84, Charing Cross Road by Helen Hanff
NonfictionBefore there was Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society, there was Helene Hanff and her correspondence with the booksellers of Marks & Company, purveyors of rare and secondhand books in post WWII London. It begins with an inquiry about secondhand books and evolves into a touching 20 year relationship between an outspoken, salty New York writer and a rather more restrained British bookseller. You may be inspired to begin an epistolary relationship of your own after reading this witty and charming record of cultural differences and international friendship.