The Food Explorer
Daniel Stone
“Stone’s dry humor and eye for anecdote animate David Fairchild’s navigation of agricultural politics and DC bureaucracy as he brings avocados, dates, and citrus to American tables.”
Sandra Beasley, Author of the poetry collection Made to Explode
Animal
Lisa Taddeo
“The novel follows a woman who is enraged at the cruel acts men perpetuate against women. Once she unravels the details of a horrific memory from her past, she decides to take matters into her own hands.”
Brittany Kerfoot, Director of events at Politics and Prose
Mama Day
Gloria Naylor
“This novel is about a Black woman in New York who meets a guy and they go to her rural island home off the Georgia coast. The culture is sensual, mystical, and full of Black power. It is a very compelling read.”
Marianne Noble, American University professor who teaches a “Beach Reads” course
Interior Chinatown
Charles Yu
“No one is better at capturing how stereotypes come to have force in American society, and Yu manages to inject this sober truth with humor.”
Richard C. Sha, Professor of literature and philosophy at American University
The Hive
Melissa Scholes Young
“This compelling family drama by a local author explores family and identity in moving, gorgeous prose.”
Hannah Grieco, Founder of the monthly series Readings on the Pike
You Had Me at Hola
Alexis Daria
“There is no such thing as a guilty pleasure—there are only things you enjoy. This fun, smart, steamy romance about two soap-opera costars has absolutely everything to enjoy.”
Rebecca Speas, Bookseller at One More Page Books in Arlington
The Man Who Came Uptown
George Pelecanos
“Nothing like a George Pelecanos novel to understand the ins and outs and quirks of DC. Pelecanos should be required reading for all new transplants to DC.”
Andy Shallal, Founder and CEO of Busboys and Poets
Five Other Good Books for Your Beach Bag
The Personal Librarian
Marie Benedict and Victoria Christopher Murray
“The book I can’t wait to read is about J.P. Morgan’s personal librarian, who became one of the most powerful women in New York despite a ‘dangerous secret.’ ”
Carla Hayden, Librarian of Congress
They’re Gone
E.A. Barres
“DC author E.A. Aymar, writing under a pseudonym, gives us a local murder mystery—an exhilarating whodunit with strong female main characters.”
Hannah Grieco, Founder of the monthly series Readings on the Pike
The Travelling Cat Chronicles
Hiro Arikawa
“Narrated by Nana the cat as he travels with his friend Satoru across Japan, this is a gently hypnotic—and, yes, heartbreaking—‘road trip.’ ”
Sandra Beasley, Author of the poetry collection Made to Explode
Four Hundred Souls
Ibram X. Kendi and Keisha N. Blain
“I am excited about the retelling of history that is truly representative of who we are as a country and who we hope to become.”
Andy Shallal, Founder and CEO of Busboys and Poets
Fortune Favors the Dead
Stephen Spotswood
“This mystery by a DC playwright is a delicious page-turner that shocks, surprises, and snarks in all the right places.”
Rebecca Speas, Bookseller at One More Page Books
This article appears in the June 2021 issue.
Sherri Dalphonse joined Washingtonian in 1986 as an editorial intern, and worked her way to the top of the masthead when she was named editor-in-chief in 2022. She oversees the magazine’s editorial staff, and guides the magazine’s stories and direction. She lives in DC.
