This summer, the Essex Library Association offers a summer reading program for adults that spans the globe!
Register HERE for adult summer reading. By registering, you are automatically entered into weekly prize drawings and the grand prize drawing!
Here is how it works:
Starting June 1, pick up an adult summer reading program brochure at the Essex Library. Read a book by an author from one or more of the seven continents: North America, South America, Asia, Europe, Africa, Australia or Antarctica. Mark your progress reading around the world on your program brochure! The program starts June 1 and ends August 15, with the grand prize winner announced August 17.
Not sure what to read? Email Adult Services Librarian Elizabeth Reinhart at ereinhart@essexlib.org for book suggestions or peruse a booklist tailored for adult summer reading.
Book Reviews
Here are some book reviews from adult summer reading participants. Share a book review HERE.
Title: Cursed Daughters
Author: by Oyinkan Braithwaite
Continent: Africa
Genre: Literary Fiction/Magical Realism
Rating: 4 Stars
Review: This book is about a Nigerian family that has a long-standing curse that no daughter will ever have a happy marriage. The youngest daughter who is believed to be the reincarnation of a deceased cousin sets out to overcome this “curse.” There are interesting family dynamics, especially about how our beliefs impact our thinking and reality. A family that is filled with love, loss and deception that you will not easily forget. A summertime read at its best!
-Suellen
Title: American Fantasy
Author: by Emma Straub
Continent: North America
Genre: Contemporary/Women’s Fiction
Rating: 4 Stars
Review: If you ever loved a boy band (think “Back Street Boys”) this is the book for you. Imagine being on a cruise, partying and meeting your rock star idols. You are no longer a middle or a high school student but a grown adult. Does the music still hold its magic or are you confronted with the person you have become??? I liked the fact that it explores how adolescent music stars deal with their diminished fame and how they learn or don’t move on in their adult lives.
-Suellen
Title: The Namesake
Author: by Jhumpa Lahiri
Continent: Asia
Genre: Literary Fiction
Rating: 5 Stars
Review: In my opinion, this book is about the immigrant experience in the United States and how, after many generations in a family, in order to find yourself, you must let go of the previous generations’ ties to their homeland. It centers on the son of an immigrant family and the complexities of navigating life in America as a second-generation American. Through Lahiri’s vivid and intricate writing style, the reader is captivated from the first page. Highly recommend!
-Elizabeth
The Essex Library Association thanks the following list of business sponsors for their collaboration with the adult summer reading program.
Blissful Beauty Day Spa
Bun on the Run
The Cheese Shop of Centerbrook
Cliff’s Quality Meats
Cooked Marketplace & Mercantile
Essex Nails Spa
Pencil & Wool
Pizza Pub
Riggio’s Garden Center
Savour Café & Bakery
Sayulita
Scotch Plains Tavern
