What we’re reading
Butterfly in the sky, I can fly twice as high. Take a look, it’s in a book, it’s Summer reading recommendation from the RVANews staff! Come see what we’re reading… and be sure to share your faves, too.
(If you’re a newsletter subscriber, this probably looks familiar to you. We loved putting it together so much, we had to share it with everyone else.)
(If you’re not a newsletter subscriber, you’re probably all, “Wait, people get to see RVANews jams before I do? Not cool, guys, not cool.” Easily solved, though. Just sign up for the newsletter here.)
Summer reading time is upon us! See below for which books the RVANews staff thinks you should be curling up with whilst lounging around at the beach, by the river, on your porch, or what have you.
Ross Catrow, Publisher
Gone with the Wind
“A Great American Novel! From the South! It’s a movie too! How many things do I need to exclaim before you rush right out and buy it this very instant? Sure the book weighs half a ton — but it is half a ton of wonderfully written historical romance. ROMANCE I SAY. You’ll follow Scarlett (booooo!) and Rhett (yay? I guess?) as they weather the Civil War, Reconstruction, and — dare I say? — themselves, only for things to end with one of the most famous lines in modern literature: ‘My dear, I don’t give a damn.'”
Scott Pharr, Publisher
The Power of Small: Why Little Things Make All the Difference
“This book is all about paying attention to the small details in your life, going the extra mile, taking that additional five minutes on a task and how that can make a huge difference in your social life, work life, and home life. It’s a quick read and relatively short but packed full of great ideas.”
Lauren Eubank, Sales & Marketing Manager
This Is How It Starts: A Novel
“A book about a recent college grad, Taylor Marks, who moves to Washington DC to work for a less-than-brilliant congressman from California. He soon learns that there is a certain way business and politics are done in the nation’s capital which normally includes a mix of affairs, drugs, and a lot of closed doors. A really witty book that captures the daily lives of DC’s social elite.”
Valerie Catrow, Editor
The Devil in the White City: Murder, Magic, and Madness at the Fair that Changed America
“Because who doesn’t want to spend their vacation reading a non-fiction book about the Chicago World’s Fair and a murderer who used this historic event to lure his victims to their deaths? Seriously though, it’s a great read. Written like a novel, the book does a fantastic job intertwining the stories of Daniel Burnham, the chief architect of the Fair, and H.H. Holmes, who would go on to established himself as one of America’s first serial killers. Tip: Don’t read the last few chapters before hitting the sack. Bluhhhh…”
Nathan Cushing, Marketing Intern
Hellhound on His Trail: The Stalking of Martin Luther King, Jr. and the International Hunt for His Assassin
“Relying on narratives that read as though they were taken out of a suspense novel, Sides historically recounts the infamous assassination of the famed Civil Rights leader, the many peculiarities of his killer, and the subsequent FBI manhunt, run by the famous J. Edgar Hoover, a man openly at odds with others in the bureau. Wonderfully researched, this illuminating page-turner engrosses readers from start to finish.”
Janine Landrey, Marketing Intern
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (Vintage)
“This novel is a definite page-turner, full of both mystery and intrigue. The plot surrounds a Swedish murder mystery investigated by journalist Mikael Blomkvist and…well…the girl with the dragon tattoo. It’s hard to stop reading, so it’s definitely perfect to get lost in on those hot summer days!”
Erica Terrini, Editorial Intern
Skinny Legs and All
While I find my Summer lacking in free days to relax and read, that is not to say I haven’t managed to snag a few. Currently, I am re-reading my favorite book that I first discovered last year. Tom Robbins’s Skinny Legs and All, which was first published in the early 90s, touches on an array of controversial topics such as religion, art, politics, sex, etc. Robbins, a former Richmond resident and alumnus to the Richmond Professional Institute (now VCU) portrays a bold, and off-beat cast of characters that range from the passionate red-haired artist Ellen Cherry Charles, and her husband, Boomer Petwa (a welder who later becomes a high profile artist) to a Can o’ Beans, and a Dirty Sock. Skinny Legs and All is a fairly quick read, tackling much debated subtopics — and only Robbins can weave so much content together in one novel with this much grace.
Your turn! Fill us and your fellow readers in on what books you’re all about right now…
-
Recommend this
on Facebook -
Report an error
-
Subscribe to our
Weekly Digest
Notice: Comments that are not conducive to an interesting and thoughtful conversation may be removed at the editor’s discretion.
I will tell you what not to read, frigging Look Homeward, Angel. I’ve been looking wistfully in the direction of the Lace Reader for 400 pages. Only 144 left to go, and I am free!
I will tell you what to read…I know this much is true by Wally Lamb ( I know, Oprah recommends it, but its good!) I did not expect much out of this, but was blown away. The book is nearly 1000 pages, so its good for anyone looking for something to bring to the beach. It will last like half the beach trip!
I really enjoyed Devil in the White City- I read it in the fall. Such an interesting book.
Two great books. The Big Short by Michael Lewis and Game Change by John Heilemann, Mark Halperin. Both non-fiction that read like thrillers. You can’t put them down!