What to Read Next: Mother’s Day Edition

Mother’s Day, fast approaching on May 10th, has snuck up on me.  Wondering what to get a book-loving mom this year?”

After celebrating Independent Bookstore Day this past weekend, my heart is full from the sheer volume of book lovers who passed through our store.  After also attending events at the Newburyport Literary Festival, my to-be-read pile has also grown much taller.  With all of that going on, Mother’s Day, fast approaching on May 10th, has snuck up on me.  Wondering what to get a book-loving mom this year?

Fortunately, this spring is teeming with a bumper crop of new books.  

The novel of the moment is “Yesteryear” by Caro Claire Burke, just published on April 7. Don’t get turned off by the hype: I think this is worth a read.  Whether you hate-follow trad wives on Instagram or you are googling “trad wife” before reading any further, Burke imbues her page-turning novel with social commentary about influencer culture, wealth disparity, gender roles, faith, and the political divide that affects us all.  Everyone is talking about this book for good reason.

Elizabeth Strout’s new novel “The Things We Never Say” is getting fabulous early reviews in advance of publication on May 5.  For many years and many books now, Strout has been writing novels set in the same world, with overlapping characters that include Olive Kitteridge and Lucy Barton and Bob Burgess and others. In “The Things We Never Say,” Strout introduces us to a fresh setting with fresh characters.  Artie Dam is a seasoned and beloved eleventh grade history teacher when a secret rocks him to his core and he searches for connection with the people around him.

For nonfiction readers, “We the Women: The Hidden Heroes Who Shaped America” by Norah O’Donnell contains more than thirty portraits of women who changed history, from 1776 to today.  O’Donnell, an Emmy Award-winning journalist, writes about abolitionists and soldiers, yes, but also about doctors, poets, inventors, athletes — women who helped shape our country into what it is today.

“Joyful Anyway” by Kate Bowler is for anyone struggling to manage the barrage of bad news coming through our feeds each day.  Bowler makes the case for joy: You can’t always be happy, but you can be joyful, anyway.  And she does so with wisdom (she earned a master's of religion from Yale Divinity School and a PhD at Duke University) and wit and humor and vulnerability.

If you’ve got a mom who regularly rewatches “When Harry Met Sally” or “Sleepless in Seattle,” pick up “Someday This Will Be a Funny Story,” a collection of nearly one hundred Nora Ephron quotes, representative of her most memorable published work.  It’s perfect for dipping in and out for inspiration, comic relief, or a shoulder to cry on. 

Phaidon Press publishes gorgeous books on art, cooking, gardening, and design and more recently they’ve been putting out compact versions of some of their larger format works.  We have in the store “Great Women Artists,” a survey of five centuries of female creativity, and “The Garden Book,” a reference work of the world’s finest garden-makers, planters, and horticulturists.  The miniature editions make them more accessible both for portability and to your wallet.

No matter what the moms in your life might be into, there’s a book for that. If the options seem overwhelming, your local bookseller is happy to help you find the perfect fit.

Hannah Harlow is owner of The Book Shop, an independent bookstore in Beverly Farms.  Harlow writes biweekly recommendations for us.  See more of what she recommends reading at thecricket.com.