The CBS News contributor found that her lack of a defined ethnic category gave rise to a sense of loneliness.

Bookseller Jessica Cox recommends a novel that imagines an alternate history, where the dead rose up at the Battle of Gettysburg, triggering a zombie apocalypse.

"That sense of being touch with something dark and deep was part of the lure [of addiction]," Jamison told host Kerri Miller.

Bookstore owner Danny Caine recommends "an intimate coming-of-age immigrant story that ends up telling the whole story of 20th century Iran as well."

Journalist Scott Tong's new book explores China's history by tracing his own genealogy.

Writer Sandra Allen received a fat manila envelope in the mail one day, filled with a stack of yellowed paper about a half inch thick. Allen had always heard about "crazy" Uncle Bob, but the manuscript they read that day opened up a window into the complex mind of someone living with mental illness.

Anne Water recommends a "great, atmospheric story that sucks you into the world" of Appalachia.

Chloe Benjamin's novel "The Immortalists" follows four young siblings who meet with a traveling psychic. The psychic predicts the date of their deaths -- and that knowledge shapes every decision they make.

Bookseller Steve Iwanski recommends a novel about "a down-on-his-luck, beat-up old prize fighter, who loses $12,000 that he needed to pay off his ruthless boss." That's only the beginning.

Clarrissa Cropper said "Pushout" traces how factors at home affect students' "ability to be at school, and be surrounded by the pressures of classmates, teachers, homework."