Book Culture
26-09 JACKSON AVE., LIC
There’s nothing better than browsing
your local bookstore, flipping through
crisp pages and snagging a great read for
a leisurely afternoon at Gantry Plaza State
Park or Sweetleaf Coffee in LIC.
Althea Lamel, general manager of Book
Culture in Long Island City, revealed a few
of her favorite books:
• “The Shadow of the Wind” by
Carlos Ruiz Zafon: “This is the kind of
riveting, funny and enchanting book
that reminds you why reading books is
great,” Lamel said. “I hand sell it all the
time and people always come back and
tell me how much they loved it. Like all
great historical fiction, it really transports
you to 1950s Barcelona, but it’s the story
and the characters themselves that keep
pretty much any reader turning the
page.”
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• “Killers of the Flower Moon” by
David Grann: “This is honestly one of
the best nonfiction books I've ever read.
Grann’s compelling writing carries this
fascinating and underreported segment
of U.S. history: the sudden oil wealth of
the Osage tribe, the series of murders,
mostly of women, that followed, and the
changing of the guard with Hoover’s FBI.
It’s a sad story for sure, but a great read
for history buffs and true crime fanatics
alike,” Lamel said.
• “The Man Who Saw Everything”
by Deborah Levy: “This is a sharply
written novel about the ways we relate
to each other, how we fail others in our
relationships, how some relationships
will never stop being part of our stories
and how we choose to tell the stories
of our own lives to ourselves and to
others,” Lamel said. “Saul’s is a comingof
age story for those of us who feel like
we are perpetually coming of age. All
good things to think about as we move
into a new decade.”
Photo by Patrick Merino
ARTS + ENTERTAINMENT
Photo by Rifaat Hamou
Photos courtesy of Book Culture