know a good book by a new author?

[eee]

I need a book rec for a holiday gift for my mom, but she reads so much my best chance of getting her something she doesn't have already is if it is a new author. Any ideas? Fiction, nonfiction, biography, whatever, she reads it all. Oh yeah, and she hates hardbacks so its best if it's a new author of a book that's been out for a little while.

See what a pain this is? :p

[KarenS]

I just finished Memoirs of a Geisha - it was great.

I've also heard that Wicked and Son of a Witch are great - they're next on my list.

Karen

[Irish Elf]

Shadow of the Wind - Zafon
Charms of an Easy Life - Gibbons

[pocket]

1) Out of the Girl's Room and into the Night by Thisbe Nissen (short stories)

2) The Usual Rules by Joyce Maynard (coming of age story about a girl whose mother dies in the WTC)

[eee]

Thanks, I'll check those out!

[springprincess]

Julie and Julia by Julie Powell

I actually laughed out loud at parts. It is incredibly well-written, which is hard to find these days!

[SMgal]

The Time Traveler's Wife! =)

[IUAlum]

The best book I've read in a while is
The Namesake by Jhumpa Lahiri
also
The Birth of Venus by Sarah Dunant

Both different and loved by everyone I've lent them to.