A few weeks ago, I asked Rochester’s Mayor, Malik Evans, and members of his Senior Management team to share their reading recommendations for the summer. There are some good ones here, folks!
Recommended by Mayor Evans
The Little Book of Aliens by Adam Frank
Delve into the science behind the search for life outside of Earth.
Recommended by Executive Assistant Daniella Veras
Atomic Habits by James Clear
This comprehensive guide will help you change your habits and improve your life.
Sh*t You Need to Know That Nobody Bothered to Tell You: A Perpetual Guide to Life for Everyone by Clark Merrill
A very easy practical guide with advice about life’s situations like what do say at a funeral, what to say at a wedding, how to order wine at a restaurant, and more.
Recommended by Me!
I Cheerfully Refuse by Leif Enger
Savor this tale of a bereaved musician embarking under sail on a sentient Lake Superior in search of his departed, deeply beloved, bookselling wife.
News of the World by Paulette Jiles
In the aftermath of the Civil War, an aging itinerant news reader agrees to transport a young captive of the Kiowa back to her people in this exquisitely rendered, morally complex, multilayered novel of historical fiction.
Recommended by Corporation Counsel Patrick Beath
The Love Songs of W.E.B. Du Bois by Honorée Fanonne Jeffers
A sweeping novel of one American family from the colonial slave-trade to the modern era.
Freedom by Jonathan Franzen
Follow the story of a seemingly perfect couple and how the change in the new millennium.
Recommended by Commissioner of Finance Kim D. Jones
Begin Again by Eddie Glaude Jr.
Explores the aftermath of the Blacks Lives Matter movement though the experiences of author James Baldwin in the post-Civil Rights days.
Recommended by Police Chief David Smith
Team of Rivals by Doris Kearns Goodwin
Recognized as one of the most influential books of the past 50 years, this explores the political genius of Abraham Lincoln, his unlikely presidency, and his cabinet of former political foes.
Recommended by Nancy Johns Price
Think Again: The Power of Knowing What You Don’t Know by Adam Grant
Explores the critical art of rethinking and learning to question your opinions.
13 Things Mentally Strong People Don’t Do by Amy Morin
Master your mental strength—revolutionary new strategies that work for everyone from homemakers to soldiers and teachers to CEOs.
Recommended by Department of Human Resources Commissioner Dr. Rose M. Nichols
Disruptive Thinking by T.D. Jakes
Think differently and find the courage to challenge the status quo with this mindset-shifting guide to meaningful change.
The Heaven and Earth Grocery Store by James McBride
In 1972,workers in Pottstown PA discovered a skeleton as they dug the foundations for a new development. Who the skeleton was and how it got there were two of the long-held secrets kept by the neighborhood.
Recommended by Special Assistant to the Mayor John Brach
Thinking, Fast and Slow by Daniel Kahneman
This groundbreaking tour of the human mind explains the two systems that drive the way we think.
The Authenticity Project by Clare Pooley
The story of a solitary green notebook that brings together six strangers and leads to unexpected friendship, and even love. I wrote about this back in 2020, just before the world imploded.
Recommended by Director of the Office of Management & Budget Suzanne Warren
Braiding Sweetgrass by Robin Wall Kimmerer
Drawing on her life as an indigenous scientist, and as a woman, Kimmerer shows how other living beings—asters and goldenrod, strawberries and squash, salamanders, algae, and sweetgrass—offer us gifts and lessons, even if we’ve forgotten how to hear their voices.
The Quiet Tenant by Clémence Michallon
A pulse-pounding psychological thriller about a serial killer narrated by those closest to him: his 13-year-old daughter, his girlfriend—and the one victim he has spared.
Recommended by Fire Chief Stefano Napolitano
Wisdom of the Bullfrog by Admiral William H. McRaven
This short, inspirational book of advice and leadership lessons that Admiral McRaven collected over his four decades as a Navy SEAL will fascinate readers.
Recommended by Chief Legislative Coordinator & Liaison to City Council Josanne Reeves
The Silent Patient by Alex Michaelides
A shocking psychological thriller of a woman’s act of violence against her husband–and of the therapist obsessed with uncovering her motive.
Being Henry by Henry Winkler
From Emmy-award winning actor, author, comedian, producer, and director Henry Winkler, a deeply thoughtful memoir of the lifelong effects of stardom and the struggle to become whole.
Recommended by Commissioner of Recreation & Human Services Dr. Shirley Green
The Light We Carry by Michelle Obama
In an inspiring follow-up to her acclaimed memoir, former First Lady Michelle Obama shares practical wisdom and powerful strategies for staying hopeful and balanced in today’s highly uncertain world.
Recommended by Director of Communications Barbara Pierce
Remarkably Bright Creatures by Shelby Van Pelt
A charming, witty and compulsively readable exploration of friendship, reckoning, and hope that traces a widow’s unlikely connection with a giant Pacific octopus.
It's All About the Book 