Monthly Lit Hits: Grub's Infinite Reading List

Lit Hits: What We're Reading in July

Here at Grub HQ, we're always talking about the books that keep us up at night, the novels we can't put down, the memoirs that call to us over our morning coffees. Every month, we'll share our staff's latest literary obsessions to add to your own never-ending reading list.

Chip, Grub’s Head Instructor, is reading a friend's novel draft that is wonderful and making him jealous about her plot skills.

Alison, our Director of Programs and Marketing, is re-reading Celeste Ng’s Everything I Never Told You—she’s teaching it in one of her classes and it’s giving her a whole new appreciation for how well-plotted/structured it is—and savoring Alexander Chee’s Queen of the Night, because it’s the kind of book that feels like it should be read slowly and only at night.

Program and Advocacy Manager Jonathan is reading Kurt Vonnegut’s The Sirens of Titan, and he can't put it down.

Boston Literary District Director Alysia is reading Domenica Rutta's memoir, With or Without You, which she says is great!

Sarah, our Marketing and Community Engagement Manager, is re-reading Jesus' Son by Denis Johnson because it's spellbindingly wonderful, and it's one of the books she returns to when she’s focusing on voice in her novel. “And therefore I looked down into the great pity of a person’s life on this earth. I don’t mean that we all end up dead, that’s not the great pity. I mean that he couldn’t tell me what he was dreaming, and I couldn’t tell him what was real.” Kills her every time.

Development Assistant Grant is reading Anna Solomon's Leaving Lucy Pear, which is killing him.

Executive Director Eve just finished reading an advance copy of Kathy Sherbrooke's Fill the Sky. She’s so impressed with and proud of GrubStreet's board chair, who managed to both make her laugh and induce tears. She’s now reading Just Mercy by Bryan Stevenson. And she agrees with the Times review that called it every bit as moving as To Kill a Mockingbird.

Lauren, our Office Manager, recently finished Spinster: Making a Life of One's Own by Kate Bolick, in anticipation of the Get Lit After Work event put on by the LCD, which she loved and highly recommends. She’s also nerdily reading The Power of Habit: Why We Do What We Do in Life and Business for personal goal reasons. It's fascinating! She’s about to re-read How Should a Person Be? by Sheila Heti, which she read a few summers ago and loved.

Youth Programs Fellow Eson just finished reading Nicola Yoon's Everything, Everything. It was one of those charmers that ended too soon. And for any writer looking for a model on how to set up and pace a plot twist, this book is a good one to examine. It also featured some great examples for handling dialogue (in chat/text form). Very entertaining! [Editor's note: Check out our interview with Nicola on GrubWrites!] On the nonfiction side, she’s currently reading Hidden Cities by Moses Gates. He's an urban adventurer who explores catacombs, underground tunnels, and the general underside of cities—the places where people seldom go. It's quite good!

What are you reading? Share your current literary love with us on Twitter @GrubWriters using #GrubbieLitHits.