Let's Build a Summer Reading Guide

Ah, summertime.

Time to grab a book and head to the beach, or sprawl out in a park with a long read. We want to know — what are your reading? What would you recommend? To get started, we've asked a few folk around town for their summer picks. Here's what they said:

Chris Jasculca, Communications and Policy Director,

While it may sound strange, I really enjoy reading cookbooks. Not only do I learn new techniques that I can use in the kitchen, I discover fun recipes that I can share with my friends and family. I also promised my wife and brother-in-law that I would finally jump aboard the Hogwarts Express this summer and read all of the Harry Potter books.

Revolution MacInnes, Advocate for Homeless Rights

The New Jim Crow by Michelle Alexander
A must read for understanding the cultural genocide happening to the black community.

Soft Addictions by Judith Wright
Porn, overeating, television, hoarding, texting, chatting the “soft” addictions come at a high cost. Understanding their power over us and eliminating them from our daily lives can truly transform individuals, families and our relationships with each other.

August P. Aleksy, Owner, Centuries & Sleuths Bookstore

The Northwest Angle by William Kent Krueger
During a houseboat vacation on the remote Lake of the Woods (MN), a violent gale sweeps throughunexpectedly, stranding Cork (Regular Protagonist) and his daughter, Jenny, on a devastated island where the wind has ushered in a force far darker and more deadly than any storm.

In the Garden of the Beasts by Erik Larson
The time is 1933; the place, Berlin when William E. Dodd becomes America's first ambassador to Hitler's Germany in a year that proved to be a turning point in history. Suffused with the tense atmosphere of the period and with unforgettable portraits of the bizarre Goring and the unexpectedly charming -- yet sinister -- Goebbels, the book lends a stunning eyewitness perspective on events as they unfold in real time, revealing an era of surprising nuance and complexity...

A Covert Affair: When Julia & Paul Child Joined the OSS by Jennet Conant
It is a stunning account of Julia and Paul Child's experiences as members of the Office of Strategic Strategies (OSS) in the Far East during World War II and the tumultuous years when they were caught up in the Mc Carthy Red spy hunt in the 1950s and behaved with bravery and honor.

Becca Martin, Founder, Live Here Oak Park

Kitchen Confidential by Anthony Bourdain
Celebrity chef Anthony Bourdain gives readers a colorful glimpse into the early days of his career as well as the somewhat disturbing world of New York restaurants.

You Couldn't Ignore Me If You Tried by Susannah Gora
An enjoyable glimpse into the life and career of John Hughes as well as the behind-the-scenes drama of some of the most memorable teen movies ever made.

Debby Preiser, Community Relations Coordinator at the

New York Times columnist and bestselling author, Anna Quindlen has written a memoir, Lots of Candles, Plenty of Cake (2012) in which she looks back and celebrates it all: her marriage, girlfriends, mothers, loss, all the stuff we've collected over the years, and more."For me, one of the greatest glories of growing older is the willingness to ask why and, getting no good answer, deciding to follow my own inclinations and desires," writes Quindlen who won the Pulitzer Prize while a columnist at The New York Times.

What about you? What are you reading? Please add your recommendations to the comments!