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17 Philadelphians tell us their favorite summer reads

We asked some prominent Philadelphians to tell us the best book they read this summer and what they liked about it.

Don't go, summer! With a few days left to go in this, the warmest season, we look back at a popular summer pasttime: reading. We asked some prominent Philadelphians to tell us the best book they read this summer and what they liked about it.

And how about you? What was your best summer read? Fill out this form, and we'll run your contribution online; selected contributions might also get into the print version of The Inquirer. The deadline to submit is Friday, September 16.

Connor Barwin
Defensive end for Philadelphia Eagles; Founder of MTWB Project

I read Profiles in Courage by John F. Kennedy over the weekend and really enjoyed it. I grabbed it at a garage sale over the summer and finally got around to reading it and found it quite refreshing, given our current political climate. It was not only nostalgic but also a good reminder that politics is and never will be easy because change is hard, and takes time and incredible people to make it happen. And as we often say in football but too often forget, things are never quite as bad or as good as we think. The book was a good reminder that we as citizens are ultimately responsible for those we put in power, and they must be held accountable to us.

Marty Moss Coane
Host of Radio Times on WHYY-FM (90.9)

I read Louis D. Brandeis: American Prophet, by Jeffrey Rosen, president and CEO of the National Constitution Center. I'm a nerd for history. Jeffrey Rosen's book brings Brandeis to life through his legal and constitutional arguments. He was confirmed 100 years ago, and his influence is still felt today… including his call to break up big banks.

Emma Fried-Cassorla
Communications strategist, J2 Design; Creator of Philly Love Notes

I always re-read Travels with Charley: In Search of America by John Steinbeck every summer. I have a near constant urge to travel the country. I've been fortunate enough to get some extended wandering time via car and train, but this is my go-to book when I'm employed full-time and can't just fly the coop of Philly. Until I can plan my next trip, I use this book to dream about wandering the back roads, camping, and meeting new people in a tricked-out van with a trusty dog by my side.

Jane Golden
Founder of Philadelphia Mural Arts Program

I have been reading The M Train by Patti Smith. She's a poet, and I find her descriptions really captivating. She captures small moments in our lives and gives them dignity. There's something poignant and moving to it – it makes her feel so real. Another book I reread is Play It as It Lays by Joan Didion. I love her descriptions of place. The book makes me think back to my time in Los Angeles, and that notion of something precarious and explosive in the air, and the intersection among the social, the political, and the civic. I am also reading Jill Leovy, Ghettoside: A True Story of Murder in America. I'm always interested in cities, and this is about Los Angeles. And of course I'm always thinking about nonprofits, and the very charged distinctions we make between the for-profit and the nonprofit world. So I am reading The Lean Start-Up by Eric Ries. It's making me think long and hard about what we nonprofits have to do in this highly competitive environment.

Sgt. Eric Gripp
Social & digital media manager, Philadelphia Police

This summer I read A Clockwork Orange by Anthony Burgess for the umpteenth time. I first read it when I was an angsty teenager, and the questions it raised really had a lasting impact on me. The main theme in this story of a young criminal named Alex is the struggle between freedom and morality. Alex is a depraved and vicious teen who finds great joy in committing heinous acts. Eventually, he is imprisoned for his crimes, and is offered early release if he agrees to take part in a Pavlovian rehabilitation technique. While the effects of this technique allow Alex to rejoin and function in a lawful society, they also leave him a shell of his former self. Merely the thought of committing a criminal act now cause Alex to become violently ill, and incapacitate him to the point of repeatedly being victimized himself. Though free from physical confinement, Alex is now a prisoner in his own mind. The story asks if a "bad" person can truly be made "good" if the change only occurs due to fear and punishment - rather than through their own free will. While I still don't have answer to that question, there is one thing that I'm certain of: "I was cured alright."

Yumi Kendall
Assistant principal cello for Philadelphia Orchestra

I read Mindset by Carol Dweck. This fascinating book — relevant for educators, business leaders, parenting, the whole spectrum of life, really — presents research on a "fixed" versus "growth" mindset, and discusses how the former stifles us, and how the latter cultivates a thirst for continuing progress. Its research resonates with me in my own job at the Philadelphia Orchestra, as we strive for regained health, growth, and — if I have anything to do with it — flourishing!

Josh Kruger
Digital communications for Mayor Jim Kenney

My book is GoatMan: How I Took a Holiday from Being Human by Thomas Thwaites. This delightful, humorous read is the true story of a man's meticulous attempt to transform himself physically into a goat by way of an engineered mechanical suit. In it, Thwaites explores what it means to be human — including its inherent stress and existential angst — and whether or not attempting to be a barnyard animal for a time gave him any relief from the crushing, tedious comfort enjoyed by many 21st-century humans.

Tell us your favorite summer read. Submit here. ]

Siobhan Reardon
President & director, Free Library of Philadelphia

I read The Good Lord Bird by James McBride. I loved the language, the metaphors used to describe John Brown, and the Mark Twainsian effect of Henrietta's disguise — much like Huck Finn's. I also loved the observations on human behavior.

Collin Shapiro
Co-owner of Philly Style Bagels

My favorite read this summer was A Super Upsetting Cookbook About Sandwiches by Tyler Kord. I thought it was very funny and well written! I found that I wanted to read each recipe, not necessarily because I wanted to make the sandwiches but because his commentary was entertaining.

Bruce Warren
Program director & Saturday morning host, WXPN-FM (88.5)


The best book I have read this summer is Don Winslow's The Cartel, about the war on drugs between the Americans and the Mexican drug groups. It's the page-turning follow-up to Winslow's The Power of The Dog, about DEA agent Art Keller, who gets in deep in a story of drug lords, killings, power, corruption, lies, and revenge. It's big and juicy and tense and hearkens back to the great work of James Ellroy.

Yolanda Wisher
Philadelphia Poet Laureate

I found Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge, and the Teachings of Plants by Robin Wall Kimmerer, in a stack of books my partner brought back from a SEED leadership conference in June. The author is a poet and a botanist, and the writing is as informative as it is mystical.