What Tacomans Are Reading

Tim Close, Director, Museum of Glass
The Emperor of Ocean Park
by Stephen L. Carter

I find the writing intriguing, although work has caused me to put it down and pick it up too many times. It’s about a dysfunctional African American family dealing with the murder of the patriarchal figure. It’s interesting to me because, although we may not all find ourselves in such circumstances, the issues of miscommunication and conflict prevalent within families seems important.

Neel Parikh, Library Director, Pierce County Library System
Ahab’s Wife
by Sena Jeter Naslund

I recently finished reading this novel. It’s an action-packed adventure (and romance) on the high seas. Incredibly engaging, considering I knew the ending — or so I thought. I’m reluctant to try her new title, “Abundance,” about Marie Antoinette. Somehow knowing the ending is not very enticing.

Mike Lonergan, Tacoma Deputy Mayor
The Purpose Driven Life
by Rick Warren

I’m re-reading this and every morning I share a bit of it with our young scholars at Christian Brotherhood Academy.

Maureen Smith, Manager, Tacoma Book Center
The Forest Mage
by Robin Hobb

This local Tacoma-based fantasy author just keeps surprising me. I wish they’d put a few of her books in “Literature” and get the genre-haters to taste this gem by an author with a real understanding of people and what motivates them. Her prose is tight and clean. Her ability to build worlds that are just different enough to be fascinating yet enough like our own to be accessible is unusual and welcome.

Cherilyn Williams, Coordinator, Public Relations, Northwest Trek
Misquoting Jesus
by Bart Ehrman

To be honest, I saw Ehrman on “The Daily Show with Jon Stewart” and was fascinated with the idea of analyzing the various manuscripts that came to be taken, quite literally, as gospel. It’s been a very comfortable non-techie read. He makes it a story rather than a treatise.