By GARY DEMUTH

Salina Journal

Jane McMillen ordinarily wouldn't have read a book narrated by a hermaphrodite.

But a trusted friend recommended she read Jeffrey Eugenides' 2003 novel "Middlesex." McMillen became enraptured by this unusual story of a person born with both male and female sex organs, the result of an incestuously bred genetic mutation, who grew up as a girl and later reinvented her/himself as a man.

"It doesn't sound like it was interesting at first, but it was," the Salina woman said. "The writing really sticks with you."

The book also won the 2003 Pulitzer Prize for fiction.

But it takes more than prizes or reviews to convince McMillen to read a book. For years, she and several friends have made it a regular practice to recommend and exchange the good books they've read.

"We take each other's words that we know what we're talking about," she said.

Other local readers also have relied on the recommendations of friends, relatives, co-workers, bookstore owners and library clerks to steer them in the direction of a good book. Likewise, after reading a particularly good book themselves, these readers can't wait to pass the good word, if not the book itself, to others.

Favorite books that McMillan has recommended to friends have included literary novels like "The Accidental Tourist" by Anne Tyler and "We Were the Mulvaneys" by Joyce Carol Oates. Recently, she picked up "Dress Your Family in Corduroy and Denim" by bestselling humorist David Sedaris, whom she never had read before.

"I found him hilarious," she said. "It's a book I'd recommend to friends."

Janet Juhnke, a retired English professor at Kansas Wesleyan University, is a voracious reader who counts on book recommendations from her daughter, who belongs to a book club in New York City.

Juhnke also belongs to two local book clubs, one at the Salina Public Library, and another called the Current Literature Club.

Recommendations from friends that have impressed Juhnke lately have been "The Book Thief" by Marcus Zusak, a drama set in World War II that focuses on a young girl who steals books in Nazi Germany, and "The Space Between" by Thrity Umrigar, which follows the lives of two women in India, one who is the servant of the other.

A recent favorite that Juhnke has recommended to others is "Water For Elephants," Sara Gruen's bestseller about a traveling circus during the Great Depression. She's also revisiting the classic "The Good Earth," Pearl Buck's novel about the plight of Chinese peasants.

"The wonderful thing about reading is it can expand your sympathies and introduce you to new places," Juhnke said.

Oh, the places you'll go

Salinan Jerry Exline mostly reads nonfiction to introduce him to new places. A World War II buff, the retired businessman counts among his favorite books anything written by Stephen Ambrose, author of "Band of Brothers," "Citizen Soldiers" and "Pegasus Bridge."

He also recommends to friends Tom Brokaw's books "The Greatest Generation" and "Children of the Greatest Generation" and William Manchester's harrowing memoir of his experiences as a Marine at Guadalcanal, "Goodbye Darkness."

"There are a lot of history buffs in this town, and we trade books back and forth all the time," Exline said.

Exline also is a fan of Civil War fiction, especially the books written by father and son authors Michael and Jeff Shaara. Michael Shaara wrote the Pulitzer Prize winning "The Killer Angels" (made into the movie "Gettysburg") and son Jeff wrote two sequels, "Gods and Generals" and "The Last Full Measure."

"It's been a valuable thing to have friends who like to read the same things I do," Exline said.

The murder on Page 1

When it comes to recommending books to others during the summer months, the key words are "light" and "fun."

"People tend to ask for books in the summer that are funny and light, nothing dark or heavy," said Dianna Waite, director of circulation at the Salina Public Library, 301 W. Elm. "Sitting by the swimming pool or deck, or at the Smoky Hill River Festival, you just want to read something light and easy."

Library clerks Judy Sanchez and Glenda Strahan constantly are asked by patrons to recommend books that are fast reads, especially during the summer. Both clerks have widely different tastes: Sanchez is attracted to violent suspense thrillers and true crime chronicles, while Strahan is more of a sophisticated mystery fan.

Sanchez reads Harlan Coben, Greg Illes, John Grisham, James Patterson and true crime writer Ann Rule.

"I think it's a great book when someone is murdered on the first page," Sanchez said.

Strahan prefers the less-bloody mysteries of Catherine Coutler and the medieval historical novels of Elizabeth Chadwick.

"You get to know people who like the same kind of books you do, and you can put books on hold for them," Strahan said.

Jeny Geissert, who works at a local used bookstore The Book Nook, 147 S. Fourth, first asks her customers what genre they like -- mysteries, romance -- and then recommends a variety of books that might appeal to them.

"It's easier to recommend something if you know what areas they're interested in," Geissert said. "We go down the aisles, and I show them popular authors in the genre."

For mysteries, Geissert might recommend David Baldacci, Lee Child, James Patterson or John Grisham. For romance, they can choose among Debbie Macomber, Dorothy Garlock, Jodi Thomas or Catherine Anderson.

Older men and westerns

Of course, those recommendations mostly are for women customers, Geissert said. Men, on the other hand, usually want nonfiction or western books.

"The older guys who come in want westerns," she said. "That's all they read."

Abilene retiree Erika Place reads books in two languages -- English and her native German. She said she and her friends like exchanging books that mix fictional romance and suspense with historical truth.

Charles Frazier's epic Civil War romance "Cold Mountain" is a good example of fiction based on historical fact, Place said.

"Fiction that's woven into historical truth gives you the best of both worlds," she said.

'Anything but romance'

Summer is about the only time English teacher Danton McDevitt has time to read for pleasure. He, too, likes books that combine fiction and history.

He recently read Ken Follett's "World Without End," a medieval epic and loose sequel to Follett's classic "The Pillars of the Earth." He also likes historical mysteries like Carolyn Rowe's "A Draught for a Dead Man," set in 1300s Spain and featuring a blind Jewish physician.

During the summer months, McDevitt said, he tries to find compelling books to recommend to his students at Bennington High School. And when it comes to recommendations for himself, he knows he can always count on his brother.

"We have similar tastes in books," he said. "If it has a historical background, I'm more likely to read it. I'll read just about anything but romance."

nReporter Gary Demuth can be reached at 822-1405 or by e-mail at gdemuth@salina.com.