Meet the Staff

How we all fell in love with reading, some of our favorite books,
and what is on our 'to be read' lists.

What book ignited your love for reading?
When I was finishing one or two Nancy Drew books a day, my mom introduced me to Agatha Christie. And Then We Were None blew my mind - partly because she’s a master of her craft, and partly because I was in way too young to read a book about multiple murders. I’ve been a Christie fan and mystery lover ever since.

Do you have a favorite book?
Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier followed very closely by Life After Life by Kate Atkinson.

What's your favorite genre?
I love smart, twisty mysteries and historical fiction, but do enjoy occasionally getting my heart broken by a gorgeous story (for example Cloud Cuckoo Land by Anthony Doerr).

What were your favorite childhood books?
I was devoted to Jane Langton's The Diamond In The Window and still own my very loved paperback copy that I was lucky to have her sign for me. I was a long-time reader of The Babysitters Club and Ann Rinaldi’s Dear America books.

What are you currently recommending?
The Marriage Act by John Marrs
Everyone In My Family Has Killed Someone by Benjamin Stevenson
The Anomaly by Hervé le Tellier


Do you have a favorite book or an all time top 5 list?
The list evolves over time, but I'm revisiting J.R.R. Tolkien. The Hobbit kindled a lifelong interest in fantasy.

Do you have any comfort reads? 
Any travel essays, especially for destinations I'll never visit.

What is your favorite book no one has ever heard of?
So many. Latest might be Stargazing by Peter Hill (1970's Scots art student apprentices as a lighthouse keeper)

What were your favorite childhood books?
I devoured Edward Eager's Half Magic series.  The wacky results from "half realized wishes" always had me in stitches.

What book ignited your love for reading?
So many, but I remember being enthralled by Robinson Crusoe - the classic N.C Wyeth illustrations helped!

What are you currently recommending? 
Tommy Orange's Wandering Stars


Do you have a favorite book or an all time top 5 list?

  1. A Court of Silver Flames 
  2. The Secret Garden 
  3. Pride and Prejudice 
  4. Queen of Shadows 
  5. Book Lovers 

Do you have any comfort reads?
A Court of Silver Flames, Nesta’s personally journey really resonated with me. 

What is your favorite book no one has ever heard of?
The Leap by Jonathan Stroud, I found it at an Indie bookstore in Cape Cod and I think I read it every summer following

What's your favorite Genre?
Fantasy, romance, romantasy! 

What book ignited your love for reading?
The Magic Tree House series 

What are you currently recommending?
Anything Allison Saft, Emily Henry, and Sarah J. Maas, What the River Knows, Divine Rivals, 

What's on your TBR list right now?
When the Moon Hatched, Jade City, Lady Macbeth, The Hedgewitch of Foxhall, The Hemlock Queen, Draw Down the Moon 


Which writers - novelists, playwrights, critics, journalists, poets - working today do you admire most?

John Boyne, Kazuo Ishiguro, Helen Simonson, Ian McEwan, Maggie O’Farrell, Alice Hoffman, and Hermione Lee.

Do you have any comfort reads?

It’s a toss up between “84 Charing Cross Road” by Helene Hanff and “The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society” by Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows.

Favorite book no one has ever heard of?

 “Poppy” by Drusilla Modjeska.

Favorite Genre?

Historical fiction.


WHICH CHILDHOOD BOOKS AND AUTHORS STICK WITH YOU MOST?

The first book I fell in love with was “Stuart Little” by E.B. White. I remember lying on my mother’s bed with some of my siblings while she read to us. I wept when Stuart was accidently washed down the drain. Then, I was enchanted with the antics of rat, mole, and their riverbank friends in “The Wind In the Willows” by Kenneth Grahame.  I wished for a nanny like P.L. Travers’ “Mary Poppins” and, more than anything, I wanted my own Tinkerbell and loved “Peter Pan” by James Barrie.  When I started reading on my own, my favorite book was “The Once and Future King” by T.H. White.  I have been meaning to reread it for years.  

DO YOU HAVE A FAVORITE BOOK?

Shirley Hazzard’s “Transit of Venus” is a perfect novel which I do read again and again. Robertson Davies' wonderful Deptford trilogy is also right up there.

WHAT ARE YOU CURRENTLY RECOMMENDING?

More recently, some titles on the top of my list are: “Lila” by Marilynne Robinson, “Moon Tiger” by Penelope Lively (and almost anything else she writes), “All the Light You Cannot See” by Anthony Doerr, “A Constellation of Vital Phenomena” by Anthony Marra, “Cutting for Stone” by Abraham Verghese, “Warlight” by Michael Ondaatje, "Between Them" by Richard Ford, and for sheer delight "Beautiful Ruins” by Jess Walter.

ANY CLASSIC BOOKS YOU NEVER READ THE FIRST TIME AROUND?

I've recently jumped into William Faulkner, headfirst. "Absalom, Absalom" is brilliant and so timely. 


WHAT WERE YOUR FAVORITE CHILDHOOD BOOKS?

The two books I most remember from my youth are "Little Women" by Louisa May Alcott and "The Secret Garden" by Francis Burnett.Hodgson.  I particularly remember the illustrations from the versions I had.

ALL-TIME FAVORITE BOOKS?

Among my favorite books are "Cider House Rules" and "A Prayer for Owen Meaney" by John Irving, "City of Thieves" by David Benioff, "The Light Between Oceans" by M. L. Stedman and "The Great Alone" by Kristin Hannah.


WHAT KIND OF A READER WERE YOU AS A CHILD? 

I vividly remember my older sister surprising me on my 6th birthday by coming home from college with a copy of "Eloise" by Kay Thomspson. I spent hours reading the book and imagining myself living in the Plaza Hotel. I loved her adventures with Weenie her dog,  Skipperdee her turtle and her special relationship with Nanny. It's a classic that stands the test of time.

My sister continued to introduce me to children's classics, including some of my favorite children's books like "Island of the Blue Dolphins" by Scott O'Dell, "Boxcar Children" by Gertrude Chandler Warner, and "A Cricket in Times Square" by George Seldon. My favorite adult books include "Isaac's Storm" by Erik Larson, "Life of Pi" by Yann Martel and "Year of Wonders" by Geraldine Brooks.

WHAT'S ON YOUR TBR LIST RIGHT NOW?

I am always happiest surrounded by books. My nightstand, bookshelves and floor are full of books I "must read" someday.  The book I am determined to read is "These Truths: A History of the United States" by Jill Lapore. Everyone could use an American history refresher. I also love the idea of reading a biography of every U.S. president but that might have to wait until life slows down.


WHAT SPARKED YOUR LOVE OF READING?

As a child I read "Superfudge" so many times that I could recite the first few chapters by heart. I think Judy Blume started my real love for reading on my own.

WHICH WRITERS -- NOVELISTS, PLAYWRIGHTS, CRITICS, JOURNALISTS, POETS -- WORKING TODAY DO YOU ADMIRE MOST? 

Lily King, Brit Bennett, David Sedaris, Rebecca Makkai, Celeste Ng, Sally Rooney

DO YOU HAVE ANY COMFORT READS?

Anything by Fannie Flagg.

HOW DO YOU ORGANIZE YOUR BOOKS?

In giant piles all over my house. 

WHAT'S ON YOUR NIGHTSTAND?

50 books. Not kidding. I'm waiting for it to buckle.

FAVORITE GENRE?

Family dysfunction (does that count??).

GENRE YOU AVOID AT ALL COSTS?

Science fiction, fantasy, or anything with animal cruelty

FAVORITE TITLES?

I don't remember a point in my life when I didn't have a book in my hand. Some of my all time favorites are "Middlesex" by Jeffrey Eugenides,  "The Secret History" by Donna Tartt, "Fried Green Tomatoes" by Fannie Flagg, "Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood" by Rebecca Wells. I would say my current favorites include "Calypso" by David Sedaris, "The Great Believers" by Rebecca Makkai, "Beartown" by Fredrik Backman, "The Great Alone" by Kristin Hannah, "Goodbye Vitamin" by Rachel Khong and "Fates & Furies" by Lauren Groff. I also love a good thriller anytime and feel like I've reached a point where my tastes in books change on a fairly regular basis. Its a good thing I work where I do and have so many wonderful books on hand.


WHAT SPARKED YOUR LOVE OF READING? 

Being a child of two teachers meant that reading was an important part of my childhood. Until I learned to read bedtime meant I was read to and mostly by my father. My favorites were the Christopher Robin books and the poems in “When We Were Very Young.” My father read with great enthusiasm and feeling and I think he enjoyed reading me “The Little Engine That Could” the best. I can still feel my heart beating faster andfaster when he read “ I think I can, I think I can, I think I can! When my father read me “James And The Giant Peach” I remember feeling for the for time, a strong distaste for a human being when he read in a cackling voice of James’s horrible aunts. When I learned to read, books became a comfort and an addiction to me and I have never stopped. When I finish a book I have a pile waiting to be read and I usually crack open another immediately. Without a doubt my favorite books as a child were the “Chronicles of Narnia,” “The Wolves of Willoughby Chase,” “ My Side of the Mountain,” and “Harriet the Spy.”

CURRENT FAVORITES?

As a grown up I loved “Secret History ,“ “Bonfires of the Vanities,” “The Way the Crow Flies,” and any thing by Richard Russo and Richard Ford. If I had to recommend books as "must reads," I would recommend “Canada” by Richard Ford, “Time and Again” by Jack Finney, “To Kill A Mockingbird” by Harper Lee and maybe "In Cold Blood" by Truman Capote. Recent books I have read that I have enjoyed include “You Think it, I’ll Say it” by Curtis Sittenfeld, “Warlight” by Michael Ondaatje and “Gone So Long” by Andre Dubus III.


Last book that made you laugh?

"Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine"

Last book that made you cry?

"Where the Crawdads Sing"

Favorite genres?

Memoirs and historical fiction.

Favorite book no one has ever heard of?

"Another Man’s Shoes" by Sven Somme  A true story of a Norwegian man’s escape from German capture and his trek across the whole of Norway to Sweden. I read this recently with my extended family abroad and we all loved it. 


WHAT SPARKED YOUR LOVE OF READING?

My mother was a first grade teacher, so reading aloud was a given. I most vividly remember being read "The Secret Garden" by Francis Hodgson Burnett, and when I was old enough I read it myself, as well as every other book by her that I could find. I loved whenteachers read to the class, and was carried away by "The Wind in the Willows", by KennethGrahame, and "Just So Stories" by Rudyard Kipling. I didn’t discover the Narnia Series until I read it to my own children, and we’ve read them over and over.

WHAT DO YOU LOVE TO READ? 

As an adult, I still love fantasy tales, I thoroughly enjoyed "The Magicians" - a sort of much darker adult Narnia/Harry Potter tale by Lev Grossman, as well as "The Discovery of Witches" Trilogy by Deborah Harkness. Harkness has a new book out now – "Time’s Convert" which I will read as soon as possible! "1Q84" by Haruki Murakami also has a fantastical bent to it that I quite enjoyed.

I adore contemporary fiction, especially novels that discuss characters with complicated relationships- I guess my first obsession was anything by Doris Lessing, especially "The Golden Notebook". The book "A Little Life" by Hanya Yanagihara heart breaking but so compelling it hurts to read this, (so beware!) but it was also beautiful. More complicated characters- "Lila" by Marilynne Robinson, "The Art of Fielding" by Chad Horbach, "A Prayer for Owen Meany" by John Irving, "Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close" by Jonathan Safran Foer, "The Power of One" by Bryce Courtenay, "A Guide for the Perplexed" by Dara Horn, "The Nix" by Nathan Hill, and everything by Elizabeth Strout.

I am a lover of natural science, so real stories about nature and animals appeal to me, as well as novels that contain truths about nature. Everything I have read by Barbara Kingsolver including her latest- "Unsheltered" contains so much about natural science interwoven with compelling narratives. I felt the same way about "The Signature of All Things" by Elizabeth Gilbert. "The Hungry Tide" by Amitav Ghosh takes place in the Sunderbans in India, very much in the news now due to extreme flooding. Because I am drawn to books about animals, I have unwittingly read many books by the same author- Sy Montgomery ("The Soul of an Octopus", "The Good Pig",- and on the counter now-"How to Be a Good Creature.")

As an artist, I also love books which have stories about art or as in "The Goldfinch," by Donna Tartt and "The World to Come" by Dara Horn, books that feature a particular painting in the storyline. Robin Black’s book "Life Drawing" features an artist as the main character. B.A. Shapiro books "The Art Forger" and "The Muralist" both had interesting historical and art aspects.


WHICH BOOK SPARKED YOUR LOVE OF READING?

The first book that made me fall in love with reading was "Charlotte's Web" by E.B. White." It was given to me by a student teacher that was helping me with my reading, and I am not sure she ever knew how much the gesture affected my life.

ALL-TIME FAVORITE BOOKS?

These are my top all time favorites, not easy, tried to edit: "The Red Tent" by Anita Diamant, "The Poisonwood Bible" by Barbara Kingsolver, "The Art of Fielding" by Chad Harbach, "Salem’s Lot" by Stephen King,"The Shadow of the Wind" by Carlos Ruiz Zafon, "Cutting For Stone" by Abraham Verghese, and  "Lamb: The Gospel according to Biff, Christ’s Childhood Pal" by Christopher Moore.

 


WHICH BOOK SPARKED YOUR LOVE OF READING?

As a child, I was not a reader—I came to it late. The first book that I remember being blown away by was “Lonesome Dove”—a true page-turner by Larry McMurtry.

WHICH WRITERS -- NOVELISTS, PLAYWRIGHTS, CRITICS, JOURNALISTS, POETS -- WORKING TODAY DO YOU ADMIRE MOST? 

Graham Swift, Julian Barnes, John Banville, Howard, Jacobson, James Wood, William Deresiewicz, Wendy Lesser. 

FAVORITE BOOK NO ONE ELSE HAS HEARD OF? 

"Annals of the Former World" by John McPhee

DO YOU HAVE ANY COMFORT READS?

I listen to mysteries and thrillers while driving. 

FAVORITE GENRE? 

Fiction and criticism

WHAT'S ON YOUR NIGHTSTAND? 

"How to Do Nothing" by Jenny Odell, "Bay of Noon" by Shirley Hazzard, "The Glass Hotl" by Emily St. John Mandel, "Summer" by Ali Smith. 

FAVORITE GENRES AND BOOKS?

Since then I have read current novels, classics that I missed out on because I was a science not a liberal arts major, and the other good stuff that came out along the way. My all-time favorites are “Portrait of a Lady” by Henry James and “The Human Stain” by Philip Roth. I will also read a good non-fiction book, usually science related. Most recently, I enjoyed “Swerve” by Stephen Greenblatt, “Sapiens” by Yuval Noah Harari, “ The Greatest Quake”, and “Advice Not Given: A Guide to Getting Over Yourself" by Mark Eptstein. I like criticism, and think Harold Bloom is a god!


WHAT SPARKED YOUR LOVE OF READING?

The first chapter book I remember being read to me was "Stuart Little". My mother read it to me when I was sick with the measles, so I must have been around four. I remember being completely absorbed in the story and then asking for more and more chapter books.

ALL-TIME FAVORITE BOOKS?

My favorite books from my impressionable teenage years: "Gone With the Wind"; "Rebecca" and anything by F Scott Fitzgerald. More recently: "The Crimson Petal and the White," "American Pastoral," "Atonement," " The Goldfinch," and "Life After Life."  

WHAT DO YOU READ WHEN YOU REALLY WANT TO ESCAPE?

The Jack Reacher series by Lee Child and The Detective Lynley series by Elizabeth George.