirituality, Bradley P. Holt
- Pilgrim’s Almanac: Reflections for Every Day, Edward Hays
- In Cold Blood, Truman Capote
- Hitler’s Willing Executioner’s: Ordinary Germans and the Holocaust, Daniel Jonah Goldhagen
- Wait ‘Til Next Year, Doris Kearns Goodwin
- Light a Penny Candle, Maeve Binchy
- Tara Road, ibid
- Quentin’s, ibid
- Scarlet Feather, ibid
- Silver Wedding, ibid
- Evening Class, ibid
- The Glass Lake, ibid
- Firefly Summer, ibid
- Year of Wonders: A Novel of the Plague, Geraldine Brooks
- People of the Book: A Novel, ibid
- The Chronic Illness Experience: Embracing the Imperfect Life, Cheri Register
- Dim Sum, Bagels, and Grits: A Multicultural Adoption, Myra Alperson
- Lincoln: A Novel, Gore Vidal
- Attaching in Adoption: Practical Tools for Today’s Parents, Deborah D. Gray
- Life’s Companion: Journal Writing as a Spiritual Quest, Christina Baldwin
- Words in a French Life: Lessons in Love and Language From the South of France, Kristin Espinasse
- Coastliners: A Novel, Joanne Harris
- Five Quarters of the Orange, ibid
- Chocolat, ibid
- A Vision of Light: A Margaret of Ashbury Novel, Judith Merkle Riley
- In Pursuit of the Green Lion: A Margaret of Ashbury Novel, ibid
- The Water Devil: A Margaret of Ashbury Novel, ibid
- The Birth of Venus: A Novel, Sarah Dinanat
- Murder in the Rue De Paradis, Cara Black
- Murder in Belleville, ibid
- Murder in the Marais, ibid
- Murder on the Ile Saint-Louis, ibid
- Murder in Clichy, ibid
- Murder in Montmartre, ibid
- Entre Nous: A Woman’s Guide to Finding Her Inner French Girl, Debra Oliver
- Hardball: How Politics is Played by One Who Knows the Game, Christopher Matthews
- Lean Forward Into Your Life, Mary Anne Rademacher
- The Historian, Elizabeth Kostova
- Good Living With Fibromyalgia, Arthritis Foundation
All while typing this list I kept thinking of two of my favorite readers: Emilie, and my mom. “Oh, I’ve got to tell Emilie about this one,” I’d think, only to remember…I’ve had more time to get used to my mom’s death, but I still can’t help wanting to call her on the phone to tell her every time I discover an especially intriguing, complex, mystery story.
But still. Today, this is how I honor them, and the legacy they’ve left me, a legacy filled with love and appreciation for the power and mystery of language. And I’m grateful, too, for the many friends with whom I still share a mutual love of books, of delight in a cleverly turned phrase, in that magical feeling of discovering something new and traveling on a magic carpet–all thanks to our common love of the written (and spoken!) word.
And mom, it’s taken me many years, but I finally–well, mostly–forgive you for all those horrible puns.
(For an example of another friend who loves words, too, check out Liz’s beautifully written recent post.)