Nine Book Recs for Pocketful of Prose Readers

A curated gift from Andrea Bass

Welcome to Pocketful of Prose, a community for sharing stories. As always links are in bold, and there’s an audio of this post if that works better for your life. This week, I’m excited to share a guest post from my friend, avid reader, writer and curator, Andrea Bass who writes the Substack Literary Merit. Andrea has created a book list exclusively for Pocketful of Prose readers, and I’m so delighted to share it with you. Please stick around for some conversation in the comments, and please do like this post if you enjoyed it. You can do this by clicking the heart at the bottom of the post. If you’re reading this in your email, you can do this by clicking through the post until you get to the website. I appreciate you taking the time to do this as it helps readers find us.

Without further ado, Andrea Bass…

I was so excited when Mary asked me to put together a book list for her audience. I've worked in school and public libraries for nearly 20 years, so I think about books a lot. I may or may not have spent some of my summer vacation cataloging every single book in my expansive home library. Who can say for sure? 

Anyway, you should know that Mary is one of my favorite people to talk with about reading, thanks to her appreciation for good writing and stories. Since we work together, I get to see her shine as an English teacher and literacy coach as she discusses books with her students. She brings the same passion and energy to those conversations as she does to this virtual community she's created on Substack.

As I thought about that community, I considered the themes running through Mary's writing: 

• An appreciation for beauty and the natural world

• Honest storytelling

• Humor

• Care for friends and family

• Gratitude for the simple joys of everyday life

Those themes guided me as I thought about what books to recommend in this space. I ended up with nine titles that reflect the list above, including memoirs, novels, and poetry. I hope you come away excited to dive into some of these fantastic books. 

The Bee Sting by Paul Murray: When The Bee Sting begins, readers meet Cass Barnes, an Irish teenager about to graduate and head off to college. She tells us about her parents, Dickie and Imelda, and how they've disappointed her. Dickie runs a failing car dealership, and Imelda is struggling with the loss of her family's wealth and status. You think you know exactly who Dickie and Imelda are, but when you get to the chapters told from their points of view, you realize you didn't know them at all. 

The Bee Sting is a novel about a family on the brink of change and collapse. Cass, Dickie, Imedla, and their young son, PJ, are each keeping secrets and trying to hold it all together while everything around them feels chaotic. Though this is a long book, it never feels like it, thanks to Paul Murray's dynamic characters and the tension he creates by having each person tell their own story. The chapters get shorter and more tense as the book progresses, culminating in a conclusion that'll leave you speechless. If you like stories about families and messy relationships, don't miss The Bee Sting.

Foster by Claire Keegan: Do you have "auto-read" authors whose books you'll read without even knowing the plot? Claire Keegan is one of those authors for me. She excels at writing slim but powerful books like Foster. This story follows a young girl desperate to be seen. Her father and pregnant mother are overwhelmed by their many children, so the girl's father takes her to the Kinsella's house, relatives with whom she'll stay for an undetermined amount of time. Uncertain when she arrives, the girl begins to blossom as she's given the love and attention she lacked at home. Foster  will break your heart but also make you smile. This is a story I keep thinking about. Keegan packs such a punch in less than 130 pages.

Glaciers by Alexis M. Smith: Glaciers is a beautifully written novella about Isabel, a twentysomething woman living in the Pacific Northwest. She works in a library's archives and secretly pines for the man down the hall. This book follows Isabel through an ordinary day, during which she goes to work, visits local shops, and considers her life. Nothing exciting happens in this story, yet it's engaging from beginning to end because of the author's ability to craft a character who feels like someone we know. Glaciers is a well-written, intimate gem of a book that was republished last year. I'm so glad audiences are being reintroduced to such a lovely story. I've recommended this book to several readers who have all enjoyed it. 

Nothing to See Here by Kevin Wilson: Lillian is stuck. She's a grown woman who's unhappily living with her mom and lacks a job she's passionate about. Her life quickly changes when Madison gets in touch, an old friend from school. Madison is now married to a politician whose career is starting to take off, and she needs a nanny for her twin stepkids. Madison offers Lillian a good salary and a great place to live, so she jumps at the opportunity. There's a catch, though: the twins catch on fire, something the press can't know about. 

This plot might sound bizarre, but Kevin Wilson keeps the story from becoming absurd. Lillian is a well-developed protagonist who you'll root for as she grows to love the twins, who no one else seems to want. What could have been just a zany book is actually a funny but heartfelt story about family and finding your home. I was surprised by how much I loved this novel. 

The Orange and Other Poems by Wendy Cope: I love reading Mary's weekly posts and get excited when she shares poetry. It's an art form I've loved for many years, and it's always a joy to see it being written, read, and celebrated. Poetry can be intimidating, so if it is for you, try this short collection from Wendy Cope. In it, Cope celebrates the goodness of everyday life in playful poems that are accessible and fun to read. The title poem, "The Orange," is one of my recent favorites as it reminds me to savor the simple moments I easily overlook.  

Sigh, Gone: A Misfit's Memoir of Great Books, Punk Rock, and the Fight to Fit In by Phuc Tran: Good teachers have many skills, but the best teachers build community, knowing that belonging will help students feel valued and rooted. Belonging is exactly what Phuc Tran desires when he immigrates to America with his family in the 1970s. Tran uses classic books as the frame for each chapter of his unputdownable memoir, explaining how literature and music helped him find the community he sought. Sigh, Gone is a funny and moving story of a boy finding his way in a new country. I can't imagine anyone not enjoying this delightful memoir. 

This Here Flesh: Spirituality, Liberation, and the Stories That Make Us by Cole Arthur Riley: One of the best parts of my job is getting to lead a student and staff book club with Mary. This Here Flesh was one of our picks last fall. It's a book that defines easy categorization. It's part memoir, part spiritual autobiography, and part social justice essay collection. No matter the topic, Cole Arthur Riley writes like a poet. Her prose is gorgeous yet approachable. Her musings on faith, family, and race are unwaveringly honest. I loved hearing students talk about these topics in the book club because they affect all of us, no matter our backgrounds or ages. If this book has been under your radar, buy a copy and have a highlighter handy because you'll probably want to underline every other sentence like I did. 

Wintering: The Power of Rest and Retreat in Difficult Times by Katherine May: Like This Here Flesh, Wintering is a multifaceted book. It's a memoir and a guide to cultivating positive mental health and relaxation. In the book, Katherine May is forced to take a leave of absence from her job due to illness in her family and her son's changing schedule. Suddenly, what felt like a stable life doesn't anymore. It's from that vulnerable place that May shares her story and explains how she cultivated beauty from devastation. Wintering isn't a self-help book full of trite advice but an honest and powerful look at a woman who learns to find peace in the midst of melancholy. It really is a great book to read in the gray, isolating days of winter. 

You Could Make This Place Beautiful by Maggie Smith: You might know Maggie Smith from "Good Bones," the poem that went viral a few years back. In this memoir, Smith chronicles the end of her marriage and her attempt to make a new, happier life for herself and her two kids. Through vignettes, Smith lets readers into the messy brokenness of her relationship and demonstrates how she continued onward and learned to thrive as a single mother. Poets make excellent storytellers; I think you'll agree when you read this book. 

Pocketful of Prosies, what are you reading? What have you read that’s on Andrea’s list, and what did you think about it? What’s in your to be read pile?

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