Recommended Reading from Local Writers for Local Readers

From the SOPL Book Nook to the wide windows of Words, summer reading surrounds us in South Orange and Maplewood. So what to choose for this last month of summer? Editors Mary Mann and Marcia Worth asked local writers – Patch's very own, of course -- to share what's on their shelves.

Patch features writer Danielle Elliot always has a few books piled on her nightstand - or in her beach bag! At the moment, she's reading Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert; Factory Girls: From Village to Factory in a Changing China by Leslie T. Chang; and The Kind Diet by Alicia Silverstone. 

"I've been amazed by the stories of the girls featured in Factory Girls. They put my cushy life I live in NYC into perspective," says Danielle. She's reading Eat, Pray, Love because it's been on her list forever, and she wanted to finish it before the movie version comes out later this summer.

Katie Payne, who writes the weekly "Village Gardener" column, recommends A Visit From the Goon Squad by Jennifer Egan. She notes that it's a perfect beach book because, although it centers on two main characters, it is a series of vignettes. "You're not going to want to put it down, but if you want to take a swim or reapply your sunscreen, there's some closure at the end of each chapter. Most of the stories are set in NYC, so it will hit home with many SOMA transplants and it's an intriguing, poignant study of time, relationships and the overlapping social worlds we all inhabit," she explains.

 "I love a great beach read," says Lauren Bright, Patch's Shop Localista columnist, "so I've been biding my time waiting for Andrew Morton's frothy take on just how Angelina stole Brad from Jen in the upcoming Angelina: An Unauthorized Biography (out August 3rd). In the meantime, I've been digesting heartier fare, currently flipping between Caroline Knapp's incredibly insightful [Appetites] Why Women Want and the Tom Rachman's The Imperfectionists, a deliriously fun debut novel that taps on experiences and characters from his life as a foreign correspondent living amongst expatriates in Rome."

Theresa Burns, who contributes Arts and Opinion pieces, just finished The Help by Kathryn Stockett. "I waited a while to finally read this--it seemed so overhyped for so long. I borrowed it from the library, just in case it stunk. It didn't. I found it lively, funny, shocking, and satisfying." Right now she is reading The Gospel of Galore, a book of poems by local writer Tina Kelley. "These are gloriously rich and vivid poems. I'm preparing a poetry book myself right now, and Tina's book makes me realize I've still got a long way to go," says Theresa.

" I cover Health and Wellness for several Patch towns," says Judie Hurtado. "I am currently reading Women Food and God by Geneen Roth. This book has received a lot of buzz from everyone, including Oprah. I could not put the book down. While I have never had any food or eating issues, Roth states that it doesn't matter if you use food, the internet or alcohol- they are all drugs if you are using them to escape from your reality. Roth claims since adolescence, she has gained and lost over 1,000 pounds!"

Alexandra Birnbaum can usually be found posting photos from something art or music-related.  "Currently my bookmark resides in Somebody to Love? A Rock-and-Roll Memoir by Grace Slick, of Jefferson Airplane fame," she tells us.  "I've also been perusing For 2¢ Plain by Harry Golden.  I picked that one up for a song (two for a quarter) at the last day of this year's Turnover Sale at Maplewood's own Morrow Memorial Church."

"I just finished Pope Joan, about the possible 10th century female pope - very, very interesting," shares photographer Joy Yagid.

David Baker, who writes "Survival of the Fittest," has been alternating between Dave Barry's Greatest Hits and Edith Wharton's The Age of Innocence. In the process, he has come to realize how much Dave Barry has ruined him for serious literature.

Judy Lindberg writes, "I'm reading Anna Karenina.  As a novelist, creative writing teacher and editor, I have shockingly little time to read for pleasure, so I tend to turn to classics for those precious hours.  Tolstoy is a master of characterization and human observation.  His plots unfold naturally and with intimate detail.  And in the popular translation by Richard Pevear and Larissa Volokhonsky, it's actually easy reading.  Honestly, the daunting page count of War and Peace made me turn to Karenina instead.  But that book's on my shelf, maybe for next summer."

Columnist Deborah Goldstein says, "I rely on my book club to keep me reading.  Each host prepares foods that reflect the month's book.  We read Fun Home by Alison Bechdel, which I would recommend.  Fun Home is a graphic memoir by the author of the comic strip Dykes to Watch Out For.  With a story set to illustrations, there's no escaping the agony of growing up with a closeted gay father while you're coming to terms with your own sexuality.  There is plenty of humor to underscore the absurdity of life in the Bechdel house, and there is a full helping of book club fodder. The main course for the evening?  Fish tacos, of course."

Between stories, Marilyn Lehren told Patch what she's reading. "My daughter, who has aspirations of being a journalist (like her dad), was given All the President's Men this summer from a friend. I started to flip through it, remembering the first time I had read the book as an English Lit and journalism student in college. Thirty years later, I write for Patch, new online media, something far removed from the days of Woodward and Bernstein,who used typewriters and pay phones to file their stories. It still remains one of the best to inspire."

Mary Mann keeps it close to home with Eliza Minot's The Brambles. "I'm just a few chapters in but I'm really enjoying her writing—very lovely and sly, well-crafted and smart. I've been meaning to read something by her for some time since she lives in Maplewood and her children go to Seth Boyden, as do mine," says Mary. "It's sort of a literary stalking. We've never met! Maplewood's Pamela Erens's novel The Understory is in the batting circle. So, I guess I'm obsessed with all things hyperlocal, even in my free time."

Marcia Worth is reading The Boyhood of Grace Jones by Jane Langton. Marcia had forgotten the title and author of the book, which she remembered reading one childhood summer. A helpful librarian hit the 'net with Marcia's few remembered details and struck summer reading gold. "Rereading, I understand that the setting was The Depression, and what meant to the main character's family," explains Marcia.

Write back and tell us the classics we're missing, or what the next big book of summer will be. What's in your beach bag?