What We Are Reading

By Nancy K. Crevier

People involved in the news business at any level share a common fondness for the written word. So it is not surprising that Newtown Bee workers can often be found talking about their favorite books with each other. Are you curious what the cooler talk is about at 5 Church Hill Road?

Newtown Bee intern Anna Hodge is reading Edith’s Story, a memoir by Edith Velmans.

“It’s about a Jewish girl in Holland who survives the Holocaust,” said Anna, “and she is being called the Anne Frank who lived. I’ve always liked memoirs. To hear the first-hand account of Edith’s experiences is incredible.”

The other fascinating bit she has found so far into the book, said Anna, is that when she was older and in the hospital after the birth of her son, Edith actually met Miep Gies, the Dutch woman famous for her assistance to the Frank family while they were in hiding.

“The diary details her life from her teen years through the end of the war,” Anna said.

It is hard to say whether Deeke, the office dog, was inspired by Bee Publisher Scudder Smith when he recommended The Story of Edgar Sawtelle, by David Wroblewski, last month, or the other way around. Either way, Mr Smith is halfway through The Story of Edgar Sawtelle, he said, and enjoying the story about the young, mute boy and his dogs.

“I just read House Rules by Jodi Picoult,” said Anna Kalinowski, who works in the newspaper’s production department. “It is about a family whose son has Asperger’s. He is into forensic sciences, but finds himself a suspect in a murder case. Once I started reading it, I couldn’t put it down,” said Ms Kalinowski. “I wasn’t too pleased with the ending, though….”

Copy Editor Janis Gibson admitted she mainly reads newspapers and magazines.

“But I’ve started a book called Half The Sky: Turning Oppression Into Opportunity For Women Worldwide. It is written by New York Times columnist Nicholas Kristof and his wife, Sheryl WuDunn. The name of the book comes from a Chinese proverb, that women make up ‘half the sky,’” said Ms Gibson.

Half The Sky points out that when helping other countries advance, if money is given to the men, they go into the cities and spend it. When money goes to women in a needy community, they will stay in the village and use it to educate their children.

“That’s what these micro loans have proved,” said Ms Gibson. “The book was a Mother’s Day gift from my daughter, who knew it was one of my interests,” she said.

Associate Editor Shannon Hicks is reading two things. The first is a novel, called Love Creeps, by Amanda Filipacchi, a sort of modern love triangle.

“It’s about a girl, the owner of a Manhattan art gallery, who has no need for anything, and misses that need. When she discovers that she has a stalker, she decides to get one of her own,” explained Miss Hicks.

“I’ve just reached the part where she agrees to go away with the man she’s stalking — who it turns out, she is not at all attracted to once they spend time together — in return for a weekend with the man who is stalking her. I’m curious to see where this is going,” Miss Hicks said. “It’s definitely a summer read.”

My own reading this month has included Little Bee by Chris Cleave. The story of a young Nigerian girl, a victim of the oil wars, and an English couple affected by their brief interaction with her one horror filled day on a Nigerian beach, I found the book to be beautifully written. Told from the points of view of “Little Bee” and her reluctant English hostess, it provides a look at the terrors of wars that add up to larger disasters for individuals. It makes a definite statement about the wars that are not so widely publicized, the plight of illegal immigrants, and social attitudes without proselytizing. With so many good books out there to read, rarely do I reread a novel, but I found myself starting over again when I had finished this one and gleaning even more from it.

Summer is the perfect time for indulging in the pleasure of reading. Check back — The Bee will periodically take a look at what we are reading. There is nothing like sharing a good book.