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Literary Summery Treats T he best summer indulgences are simple: a cool swim in a green lake, a crisp wedge of watermelon, the luscious escape of a good book. We asked some local readers and writers about recent and upcoming fights into memoir, fction, biography and history. Short-story collections are on the list for Sarah Gorham, writer and editorin-chief of Sarabande Books. She writes: "One of my top 10 favorite movies is Don't Look Now, which is based on Daphne du Maurier's short story by the same name. I'm going to read some of the others in a superb collection (also titled Don't Look Now) selected by Patrick McGrath. Ten there's Te Orchardist, by Amanda Coplin, which my sister recommended after I raved about Amy Bloom's Away. It's situated in the rural Pacifc Northwest. I love books that dig deep into a landscape. Finally, I've got the Swiss writer Robert Walser's Microscripts on my desk, 'stories' written on narrow strips of paper in tiny script while he lived in a mental institution." Kyle Meredith, music director of WFPK, picked up A Freewheelin' Time: A Memoir of Greenwich Village in the Sixties on a recent New York trip. As he explains: "My girlfriend and I were traipsing around Bleecker Street when we ended up on Jones Street, famous for the iconic shot on the front of Dylan's Freewheelin' album. Seeing this book in one of the bookshops with the same cover and written by Dylan's girlfriend Suze Rotolo (who also appeared on the cover) made it a no-brainer." Meredith also will be reading Woody Allen's Mere Anarchy, writing: "I've been a lifelong Allen fan, which kept me an elementary school outcast. But it wasn't until his recent documentary that I ever bothered to learn about his life. Tis bio comes recommended from a few friends as extra credit." And then there's At Woomeroo: Stories by Daniel Quinn, who has been a "guiding light" for Meredith since he frst read Ishmael during his teens. "Each one of his books pulls back another layer on humankind — how we got here and why we act like we do," he says. By Lynnell Edwards Illustration by Robby Davis "Now much older, he doesn't write as often, which makes it even more special when he does." Scott Cofman, books editor for the Courier-Journal, is the lucky reader whose job brings him new books, including these three: "Gulp: Adventures on the Alimentary Canal by Mary Roach appeals to both the adult science nerd in me and the gross-out 10-year-old part "Both are trendsetting, highly sensory and expressions of a vision." WAVE 3 news anchor Scott Reynolds has begun his summer reading with Outpost by Jake Tapper, an extensively researched work on the camps and outposts near the Afghanistan border with Pakistan. "With my father surviving the frst sinking of a ship by a kamikaze in World War II," he says, "I've always been interested in our military. Tese "Gulp: Adventures on the Alimentary Canal by Mary Roach appeals to both the adult science nerd in me and the gross-out 10-year-old part of my nature, which I try to control." — C-J books editor Scott Coffman of my nature, which I try to control," Cofman writes. "From entrance to exit, author Roach guides us on an entertaining trip down our gullets, told with her inimitable style." Ten there's"Life Itself: A Memoir by Roger Ebert. Perhaps the last of the truly great movie critics, Ebert was journalist, humanitarian, survivor, philosopher, and more. I come to this on the recommendation of a trusted friend who rarely steers me wrong. Te Demonologist by Andrew Pyper looks to be a grand summer read. A literature professor who studies the demonic — notably Paradise Lost — is a not a believer. Tat is, not until an invitation to Italy to witness a 'phenomenon' leads to a battle to save his own daughter from the 'Unnamed.' Milton and demons? I'm there." At the top of Relish restaurant owner Susan Seiller's list is Walden by Toreau. "Somehow," she says, "I missed reading this iconic work about the importance of solitude, contemplation, simple living and a closeness to nature. Te natural world has always provided a counterbalance to the chaotic, noisy and rushed aspects of the restaurant business." Far from serene Walden Pond is Grace, the memoir of Grace Coddington, the creative director of Vogue magazine for 40 years. "Fashion and food share many similarities," Seiller says. stories of how our young men and women sacrifce to try to bring about a better future for the Afghans while fghting insurgents in the middle of the mountains is fascinating and, at times, difcult to read. Te personal stories have already brought tears to my eyes and reminded me again to thank a soldier, no matter where you bump into them." Finally, District 1 Councilwoman Attica Scott will be rereading two favorites this summer: "Mind of My Mind by Octavia Butler is one of my favorite rereads because it explores the capacity to use your power to liberate people and to liberate yourself from being consumed by your power," Scott says. Also, "Aftermath by LeVar Burton is another of my favorite rereads because I am a huge sci-f fan. Aftermath brings people of diferent backgrounds and from diferent places together to focus on one specifc task. During their journey, we travel through areas where children are surviving in abject poverty and where others are living in gated communities." And new for Scott: "Te Infnite Plan by Isabel Allende is a new read for me and is the author's frst novel to be set in the United States. As the novel unfolds, we follow the main character in his youth as he struggles to avoid the gangs in his barrio and then as an adult as he struggles to be a good father despite the conficts and contradictions that exist in his life." 7.13 LOUISVILLE MAGAZINE 95