“There There” by Tommy Orange
“Gertrude Stein once said about her hometown Oakland that there’s no there there. This book takes place in Oakland and it’s about Native Americans. Each chapter is about a different character and they’re all gathering for a powwow. I’m only about half way through but it’s very well written.”
—Francine Simons, Rockville
“Fake: Forgery, Lies, & eBay” by Kenneth Walton
“It’s about when eBay was just starting up. This guy who was an attorney would buy art at thrift shops that looked a little bit like they were by famous artists. He wouldn’t say it was by a famous artist but people who trolled eBay looking for bargains assumed that it could be and were willing to take the risk. Finally, he made $130,000 on one painting and the media got hold of it and he eventually had to turn in his attorney’s license and there were serious consequences. I’m studying to be a personal fine art appraiser so it was just recommended reading. But it’s interesting for anyone really.”
—Diane Blumenthal, Bethesda
“Short Straw” by Stuart Woods
“I’m reading a trashy novel. It’s mystery. I like Stuart Woods and I just started this one, it’s the second in his Ed Eagle series. There’s an attorney who lives in Santa Fe whose wife just disappeared after cleaning out his bank account and he’s trying to figure out how to get his money back. … Usual stuff.”
—Steve Raucher, Rockville
“Thou Shalt Innovate” by Avi Jorisch
“It’s about all the innovation things that Israel has created for the world to make it a better place. I’m enjoying reading it because every chapter is a new innovation that makes the world go around. For Jews, life, liberty, tikkun olam, repair the world, is what we’re commanded to do. Look at almost anything you do, you use, Israel is at the top of the charts in medicine, technology, agriculture anything. It’s amazing what these Israelis have contributed. The book is so interesting.”
—Sharyn Fuchs, Rockville
“The Mortal Instruments” by Cassandra Clare
“I usually read fantasy or fiction and this one deals with a gentleman who’s a mortal. And these people are shadow hunters and they have angels in their blood. But there’s a cup that the mortals have to drink from and they either die or they become shadow hunters. And this one shadow hunter, a demon took his memories and returned him to earth without his memories, so he didn’t remember his shadow hunter friends but they really missed him. And it’s about him getting his memories back. It’s technically a young adult novel but I’d really recommend it for anyone.”
—Debi Dunn, Rockville
“The Man from Beijing” by Henning Mankell
“Mankell’s one of a bunch of Scandinavian authors that have recently been translated into English and everyone’s gotten excited. His books are all good. I really like ‘The Man from Beijing,’ it’s sort of a thriller, some mystery. He writes good summer reads, people seem to fly through them.”
—Dave Hammann, Laurel
“Catch-22” by Joseph Heller
“It’s very intense. It was very popular when I was in college so I figured I should try it out. The writing is very good but I’m very squeamish, I don’t go to action movies or things like that, and I haven’t gotten there yet but people tell me it can get pretty gross. Even psychologically it’s pretty intense, so that will probably take me the rest of the summer.”
—Carrol Cowan, Silver Spring
“Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows” by J.K. Rowling
“I needed a break the insanity of current events and it was either that or ‘The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich.’ And I just needed some escapism. Life right now is just too crazy, it’s too outrageous. So I’m reading the whole series. I gotta tell you, we watch the news, we read the stuff, and it’s like ‘OK, I need to get away from this for a bit.’”
—Dawn Reid, Silver Spring
Interviews and photos by Jared Foretek.
