Let’s put ‘A Book on Every Bed’

DEAR READERS » Every year at Christmastime, I ask readers to put “A Book on Every Bed.” I do so in memory of my mother, Jane, whose weekly trips to our town’s library always yielded armloads of books. In our household, we went without some things that other families had, but we always had books in abundance.

The idea to put books on beds at Christmastime originally came from historian David McCullough, who recounted the Christmas mornings of his youth, when the very first thing he woke up to was a wrapped book at the base of his bed, left there by Santa.

The most important part is what happens next: Family members reading together.

Working with my local literacy partner Children’s Reading Connection (childrensreadingconnection.org), this campaign has grown to include schools, libraries and booksellers, who have donated scores of books to families that might not have access to them.

To support independent bookstores, which have had to pivot during the pandemic, I’m presenting some recent books in various categories, selected by some of my favorite booksellers.

From Jill Yoemans, owner of White Whale Bookstore in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, three recommendations for Early Readers:

“Mia Mayhem is a Superhero!,” by Kara West and Leeza Hernandez.

“I’m On It! (Elephant and Piggie Like Reading!),” by Andrea Tsurumi and Mo Willems.

“Narwhal: Unicorn of the Sea” (a Narwhal and Jelly Book), by Ben Clanton.

From Lisa Swayze, general manager of Buffalo Street Books in Ithaca, New York (Buffalostreetbooks. com):

“The Young Adult category has some of the most diverse, exciting, and revolutionary writing happening today. Buffalo Street Books’ #1 pick this year is ‘This Poison Heart,’ by Kalynn Bayron. Once you’re entangled in this heartstopping story, you won’t be able to put the book down.

“We also recommend: ‘The Firekeeper’s Daughter,’ by Angeline Boulley, ‘We Are Not Broken,’ by George M. Johnson, and ‘We Are Inevitable,’ by Gayle Forman.”

From the bookselling staff of Politics and Prose Bookstore in Washington, D.C., Adult non-fiction (politics-prose.com):

“Empire of Pain,” by Patrick Radden Keefe: A riveting account of the Sackler pharmaceutical dynasty. Over decades they engaged in aggressive marketing of drugs, culminating in the promotion of Oxycontin, which fostered the opioid crisis.

“Crying in H Mart,” by Michelle Zauner: In moving prose, the singer paints a vivid picture of the pain she endured growing up as the biracial daughter of a Korean mother and an American father.

“All That She Carried: The Journey of Ashley’s Sack, a Black Family Keepsake” by Tiya Miles: Winner of the National Book Award, this historian pieces together the lost lives of a Black American family — through the contents of a flour sack from the 1840s.