Jerry recommends:

Hits, Flops and Other Illusions: My Fortysomething Years in Hollywood by Ed Zwick

Publication date 2/13/2024

A fascinating retelling of Ed Zwick’s professional career in writing, producing and directing from early lucky breaks to eventual Academy Awards. His style of writing is cleverly imbued with self deprecation at almost every turn as he tells the unvarnished truth about his journey through the Hollywood system. At times he delves into “tell-all” territory with stories about Woody Allen, Julia Roberts, Brad Pitt, to name a few - and Zwick is quick to put the stories into context for every name he mentions (including himself). From T.V. hits such as thirtysomething and My So Called Life to celebrated films such as Glory and Legends of the Fall, he focuses on the “how” and the often times messy process needed to achieve a vision.

Elle recommends:

Chain-Gang All-Stars by Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah

In the distant future, prisoners are offered a chance to compete in deadly matches in exchange for a chance at freedom. Get a sprawling look into what this future looks like from the convicts forced to fight against the family members protesting the games to the viewers. Based on the realities of America's prison system, this book is essential abolitionist fiction.

Shanna recommends:

The Frozen River by Ariel Lawhon

The latest historical fiction from Ariel Lawhon delivers an engrossing story about a compelling real person- Martha Ballard, a midwife in 1790s Maine. Using Martha’s actual diary entries, Lawhon tells a tale of murder and how Martha helped to solve it. Atmospheric and yet fast-paced and mesmerizing. I will be recommending this book to anyone who likes historical fiction!

Bindy recommends:

Amil and the After by Veera Hiranandani

Picking up where the story of a family’s expulsion and relocation during the Partition leaves off in The Night Diary, master of imagery and psyche, Veera Hiranandani creates another stunning work with Amil and the After. Told from the brother’s point of view, readers get a taste - and look, and smell, and feel - of what life is like for Amil and his sister “after.” What does “normal” mean after the Partition? What’s correct, expected, possible, predictable in a new place? Amil’s coping mechanisms to process his new life include asking lots of questions and getting absorbed into his drawings. Amil discovers how, in fact, humans bring all kinds of partitions upon themselves in everyday life, and what can be done to help break down the barriers from one person to another.