Monthly Lit Hits: Grub's Infinite Reading List

Lit Hits: What We're Reading in May

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.

Lauren, Grub's Office Manager, recently finished The Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins, which she can appreciate for its structure, but which she found depressing and lackluster in terms of character development. She's finishing up Lindy West's Shrill, which she's loving for West's approach to stigma, feminism, comedy, and humanity in general. Next up is Bluets by Maggie Nelson and possibly Walden by Henry David Thoreau because she's channeling outdoor vibes and summer weather.

Eson, Grub's Youth Programs Manager, just finished reading Angie Thomas' The Hate U Give which was every bit as awesome as she expected. She is currently reading Alex Marzano-Leznevich's The Fact of a Body, which is proving to be highly difficult to put down.

Head of Faculty and Curriculum Dariel recently finished Mariana Enriquez's story collection, Things We Lost in the Fire, which he really enjoyed, and is now reading Snow by Orhan Pamuk.

Development Manager Alyssa is in the middle of Shrill by Lindy West and loving her sharp whit and uncompromising feminist criticism of comedy.

Denise, Grub's Neighborhood Program Fellow, is reading Loving Day by Mat Johnson and Oreo by Fran Ross. They're both satirical novels about race built around biracial characters. Oreo was championed by Johnson around the time of its rerelease a few years ago--it was first published in 1974 and it's super funny and ahead of its time!

Marketing Assistant Marcella recently finished Mindy McGinnis' The Female of the Species and has just started Juliet Takes a Breath by Gabby Rivera.

Artistic Director Chris recently picked up The Twelve Lives of Samuel Hawley by Hannah Tinti and Trajectory by Richard Russo after hearing them discuss both books in a fascinating conversation in Provincetown.

Director of the Boston Literary District Alysia recently finished The Suicide Index by Joan Wickersham, a fantastic memoir about her father's suicide that challenges the expectations of the genre. She's currently reading Alex Marzano-Lesnevich's The Fact of a Body.

Lauren, Grub's Programs Coordinator, is reading A People’s History of the United States by Howard Zinn and finishing up All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr, which has been slow going, simply because she finds some passages so beautiful that she has to re-read them.

Alison, Grub's Director of Programs & Marketing, is re-reading David Grossman's To the End of the Land, which is probably her favorite book of all time and the one that has most influenced her writing. She is also re-reading Mat Johnson's Loving Day with her Jumpstart Your Novel class, and, like everyone else on staff, she's just finished up Alex Marzano-Lesnevich's brilliant The Fact of a Body.