Finally have a little time to read? We have some recommendations for that – and they’re all books by local authors, so you can #readlocal while you #supportlocal. Many of these can be ordered online from local bookshops like Changing Hands, as e-books or online from major retailers or their publishers, so you can order and read them in the safety of your own home.
If You Like: Heartwarming Stories for Little Ones
Try: The Silly Adventures of Petunia & Herman the Worm
An unexpected friendship leads to thrilling exploits for a little girl and a tomato worm in The Silly Adventures of Petunia & Herman the Worm (Book Baby LLC, $17.95). The book evolved from a bedtime story author Sam Baker made up for his now-adult children when they were young. Children’s book authorship is Scottsdale nonagenarian Baker’s fifth career. Previously, the Mississippi native was an engineer, served in the United States Marine Corps, was an ensign in – and later director of – the National Geodetic Survey, and sold GPS systems. Visit thesillyadventuresofpetuniaandhermantheworm.com for educational videos and prints of the book’s sweet illustrations, done by Ann Hess.
If You Like: Interactive Kids’ Books
Try: The Adventures of Captain Waffello
A superhero epic collides with child psychology in The Adventures of Captain Waffello: Toasty’s Revenge (eBI Performance Solutions, $12.99), a sweet and sassy children’s book penned by 11-year-old Aiden Dennis and illustrated and shepherded by his mom, Angie Butler. The story follows the exploits of caped breakfast pastry Captain Waffello and his sidekick, Sir Rup, as they attempt to thwart the evil mastermind Toasty the Terrible and his henchmen, the Toastettes, from rigging all the toasters in the world to always burn toast. Dennis was diagnosed with ADHD when he was 5, and he wrote the book with kids like him in mind, encouraging “brain and body breaks” throughout as well as interactive prompts to help young readers stay engaged and focused.
If You Like: Middle-Grade Coming-of-Age Tales
Try: Woot!
To most people, pigeons are a nuisance, but to 12-year-old Daniel Wilson, they’re talented friends. Daniel is the fictional hero in Scottsdale psychologist and marketing executive Janice Lipsky’s Woot! ($8.99 on Amazon), a self-published, middle-grade coming-of-age novel that explores the niche world of pigeon racing, the bond between fathers and sons, and the push and pull between disparate generations and points of view. It’s a great read for the preteen animal lover in your life.
If You Like: Young-Adult Fantasy
Try: Deepest Blue
Phoenix author Mindy Tarquini once again makes magic at the intersection of fantasy and historical fiction with her third novel, Deepest Blue (Sparkpress, $16.95). Drawing on her Italian heritage, Tarquini takes the real historical Calabrian village of Panduri – decimated by an earthquake in the 16th century – and alchemizes it into an enchanted hamlet visible only at twilight, where everyone’s fate is irrevocably determined by the stars. When the duke’s sons tamper with their destinies, an epic journey of loss, grief, sibling rivalry and, ultimately, self-determination begins. It’s a relatable read for anyone who has struggled to find his place in the world and made bold moves to create an authentic life.
If You Like: Suspenseful Stories of the Rich & Powerful
Try: Girl in the Rearview Mirror
Fans of psychological thrillers like Gone Girl and The Girl on the Train will find much to enjoy in Girl in the Rearview Mirror (William Morrow, $26.99), Arizona State University alumna Kelsey Rae Dimberg’s debut novel. Though she currently resides in Milwaukee, Dimberg’s tale of political intrigue, betrayal and corruption is steeped in its Phoenix setting, and you’ll feel the heat radiating off the page. Dimberg follows the travails of Finn Hunt, a recent college graduate who takes a job nannying for a Phoenix power couple to pay off her student loans. As she enters deeper into their world of privilege and power, she becomes tangled in a web of deceit that will have you guessing up to the last chapter.
If You Like: Historical Fiction
Try: Saving Washington
If Hamilton whet your thirst for the American Revolution, Chris Formant’s Saving Washington: The Forgotten Story of the Maryland 400 and the Battle of Brooklyn (Permuted Press, $27) may be your cup of untaxed tea. Formant, who lives in Baltimore and Sedona, brings to life this real but obscure chapter of the Revolutionary War with two fictionalized Maryland militia heroes who kept British forces at bay so George Washington could evacuate troops to Manhattan in 1776.
If You Like: Experimental Poetry & Prose
Try: Dogsear.
Fans of prose poetry and experimental fiction will delight in writer and performance artist Christopher Danowski’s Dogsear. (Hoot ’n’ Waddle, $16), an absurdist romp through the human condition. Anthropomorphized dogs drink grape Fanta and explore the nuances of love. Greek mythology characters Eurydice and Orpheus seek the counsel of a hipster shaman and a “bro.” Danowski intermingles stream-of-consciousness philosophizing and illustrator Elli Danowksi-Underiner’s simple line drawings, and it all adds up to a hot mess of paradoxically meaningful nonsense. Find the book at hootnwaddle.com.
If You Like: Rescue Dogs – Especially Pit Bulls
Try: Incredibull Stella
Dog lovers will lap up Incredibull Stella: How the Love of a Pit Bull Rescued a Family (Citadel Press Kensington, $15.95) by Paradise Valley entrepreneur Marika Meeks and professional author Elizabeth Ridley. In an emotional memoir, Meeks details her personal journey with stage 3 breast cancer and how adopting a vivacious pit bull rescue, Stella, helped her and her family rebuild their lives and reignite hope during her recovery. Along the way, Stella became a social media sensation (follow her on Instagram at @incredibullstella) and a “breed ambassador” for the often controversial breed. We recommend tissues for this one.
If You Like: Environment & Wildlife Journalism
Try: Vaquita
“Conservation is messy business,” writes Brooke Bessesen in Vaquita: Science, Politics and Crime in the Sea of Cortez (Island Press, $30). The Scottsdale author, veterinary technician and Osa Conservation research fellow did a deep dive into that mess to write about la vaquita marina, a petite porpoise native to the Gulf of California. Through interviews with conservationists, politicians, fishermen and townspeople, she examines the cultural and environmental factors that led to the vaquita being named the world’s most endangered marine mammal in 2006. It’s a complicated story that still has no ending, but Bessesen’s involving book will have you rooting for a happy one.
If You Like: Birding
Try: Birding Arizona
“For birders, there is no better place to live or visit than Arizona.” Native son Charles J. Babbitt – a member of Arizona’s pioneering Babbitt family – begins his book, Birding Arizona: What to know Where to go (R.W. Morse Company, $19.95), with this biased boast and spends the rest of the text making a case for the Grand Canyon State’s avian superiority. Birding Arizona is written for beginner and intermediate birders, with an eye toward visitors who may not be familiar with our winged wonders. Babbitt unpacks everything from migration patterns to habitat preservation in a chatty, personal and illuminating volume. Particularly charming is his list of phonetic representations of the songs and calls of a slew of species. Birder or not, it’s fun to imagine a brown-crested flycatcher crying out, “What! What! Beer! Beer! Where is it? Where is it?”
If You Like: Arizona Travel
Try: Arizona State Parks
“National parks are the best idea we ever had. Absolutely American, absolutely democratic, they reflect us at our best rather than our worst,” quoth American novelist and environmentalist Wallace Stegner. Arizona travel writer Roger Naylor clearly agrees. His book, Arizona State Parks: A Guide to Amazing Places in the Grand Canyon State (University of New Mexico Press, $21.95), explores our state parks in all their glory, from camping and boating to hiking and stargazing. Naylor’s style is conversational but thoroughly educational, and he peppers his travelogues with historical factoids and tips to make the most of each location. Keep a copy in your car for future road trips.
If You Like: Media & Local History
Try: Phoenix Television
If you grew up watching The Wallace and Ladmo Show on Phoenix’s first TV station, Channel 5 (KPHO), Phoenix Television by Arizona State University media professor Dr. John E. Craft and PHOENIX magazine contributor Lisa Honebrink (Arcadia Publishing, $21.99) will stir nostalgia. If you didn’t, it will serve as an education on the history of the “boob tube” in our fair city, from KPHO to Univision Arizona. Craft and Honebrink hope the book will sustain a new generation of TV pioneers – they’re donating their royalties to Arizona House of Broadcasting Inc. scholarships for students at ASU and the University of Arizona.
If You Like: Local History & Photography
Try: Phoenix Past and Present
There’s no better way for Phoenician history hounds to honor the strength and longevity of our city than with Phoenix Past and Present (Great Western Associates, $24.95), a gorgeous coffee-table book that juxtaposes historical images of Phoenix streets and landmarks with modern-day photos of the same sites. Phoenix natives Paul Scharbach and Robert Melikian, both passionate local historians, lovingly curated – and, in the case of Scharbach’s photos, created – this compendium of Phoenix architecture and design.
If You Like: Desert & Garden Photography
Try: Desert Gardens of Steve Martino
“There’s no green in the Southwest,” is a popular refrain of desert detractors, but one that is handily debunked by award-winning Arizona landscape artist Steve Martino. His work is lovingly chronicled in the coffee table tome Desert Gardens of Steve Martino by Caren Yglesias, with stunning photography by Steve Gunther (Monacelli Press, $50). Martino modestly calls his landscape architecture, which brims with the natural ecology of the desert and is shaped by colorful partitions, “weeds and walls.” We’ve never seen more interesting “weeds,” or more “walls” we’d be happy to stare at all day.
If You Like: U.S. History & Memoir
Try: Home is Everywhere
At 89 years old, Scottsdale retiree Charles Novak has finally found a place to hang his hat. For much of his first six decades, Novak was a rambling man, a surveyor for the United States Coast and Geodetic Survey. Starting in the 1940s, Novak lived in more than 60 small towns in 20 states as he helped map the last bits of uncharted land in the U.S. He details his adventures in Home Is Everywhere: The Unbelievably True Story of One Man’s Journey to Map America (Disruption Books, $26). His ruminations are as entertaining as they are illuminating, and his folksy reminiscences will stir your own for days gone by.
If You Like: Christian Devotionals
Try: Fear Not: Two Weeks of Living Boldly into God’s Authentic Confidence
Is it possible to live without fear or insecurity? Phoenix entrepreneur and traveling pastor John Kaites thinks so. The former Arizona state senator and lifelong Christian has written Fear Not: Two Weeks of Living Boldly into God’s Authentic Confidence (WestBow Press, $11.95), a short and sweet devotional text with a chapter dedicated to each of the 14 days. Christian readers will find much inspiration in the book, which includes pertinent Bible verses and Kaites’ rumination on their themes, from surrender to forgiveness. For more information about Kaites and the book, visit fearnotbyjohnkaites.com.
If You Like: Cooking Projects
Try: Marshmallow Heaven
Summertime is just around the corner, and it calls for swimming under the sun and making s’mores under the stars. Hold the packages of processed marshmallows and make your own with Marshmallow Heaven (Skyhorse Publishing, $16.99), Valley confectioner Tricia M. Arce’s ode to egg whites, sugar and gelatin. The cookbook, an outgrowth of Arce’s Toasted Mallow s’mores café and marshmallow boutique in Gilbert (thetoastedmallow.com), includes recipes for simple mallows (vanilla bean, chocolate, strawberry) and advanced treats (Mexican hot chocolate marshmallows, vanilla mallow pies, marshmallow whip). Sticky fingers are inevitable, but delightfully lickable. Give in to your summer camp nostalgia and eat like a kid again.
