Books by New Jersey Authors
Each week, our mailbox is jammed with books penned by homegrown authors. Here is a sampling of the many artistic pursuits of creative Garden State natives.
Fiction
A Friend of the Family
Themes of parental expectations, elitism, and suburban insularity drive Lauren Grodstein’s second novel, A Friend of the Family (Algonquin, 2009).
Humor
Everything Here Is the Best Thing Ever
An expository writing professor at Rutgers University publishes a collection of short stories capturing characters of various ages and geographies.
Humor
Your Flying Car Awaits
Have you ever wondered whatever happened to flying cars? Author Paul Milo has some ideas about failed technological predictions from the past.
Thriller
Totally Killer
Madison may be among the least sinister towns in New Jersey, so it’s a credit to debut novelist Greg Olear’s imagination that the thriller Totally Killer (HarperCollins) is authentically dark and savage.
Memoir
Hard Time & Nursery Rhymes
Claudia Trupp’s impressively candid memoir, Hard Time & Nursery Rhymes (Rodale), chronicles the challenges this mother of three daughters faces juggling her domestic life with her career as a Manhattan criminal defense attorney.
Business
A Million And One Ways To Be One-In-A-Million
When it comes to careers, Steven J. Heaslip has seen it all. The New Jersey resident—who has 25 years of experience as a human relations professional—shares his insights about the workplace in his new book A Million and One Ways to be One-in-a-Million (AuthorHouse).
Humor
The 40-Year-Old Version: Humoirs of a Divorced Dad
The 40-Year-Old Version: Humoirs of a Divorced Dad (Wyatt-MacKenzie) by Joel Schwartzberg is a collection of 40 essays chronicling the Montclair resident’s experience with the unsettling see-saw of divorce.
Lifestyle
How Not to Act Old
Still figuring out how to Twitter? (It’s “tweet,” don’cha know?) Wondering what “hooking up” means? Are you guilty of wearing mom jeans? Do yourself a favor and grab a copy of Pamela Redmond Satran’s How Not to Act Old (HarperCollins).
Photography
Botanica Magnifica
Longtime Jersey resident and podiatrist Jonathan Singer rediscovered his love for photography five years ago when he was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease.
Music
Bon Jovi When We Were Beautiful
After touring with the band, photographer Phil Griffin compiled new and old photos, along with snippets of conversations, for Bon Jovi: When We Were Beautiful (Collins Design).
Humor
I Shudder
Paul Rudnick, a contributor to the New Yorker and other magazines, is also a playwright and screenwriter. But all you really need to know is that he is hilarious.
Photography
Steel Pier Atlantic City
In its heyday, the Steel Pier in Atlantic City hosted big bands, movies, acrobats, and throngs of people who flocked to this all-in-one entertainment mecca.
Cartography
State Of The Stats
Rutgers University Press’s interpretive atlas is a history buff’s beautifully browsable bonanza.
