What We Are Reading:                 Great Beach Reads

By Nancy K. Crevier

People involved in the news business at any level share a common fondness for the written word. So it is not surprising that employees at The Newtown Bee can often be found talking about their favorite books with each other. Are you curious what the cooler talk is about at 5 Church Hill Road?

The last days of summer still offer some great beach days. Sandy Morici, credit manager for Bee Publishing, recommends Hawke’s Cove by Susan Wilson.

“It’s light, easy reading for the beach,” she said. “If you liked Bridges of Madison County, this is on par with that story.”

Anne Kugielsky, assistant editor to Arts and The Antiques Weekly, has enjoyed reading the Steig Larsson books, The Girl With the Dragon Tatoo, The Girl Who Played With Fire and The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet’s Nest.

“All of the Larsson books would be great vacation reading,” said Anne. “They are amazing. Even my 22-year old son, who is always somewhat disdainful of ‘mysteries,’ is now reading them without stopping,” she said.

Anne also just finished rereading Rudyard Kipling’s Kim. “While I know he is not considered very politically correct, he is a wonderful writer and one of my all-time favorite authors,” she said.

“I just finished reading This Is Where I Leave You, and it was fantastic!” exclaimed Bee Assistant Editor Shannon Hicks. “I was sorry when it was done. I kept looking for more pages, more chapters, more information about Judd Foxman and his dysfunctional family while they sit shiva for his father.

“It’s a novel by Jonathan Tropper that was released last August, but I found it about a month ago when it was released in its paperback form — perfect for summer reading, right? It’s snarky, and sarcastic, and an easy read. I actually had laugh-out-loud moments while reading this one,” she said. Her final score for this book? “Two tanned thumbs, way up.”

Education Reporter Eliza Hallabeck suspects her reading choice might be a better winter read than a summer beach read.

“I am reading The Woman In White by Wilkie Collins. I had seen it mentioned in a number of reading lists, splurged on a used copy from amazon.com for $1.72 for my last birthday, and finally got around to reading it this summer,” she said. The book was first published in 1859, “and the suspense and drama lives up to what I have seen of other sensational novels of the time,” said Eliza. “There always seems to be something lurking around the corner.”

“I just finished Half Broke Horses, Jeannette Walls’ ‘prequel’ to The Glass Castle, which I read earlier this summer,” said Newtown Bee Editor Curtiss Clark. “If you think your life is hard, read her books,” he added. The Bee editor has now started reading Liespotting, Pamela Meyer’s nonfiction examination of deception “and how to tell whether someone is lying to you. She shows just how much deception is part not only of our humanity, but of the interrelationships of other species, as well.”

Copy Editor Janis Gibson is doing some heavier reading right now, too.

“I just read Anna Quindlin’s Every Last One, for a newly formed neighborhood book club,” said Janis. “It’s a pretty quick read, written in a first person, ‘friendly conversation’ tone. The book flap lets you know that the mother of three children, one of them troubled, will face a ‘violent act’ and then have to get through it. Sometimes I got lulled into the story and forgot about that,” she admitted. “There were things that any parent, especially of teenagers, can identify with, as well as some everyday stuff involving work, marriage, and friendships.”

I’m not usually a mystery reader, but this summer I found myself quickly involved in the three novels by Tana French, In The Woods, The Likeness, and Faithful Place. The stories are compelling, the characters intriguing, and the writing a cut above what I generally find mystery/thrillers to be. Any or all of them would be good companions to take on that final summer break, or to curl up in bed with late at night, listening to the cicadas singing in the treetops.

For some marathon reading, I recommend John Irving’s Last Night In Twisted River, which I found to be right up there with The World According To Garp and Cider House Rules. It’s another epic Irving novel with plenty of crazy characters that you just cannot help loving.

Here at The Bee, we had a fabulous summer affair with our books. We hope you did, too.