CRP's Blog

Staff Reads is back! We’ve got so many books to fill you in on. Check out what we’ve been reading below and let us know if you have any recommendations on what to read next.

I just finished a second read of a good friend of mine’s book, Ohio. It’s one of those rare, beautiful and evocative works that will leave you feeling unhinged and wanting to read it all over again. —Andrea Baird, marketing director

I just finished reading An American Marriage by Tayari Jones. It’s such a gut-wrenching story that explores heartbreak, regret, marriage, love, and the American criminal justice system. I highly recommend it to everyone. I’ve also been reading Gilead by Marilynne Robinson for over a month now, and hopefully I finish before the next Staff Reads. —Jen DePoorter, marketing coordinator

I’m about to start The Art of Gathering: How We Meet and Why It Matters. It’s been getting rave reviews and it actually reminds me of something that I found really interesting with the hygge trend—the idea that we can intentionally create the kind of spaces that lead to meaningful time with the people around us. —Alex Granato, editorial assistant

My current read is the Hugo award-winning The Fifth Season by N.K. Jemisin. I’ve missed the feeling of getting lost in a fantasy world. —Emily Lewis, marketing associate

I’m reading Michael Clarkson’s The Age of Daredevils, a history of those who rode over Niagara Falls in barrels. The story revolved around the family of Red Hill, who fished the dead out of the lower river for $15 a body. —Jerome Pohlen, senior editor

I’m currently rereading Kitchen by Banana Yoshimoto. I bought it at Literati bookstore in Ann Arbor earlier this summer when I was visiting my daughter Sophie who goes to school there. Literati is one of my favorite bookstores and I always make a pilgrimage there when I’m in town. I was thrilled to discover that they had Yoshimoto’s latest novel Moshi, Moshi in paperback. Not everyone stocks Japanese books in translation, but I lamented aloud that I had lost my original copy of her first book Kitchen somewhere over the years and sure enough they had one in stock. After reading Moshi, Moshi, I started rereading Kitchen. The themes are so similar that they complement each other well. I can’t tell you how much I love Banana Yoshimoto’s work. Her characters speak to me in a quiet, soulful way. Reading Kitchen feels like connecting with an old friend. These two novels are about losing loved ones and how we heal and move on. I’ve been thinking a lot about loss lately, but also the beauty and solace of being alone.  —Cynthia Sherry, publisher

I’m reading The Power of One by Bryce Courtenay. So far I have really enjoyed it and look forward to getting the chance to read more during my commutes to and from work. Shout out to Emily Lewis for recommending me one of her favorite books!  —Stefani Szenda, marketing assistant

I’m currently reading Chris Offutt’s Country Dark, which has great Kentucky local color, and Olga Tokarczuk’s Flights, which intersperses thought pieces and short fiction about travel. This summer I also read Elie Wiesel’s Souls on Fire, about the Hasidic masters; some great long articles like Michael Finkel’s “While We Sleep, Our Mind Goes on an Amazing Journey,” Jeff Maysh’s “How an Ex-Cop Rigged McDonald’s Monopoly Game and Stole Millions,” and Matt Taibbi’s “How to Survive America’s Kill List”; four of Shakespeare’s history plays (Richard II, Henry IV Parts One and Two, and Henry V); Eugene Lim’s Dear Cyborgs, which is like linked shaggy dog stories; Edith Wharton’s The Reef, perhaps her most personal and Proustian work; Zora Neale Hurston’s Barracoon, a truly unusual slave narrative; John Jeremiah Sullivan’s Blood Horses, part memoir of his father and part meditation on horses; and Anne Patchett’s Commonwealth, a truly great American novel. —Yuval Taylor, senior editor