Keiko Swagerty
From Escentials Lotions and Oils
3638 SE Hawthorne

Better start shopping for yer ma; Mother's Day is just around the corner. And nobody knows moms like the gals at Escentials, who specialize in presents that make a lady feel loved. Here are employee Keiko's top five Mother's Day gifts.

- Not Without My Daughter, Betty Mahmoody with William Hoffer: "It's a book about an American mom and her four-year-old daughter who are held hostage in Iran."

- White Oleander (2002): "It's a movie about this crazy woman who deeply affects her daughter's life, even while in jail."

- Escentials Custom-Scented Lotions: "You can make our lotions any scent you want, which is really nice."

- Escentials Gift Basket: "You can make your own. There's bath-care stuff, shampoos and conditioners, massage oils... if you're really nice you'll give her a massage.

- Flowers: "Of course."


Carolyn Lane
From Murder by the Book
3210 SE Hawthorne

Summer's coming fast--have you stocked up on your pulp fiction yet? Get down to Murder by the Book, your home for thrillers, mysteries, and spy fiction. Co-owner Carolyn's top five:

- The Winter Queen, Boris Akunin: "A delightful daring do about a policeman in 1970s Moscow. [Akunin's] a best-selling author in Russia and is very charming."

- The Last Detective, Robert Crais: "This fellow's been writing about the same two private eyes for a number of years, and this one gives some background into those characters."

- Bad Men, John Connolly: "He's a great writer. He's got a thing, though, about insects. Last time it was spiders. This time it's moths.

- The Kalahari Typing School for Men, Alexander McCall Smith: "He lived in Africa for a long time, and his character is a Botswana female private detective."

- Beautiful Ghosts, Eliot Pattison: "The main character is Chinese and is sworn to protect these Tibetan monks."