Short Reads for a Long Weekend

Maybe you have an hour or two to spare over the weekend and want to complete a book instead of reading a chapter.  Maybe you want to read on the beach but don’t want to spend too much time in the sun. Or maybe your partner has taken the kids for a couple of hours and finding two articles in the stack of unread New Yorkers is too much trouble. Whatever the case, we’ve got you covered. Below are a list of Quick Reads to enjoy over the holiday weekend. Each is under 100 pages and offer a variety of topics for a variety of tastes.

For the La Manch-an In You

Mona Lisa by Alexander Lernet-Holenia

This 88-pager from the Pushkin Press follows a 16th century spanish soldier named Bougainville on his quest to find the woman who inspired Da Vinci’s painting. Lernet-Holenia’s pokes ridiculous fun at his hero’s pursuit of love while providing sly insights into the ways art and love inspire one another.

For the (Non-Yankee) Baseball Fan

Hub Fans Bid Kid Adieu: John Updike on Ted Williams by John Updike

Months before the author died, John Updike updated this essay he wrote as a 28-year old chronicling Ted Williams’ final appearance at Fenway Park.  Even Yankee’s fans will appreciate Updike’s account for (possibly) the Greatest Hitter Who Ever Lived. Well...maybe not Yankees’ fans but anyone else not embittered by their super-team’s 67th player hitting the Injured List.  (i.e., the rest of us.)

For Those Looking to be Challenged

That Thing You Do With Your Mouth: The Sexual Autobiography of Samantha Matthews as told to David Shields by Samantha Matthews and David Shields

Actress and Voice-Over Artist Samantha Matthews exchanged emails with cousin once-removed David Shields and the result is a complicated exploration of the ways identities and desires shape bodies and experiences.  Haunting, funny, endlessly rewarding.

For Those Looking To Be Swept

Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoyevsky; translated by Michael R. Katz

This wisp of a romance follows Danish socialite Abelone Vestergaard through the struggles and intrigues of life in the Charlottenlund Palace with hunky Lars Jespersen...Just Kidding: Crime and Punishment is a long, Russian novel and not-at-all wispy.  I’d read a short romance about a Danish socialite pursuing a hunky Lars Jespersen though, and I bet you would too.

For Those Raging Against the Dying Of A Light

edited and translated by Bruce Baugh

It seems foolish to write a quick take on such a deep thinker.  So let’s just say that Fondane’s struggles against the societal abstractions of 1920’s/1930’s Europe bear more-than-a-little resemblance to those of today.

For Those Seeking Brooding & Smolder

Glaxo by Hernan Ronsino, translated from the Spanish by Samuel Rutter

Four friends, broken horses, bad romances, government corruption, the murder of an American missionary and some crackling narration elevate what could have been a small-town drama into a tense and ear-splitting whodunit.  Post-Reading massage recommended.

For Those Seeking Some Poetry

The Wanting Bone by Ally Malinenko

This collection of poems tackles big questions in small moments with rough and touching results.  And even though the book offers no answers, the poems are tough, witty, courageous and precise.

For Those Seeking the Revolution

Lean Out by Dawn Foster

Journalist Dawn Foster explores the current climate of “Corporate Feminism” and creates this manifesto of responsible capitalism.  Perfect for your Economics Book Club or a profound day at the beach. Great cover.

For Those Seeking The Feels

Fair Play by Tove Jansson

Mari is a Writer; Jonna is an artist.  Both have lived and worked together for decades.  This charming book is light on sentiment but honest in its depiction of the work that goes into creating and maintaining a loving relationship.