Our Customers' Favorite Reads
What's everyone reading? Our Life Over 55 group shares their recommendations.
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1. West With Giraffes - Lynda Rutledge
Set during the Great Depression, this novel, inspired by a true story, follows young Woody on a twelve-day road trip from New Jersey to California. He's tasked with delivering two giraffes to the San Diego Zoo in a specially customized truck.
This adventure becomes a coming-of-age journey for Woody, marked by his escape from the Dust Bowl, a blossoming first love with Red, a slightly older female reporter who's chasing her own dreams, and the many challenges they face along the way. From harsh landscapes and threatening weather to encounters with circuses and law enforcement, Woody, Red, and the mysterious "Old Man" are constantly tested.
They also experience the kindness of strangers, finding shelter with a Black family. The unusual spectacle of giraffes on the road draws eager crowds. Secrets are kept close to the vest, adding another layer to this captivating tale of adventure, romance, and self-discovery.
2. The Many Lives of Mama Love - Lara Love Hardin
Lara Love Hardin, seemingly the perfect cul-de-sac housewife, hides a dark secret: she's funding her heroin addiction by stealing her neighbors' credit cards. Convicted of thirty-two felonies, she becomes inmate S32179, navigating a jail system that's a bizarre mix of adolescent social dynamics and survival-of-the-fittest.
Quickly adapting, Lara rises through the ranks, earning the nickname "Mama Love" and bringing compassion to her fellow inmates, proving that jailhouse politics aren't so different from her PTA days.
Upon release, Lara reinvents herself as a ghostwriter, legally borrowing other people's stories and encountering luminaries like Oprah, the Dalai Lama, and Desmond Tutu. But her past casts a long shadow. Shame, a potent toxin, threatens to consume her. Lara must confront her past, learn forgiveness, navigate life as a felon, and ultimately prove to herself that her good outweighs her bad. "The Many Lives of Mama Love" is a poignant journey of redemption despite a system that often hinders true transformation.
3. From Here to the Great Unknown - Lisa Marie Presley and Riley Keough
A memoir co-authored by Lisa Marie Presley and her daughter, Riley Keough. The only daughter of Priscilla and Elvis Presley, Lisa grew up at Graceland and was the subject of public scrutiny from the moment she was born.
She paints an intimate portrait of her father, revealing the man behind his public persona, and recounts her turbulent adolescence and young adulthood. As the memoir progresses, Riley contributes her own memories and helps to carry her mother’s story forward. Published in 2024, following Lisa’s death in 2023, the memoir examines the challenges of family legacy and inheritance, the risk of living life in the public eye, and the difficulty of coping with pain and loss.
The book explores themes of reinvention, healing, and the search for purpose. Readers will connect with the author's honest and relatable voice as they grapple with questions of identity, belonging, and the pursuit of happiness.
4. The Fourth Quarter Of Your Life: Embracing What Matters Most - Allen Hunt and Matthew Kelly
Whether you are in the fourth quarter of life or not, this book will change the way you live the rest of your life.
Intentionality is the key to successful fourth quarter living. People don't accidentally age gracefully. People don't accidentally die peacefully. And people don't accidentally leave behind legacies of hope, love, and encouragement.
The purpose of this practical guide:
- Live the fourth quarter based on proven life principles
- Clearly establish meaning and direction for your life
- Develop the clarity necessary to make good decisions
- Identify hopes and dreams
- Establish what you need and want most at this time in your life
- Learn to say no
It is never too early to think seriously about what matters most. Many readers will wish they had been exposed to these ideas earlier in life, even those who are not yet in their fourth quarter.
Football games are often won or lost in the fourth quarter, a fact that can be heartbreaking or exhilarating. But life isn't a game; there's much more at stake
I'm thoroughly enjoying the last book on my list, and it's inspired me to encourage you to do the same. Pick up a book today and rediscover the joy of reading.
