Do You Need A Book For Your Reading List?

There may be times that you need to curl up with a good book..for me it may be time of rest, vacation or a rainy afternoon that pulls me to the couch or chair to shut the world out for a while and step into a new place. Are you like that? Do you need an epic book to add to your reading list?

I can help you out.

A few years ago, visiting with a friend, an engaged conversation began about her writing. A novel about our hometown of Paducah was where her work had taken her. There had been writing, workshops, mentoring, and years of research and connecting with the right publisher.

When my friend began capturing the stories of the “residents” who resided at Oak Grove Cemetery for local tours, they positioned themselves to find a new use later on.

Year after year she had researched a new group of town “celebrity residents” who were buried there. People like the former Vice President, Alben Barkley; writer, Irvin Cobb; and then those with different histories filled the pages of her computer. A lot of researched information with added flourishes to make those past residents come to life with fullness and imagination began this endeavor.

Years later, after the tours ended, those individuals she had brought to life still resided on her computer. Now what was she to do with them became her next query.

So those characters gave birth to a book…

And that’s where the most amazing book set in 1952 Paducah began.

Toward the Corner of Mercy and Peace by my friend, Tracey Buchanan, was birthed. Several of those famous Paducahans now reside within the pages of this book and were brought back to life by Mrs. Minerva Place.

The story takes those characters that Tracey had begun to know and placed them into Mrs. Minerva Place’s home. In the story, her visits to her parents’ graves in Oak Grove Cemetery cause her to wander to other grave sites. Interesting monuments and characters beckoned her curiosity and need to know more about them. Why did they die young? What was that Vice President like? The growing list of characters takes Minerva to learn more about them. As she researches and writes, they seem to come to life and appear…challenging her sanity.

Minerva’s personality has parts of all of us in it. Times when we’d love to say more than our minds will allow. Days when we’d just rather not run into or have conversations with people. People that we’d love to keep at bay. Projects that keep us focused and away from the reach of others to interfere. Failure in her life finds comfort and common ground with some resting in the pages of her research. Humor, daily life and lessons learned draw you in. When reality and tragedy hit, Minerva is forced to face issues and forgiveness in a way she’s never experienced. So many lessons from this great book will leave you waiting for a sequel, perhaps a call to action, and pondering lessons to be learned in your own life.

Now, what are your qualifications that make for a great book for you to read?

Here are the things that make a book great for me…

• That the book grabs me from the beginning. Gives me descriptive imagery that makes me feel as though I am there…walking with the characters and experiencing life as they do. Do you look for that, too? Yep! This book did that…
• It makes you think…the rich history of our community, the people and his/her reactions, real life in a community left me thinking…for me, that meant I might need to follow Minerva to Oak Grove Cemetery or perhaps research more great characters from our community’s history.
• Great books offer a great story that threads its way from beginning to end with rich messages of how to live life. Check!
• Interest and intrigue draw me in. Even though lots of the lessons that Minerva learned from this book were from past residents’ lives, there was a mixture of interactions of friends who also taught her great lessons. Interwoven together that grab and keep your attention.
• Which brings me to the “can’t put the book down once you start” characteristic. I love when the book is so very good that you simply can’t put it down until you finish it…which is exactly what happened with this one.

And for those of us from Paducah?

An added bonus of knowing where those businesses were or still are. From Avondale Barber Shop where my father, husband and boys got their haircuts…to Boaz’s where so many shoes and leather goods were repaired. Then of course Myrick’s grocery store, Bright’s, Paducah Dry Goods, and Kresge’s that brought back images and memories.

Family members buried and graveside services at that cemetery where Minerva spent many hours.

Familiarity of belonging to Minerva’s church. Foods from the book still being enjoyed today like those pimento cheese sandwiches and Munal’s donuts.

We all could even guess what characters were actually like community members we knew. Can I tell you that Minerva actually has lots of similarities of my mother in law? Church organist and lots more said in her head than shared.

Every word was a delight to read.

Who doesn’t love a book signing and reading?

This celebration for Tracey and her new book couldn’t have been better. If you follow my Facebook page, you know of my love for Frenchtown Station and Slim’s Frenchtown Mercantile. The lawn between the two were the perfect setting for the author’s interview, Q and A and reading from the book.

Lots of friends gathered.

A book reading followed.

A friend, dressed in 1950’s attire as Mrs. Minerva Place, gave life to the book as she read some of her favorite entires.

Then a question and answer session followed.

Who inspired her to write the book?

Could you see local people’s personalities come out in the book?

Who was her favorite character she created?

All of those questions were answered to the delight of all friends gathered.

Books sold and signed.

Conversations and congratulations among applause.

And a hint to those 1952 mentioned foods in the form of triangular cut pimento cheese sandwiches, Munal’s “Mrs. Minerva” donuts and even oreos were enjoyed by guests.

A stroll through the open shops to purchase more books for guests is always welcome.

Perhaps Minerva had pieces like these among her mother’s dishes in the cabinets. I could let my imagination go there a bit…

Although the recipe for that famous pimento cheese mentioned in the book is still tightly held by a local business, I reached back to fabulous local cooks who made pimento cheese sandwiches back in Minerva’s time period. Pimento cheese sandwiches on white bread and cut into triangles were ALWAYS served on trays for church potlucks, gatherings, funerals, and lunchboxes.

When I shared the funeral food post a while back, one such tray of pimento cheese sandwiches appeared among the foods served for family during the visitation. Devoured might have been the word when family saw them. Who created them? Billy Joe, 87, provided a tray of heavenly sandwiches with his sister Rachel’s recipe.

To celebrate Minerva, I thought I would share Rachel’s recipe. Now, just because this recipe doesn’t have ingredients that Southern Living would deem the “correct” version, this is the one that is near and dear to hearts here. Perhaps similar to the ones Minerva and her community of friends enjoyed.

Hope you’ll give it a try!

As I looked through 1950’s cookbooks here, I ran across this 1951 cookbook. Perhaps Minerva may have owned a copy…

See, even the cottage cheese salad recipe that she mentions can be found here.

If you want more recipes from the book, check out Tracey’s book club recipes. You will want to sign up for her newsletter, too.

So thrilled to celebrate my friend and this book!

“Tracey Buchanan crashed into the literary world when she was six and won her first writing award. Fast forward through years as a journalist, mom, volunteer, freelance writer, editor, artist, and circus performer (not really, but wouldn’t that be something) and you find her happily planted in the world of fiction with her debut novel. She and her husband Kent Buchanan live in Paducah, KY.“

You need this book added to your reading list.

A quick and lively read that will leave you with a call to action.

Reflection with a bit of humor with situations and characters to whom we can all relate.

Perhaps it will cause you to address issues in your own life that might need a little help from Minerva.

We can always use a bit of reflection and soul searching, can’t we?

Just click below to order.

You may need to order several for gifts ahead. I promise you won’t be sorry. Tracey will thank you, and I will be cheering on the sidelines.

Well, done, my friend! Applause and congratulations from one friend to another!

As an Amazon, Walmart and LTK affiliate, at times I may provide affiliate links to products that may offer an easier way to find products that I mention or use. Same price for you, but beneficial to this blog and at times, may offer compensation if you use them to shop. See my disclosure policy here.