On the evening of Aug. 15, the bookstore was packed to the gills as a crowd gathered during the Art Walk. The evening’s highlight? A special chat with two beloved former owners, who shared their favorite reads with an eager audience.

“Look at everybody here in our small but mighty bookshop,” remarked Michelle Bear, the current owner. “The reason this event came into being is I was selling books at a Nancy Pearl event up on Camano Island. I sat there thinking, ‘You need to have Nancy Pearl come to the shop.’ And then I thought, ‘Wait, we have our own Susan and Mary Kay.’”

Susan Hildebrandt worked for booksellers for several years. She and her husband, Barry, started Peregrine Press, a publishing company in Connecticut specializing in non-fiction regional books. Together, they bought the Edmonds Bookshop in 1990 and managed the store until 2001, when they sold it to Mary Kay Sneeringer and David Brewster.

Sneeringer and her husband, David Brewster, owned and ran the bookshop until 2021, when they sold it to then-assistant manager Michelle Bear. Both Susan and Mary Kay continue to work at Edmonds Bookshop, and you can find one or the other of them giving book recommendations almost every day of the week.

Hildebrandt joked, “I guess I come with the store.”

Before the sellers began sharing their top book picks, Hildebrandt said: “Talking about books is the most fun [part of working for the shop]. We have all kinds of other jobs we do, but this is what keeps us coming here.”

All the books they recommended are linked in the title for sale or pre-order.

Sneeringer – The Magician by Colm Tóibín.

The Magician is an intimate portrait of Mann, his wife Katia, and the times in which they lived — the First World War, the rise of Hitler, World War II, the Cold War and exile. This is a man and a family fiercely engaged by the world, profoundly flawed and unforgettable.

“The thing I love about the way Colm Tóibín tells the stories of real authors in a novel is his understanding of what it means to be an artist. So a lot of what he’s talking about is the art, writing, and how you work it out,” Sneeringer said of the book.

Hildebrandt –  The Demon of Unrest: A Saga of Hubris, Heartbreak, and Heroism at the Dawn of the Civil War by Erik Larson.

In “The Demon of Unrest,” author Erik Larson chronicles the five months between the election of Abraham Lincoln in 1860 and the start of the Civil War, drawing parallels to today’s political climate.

Hildebrandt shared that one thing she learned from the book was that the generals in the Civil War went to school together and had been friends. “They’re best friends are on two different sides now, which really made it a psychological thing about, you know, what would you do if your best friend all of a sudden is opposite you.”

Someone from the crowd piped in: “It’s the same thing we’re doing now.”

Hildebrandt – Good Night, Irene: A Novel by Luis Alberto Urrea.

This fictional story is loosely based on the author’s mother’s diary. She was a Red Cross volunteer with the Donut Dollies on the battlefields of World War II.

“It’s a wonderful story about the relationships between women and friendship. You read stories where, in combat, men get all this great comradeship. Women get the same thing.” Hildebrandt noted that the ending was “a little ‘Hollywoody,’ but it’s perfect.”

Sneeringer – Bear: A Novel by Julia Phillips.

Bear is a novel about two sisters on San Juan Island whose lives are upended by an unexpected visitor — a tale of family, obsession and a mysterious creature in the woods. There is a twist at the end, so Sneeringer cautions readers who like to skip ahead, “do not read the end of the book. Some people like to do that. Do not do it!”

Hildebrandt – Clytemnestra: A Novel by Costanza Casati

Written by a Greek scholar, Clytemnestra is a thrilling tale of power, hate, love and a queen who ruled Ancient Greece. It is a look at a strong woman and how she survived. Hildebrandt observed that “it was a unique and fresh way of looking at an old story.”

Sneeringer – Margo’s Got Money Troubles: A Novel by Rufi Thorpe

“So sometimes I pick a book by its cover. Sometimes I want a snack. Sometimes, I want something really fast and easy to read. It’s not something I’m thinking I’ll be recommending to people. Margo’s Got Money Troubles looks like a really quick, fast read: potato chips, eat it, read it, forget about it. But this book stuck with me. I thought it was really intriguing. The author plays his point of view in a very conscious way. Right from the outset the narrator is switching into first person and then to second person when she needs to shield herself a bit, but it’s also a bit of the author’s voice coming through to you.”

It is a bold, laugh-out-loud, funny, and heartwarming story about one young woman’s attempt to navigate adulthood, new motherhood, and her meager bank account in our increasingly online world. Sneeringer shared that the story is about “How does a young woman with very few resources and now an infant on her hands pay the rent and feed herself and her baby? It’s a really gritty sort of novel.”

Hildebrandt – The Oceans and the Stars: A Sea Story, A War Story, A Love Story by Mark Helprin

A Navy captain near the end of a decorated career, Stephen Rensselaer is disciplined, intelligent, and determined always to do what’s right. In defending the development of a new variant of warship, he makes an enemy of the president of the United States, who assigns him to command the doomed line’s only prototype––Athena, Patrol Coastal 15––with the intent to humiliate a man who should have been an admiral.

“It’s a wonderful story about integrity and doing the right thing. And I love his writing,” added Hildebrandt.

Sneeringer – Seed to Dust: Life, Nature, and a Country Garden by Marc Hamer

“Since I’ve retired, I have been doing a lot of gardening, and I like to read garden books,” Sneeringer said. In Seed to Dust, Marc Hamer paints a beautiful portrait of the garden. He describes a year as a country gardener, with each chapter named for the month he’s in. It’s not his garden. It belongs to his wealthy and elegant employer, Miss Cashmere.

“That’s not her name. He does all the grunt work around the place but is almost a Buddhist philosopher. As he goes about his life, he has found a way to calm himself, go by the moment, and look at what he’s doing with his hands,” Sneeringer explained.

Hildebrandt – The Art Thief: A True Story of Love, Crime, and a Dangerous Obsession by Michael Finkel

Stéphane Bréitwieser is the most prolific art thief of all time. He pulled off more than 200 heists, often in crowded museums in broad daylight. His girlfriend served as his accomplice. His collection was worth an estimated $2 billion. He never sold a piece, displaying his stolen art in his attic bedroom. He felt like a king. Until everything came to a shocking end. In this spellbinding portrait of obsession and flawed genius, Michael Finkel gives us one of the most remarkable true-crime narratives of our times: a riveting story of art, theft, love and an insatiable hunger to possess beauty at any cost.

“It’s amazing. It’s a thriller, and it’s great fun,” Hildebrandt said.

Sneeringer – Dinners with Ruth: A Memoir on the Power of Friendships by Nina Totenberg

The “Ruth” of the title is Ruth Bader Ginsberg. Celebrated NPR correspondent Nina Totenberg delivers an extraordinary memoir of her successes, struggles, and life-affirming relationships, including her beautiful friendship of nearly fifty years with Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg.

Sneeringer sums up the book, “They were women who were coming into professions where they were not welcome. They were not treated well. They were not taken seriously for a lot of the time, but they supported each other. It’s a very good story about the power of friendship, especially in those years of women breaking glass ceilings and getting ahead in life. She’s a wonderful writer.”

Sneeringer – The Paris Novel by Ruth Reichl

“Ruth Reichl was a writer for Gourmet, executive editor at Gourmet magazine, and a New York Times restaurant critic. She’s written several nonfiction books and one other novel, but this one is the one that she had cooking in the back of her mind for many years, and she always thought of it as ‘The Paris Novel.’ I should write ‘The Paris Novel.’ I can recommend this to just about anybody,” Sneeringer said.

When her estranged mother dies, Stella is left with an unusual inheritance: a one-way plane ticket and a note reading “Go to Paris.” Stella is hardly cut out for adventure; a traumatic childhood has confined her to the strict routines of her comfort zone. But when her boss encourages her to take time off, Stella resigns herself to honoring her mother’s last wishes.

Hildebrandt – The Life Impossible: A Novel by Matt Haig

Written by the author of The Midnight Library, this book has similar science fiction and fantasy elements. When a long-lost friend leaves retired math teacher Grace Winters a run-down house on a Mediterranean island, curiosity gets the better of her. She arrives in Ibiza with a one-way ticket, no guidebook and no plan.

Among the island’s rugged hills and golden beaches, Grace searches for answers about her friend’s life and how it ended. What she uncovers is stranger than she could have dreamed. But to dive into this impossible truth, Grace must first come to terms with her past.

Filled with wonder and wild adventure, this story is about hope and the life-changing power of a new beginning.

“This book is not out yet. It will be available Sept. 3,” Hildebrandt said.

The evening concluded on a high note, inspiring everyone to dive into their next great read. “Thank you, and happy reading!”

— By Elizabeth Murray

Elizabeth Murray is a freelance writer thankful to call Edmonds home. When she’s not busy wrangling her two kids (and husband), you can find her playing ukulele. She can be reached at elmm22@gmail.com.