Reporter staff
With all the heat outside, why not find a cool place somewhere indoors and curl up with a book? To get a few suggestions, the Reporter asked Hudson County residents to share what’s on their summer reading lists right now.
“I read a lot of sports stuff. There is a book out there I’m in the process of getting [Derek Jeter’s autobiography, ‘The Life You Imagine: Life Lessons for Achieving Your Dreams’]. A friend of mine who works for the New York Times covering the Yankees [and] who is now working for the YES Network, Jack Curry, was the co-author of the book. I briefly read the controversial book that came out by the NBA referee [‘Blowing the Whistle: The Culture of Fraud in the NBA,’ by Tim Donaghy.] It’s about the scandals of the NBA and refers to situations that happened recently…I’m very big on Men’s Health Magazine and Runner’s World.” – Christopher Pianese, North Bergen town administrator
“I’m a Civil War history buff. I just finished reading an old book called ‘April 1865’ [by Jay Winick] and it’s basically about the end of the Civil War and the events of that month. The book also gets a little bit into the assassination of Abraham Lincoln and the death of John Wilkes Booth. For a period of time the Confederate army considered continuing the war using guerrilla warfare tactics. Their thinking was that it would be easier for them to fight and concentrate their resources if they didn’t have to protect [Southern] cities. Ultimately, they decided not to do that because Robert E. Lee said, ‘We have a duty to fight, but we also have a duty to live.’ ” – Michael Marra, Secaucus town clerk
“I just read the Richard Price book ‘Freedomland.’ [It is his] fictionalization of real events in Jersey City. [It’s] set in Jersey City, and what was the Curry Woods Housing Projects. It fictionalizes another set of events in a scenario where a young white woman claims she was carjacked with a child inside, and the police come down hard on the residents of the housing project, and it rolls from there. A number of the characters who tell the story start [doubting] her story. …it goes into all the racial implications. The fictionalized police detective in this book…is [based on] former Jersey City Police Detective Calvin Hart. [I also read] ‘Freedom Just Around the Corner’ [by Walter McDougall]. It focuses on colonization up to the post-war of the 1820s. It sheds light on the role of religion in early government [and how it’s] always been a country where corruption greased the wheel, a culture that has based commerce as important as religion.” – Dan Levin, Jersey City activist
“I’ve started reading a lot of Hemingway. I read three of his books last year, including ‘The Old Man and the Sea’ and ‘For Whom the Bell Tolls’ and just got two more for my vacation. I really got turned onto Hemingway; it keeps you on the edge of your seat. You don’t rush through it because you don’t want to miss a single word. I’ve also been reading a book by Bobby Lewis called ‘Method or Madness.’ It’s a book on acting. And a lot of poetry by Pablo Neruda. I’m reading a collection of his poetry and have another book by Neruda that [Union City native and United States Poet Laureate] W.S. Merwin translated himself.” – Lucio Fernandez, actor, poet, and Union City commissioner of public affairs
“I just recently assembled my summer reading list. One book I plan to read is ‘Steinbrenner: The Last Lion of Baseball’ by Bill Madden. You know, when you hear stories about George Steinbrenner, they usually fall into two categories. When he was younger, he was described as this ogre who was a really terrible boss. Later in life he was portrayed as this gentle grandfather-type. I want to read [Madden’s] book because it’s my understanding that he does a good job of balancing these two images of Steinbrenner. Another book on my list is a soon-to-be-released [novel] called ‘Girl Parts’ by John Cusick. Just like me, Cusick is a first-time novelist, so I wanted to support him.” – Joe Traum, Secaucus resident and author of “Waking Up”
What we’re reading at the Reporter:
A quick poll of the editorial and sales staff at the Reporter revealed a few current reads:
“People of the Book: A Novel” by Geraldine Brooks
“Is it You, Me, or Adult ADD?” by Gina Pera
“Spies of the Balkans” by Alan Furst
“Secrets of a Jewish Mother” by Jill Zarin
“Funny Cide” by Sally Jenkins
“Dare to Repair: A Do-it-Herself Guide to Fixing (Almost) Anything in the
Home” by Julie Sussman and Stephanie Glakas-Tenet