Dear Great Book Guru, It has been a wonderful week of celebrations: Easter and Passover feasts, family and friends gathering for seders, egg hunts, and lots of chocolate! As always when we are together, the topic of good books comes up. One of the partygoers recommended a book set in a nail salon… any thoughts? Holiday Book Lover.......................... Dear Holiday Book Lover, PICK A COLOR by Souvankham Thammavongsa is a beautifully written look into a world many of us think we know …but do we really? Set over one day in a small nail salon, this short novel (under two hundred pages) introduces us to a myriad of characters described by a first-person narrator, Ning, owner of the shop. Her five employees all wear Susan name tags, identical black dresses, and have the same hairstyles so that their privileged clients assume their “Susan” is always ready, always available to meet their needs. There is a practiced script the workers follow – carefully enunciating “pick a color” twice and quickly offering a “ten dollar” special if a customer objects to a price. Throughout the day, Ning and her employees talk in their native language about their customers with great humor, insight, and – yes - crudity. Ning lives alone above the shop in a sparse studio apartment, and we learn that she had been a famous boxer in her earlier years. Lessons she had learned in the ring come back to her as she maneuvers the intricacies of her daily existence. This book is a subtle look into the immigrant experience, workplace relationships, and the shifting dynamics of power. Highly recommended!