{"id":4037,"date":"2011-06-08T07:33:07","date_gmt":"2011-06-08T14:33:07","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.tcnjmagazine.com\/?p=4037"},"modified":"2015-03-10T22:23:56","modified_gmt":"2015-03-11T02:23:56","slug":"summer-reading-list-12-books-from-alumni-writers-you-dont-want-to-miss","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.tcnjmagazine.com\/?p=4037","title":{"rendered":"Summer reading list: 12 books from alumni writers you don\u2019t want to miss"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Eagles Don\u2019t Die<\/em><\/h2>\n

by Ronald L. Chiste \u201965<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"\"Fans of Tom Clancy and Nelson DeMille thrillers should check out Ron Chiste\u2019s first novel, Eagles Don\u2019t Die<\/em>, a suspenseful page-turner that won First Prize in the Action-Adventure Category of the 2006 Maryland Writers\u2019 Association International Novel Contest. Tom Lasino, the hero of Eagles, is an Army vet and physics professor at a small New Jersey college (sound familiar?) whose mundane life is turned upside down when the CIA recruits him to help foil a terrorist plot. A lone wolf has replicated a nuclear warhead and plans to detonate it on American soil. Lasino must go undercover to befriend the man the CIA thinks is behind the impending attack, and with the help of an elite team, try to prevent the unthinkable from happening. Though fictional, the book is based on an actual incident. In 1971, while Chiste was stationed with the U.S. Army\u2019s Heavy Artillery Unit in Germany, someone broke in to the Army\u2019s nuclear weapons training room and photographed top-secret materials, Chiste said. Officials investigated, but Chiste never heard how, or if, the case was resolved. \u201cI thought about that incident all these years, and when I had some time in retirement\u2026I made up a story based on a similar [occurrence],\u201d Chiste said. The result is a timely tale of action, adventure, and romance so full of twists and turns that you\u2019ll be guessing until the very end.<\/p>\n

Ron’s book is available for purchase on Amazon. <\/a><\/p>\n

Almost Home<\/em><\/h2>\n

by Mariah Stewart \u201965<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"\"Mariah Stewart figures that, over the years, she told friends and family \u201cat least 500 times\u201d that she wanted to write a book. The last time she mentioned it was in 1990, right before her husband reminded her how many times she had said it without actually doing anything about it. Spurred on by the challenge, Stewart set about writing her first novel. Two decades later, she\u2019s the New York Times <\/em>and USA Today<\/em> best-selling author of more than two-dozen books. Her latest, Almost Home<\/em>, \u201cis the story of two people who have been circling around each other forever who finally have to decide if they\u2019re better together or apart,\u201d Stewart explains. Released in March, the book had already cracked the Times<\/em>\u2019 Top 20 \u201cPaperback Mass-Market Fiction\u201d best-sellers list when we spoke with Stewart in early April. Almost Home<\/em> is the third installment of the author\u2019s Chesapeake Diaries <\/em>series, in which each book is set in a fictional town on Maryland\u2019s Eastern Shore. Stewart explained that each of the books in the series stands alone, so there\u2019s no need to have read the first two (Coming Home<\/em> and Home Again<\/em>). But if you like Almost Home<\/em>, we\u2019re sure you\u2019ll want to check out those two\u2014and you\u2019ll also want to be on the lookout for the series\u2019 fourth installment (Stewart\u2019s 30th novel overall), Hometown Girl<\/em>, which will be released in September.<\/p>\n

Click here to read more about Mariah and find out where you can purchase her books.<\/a><\/p>\n

Inside Out: Fifty Years Behind the Walls of New Jersey\u2019s Trenton State Prison<\/em><\/h2>\n

by Harry Camisa \u201984<\/strong> and Jim Franklin<\/p>\n

\"\"During his five decades working at what is now called New Jersey State Prison at Trenton, Harry Camisa watched 13 inmates die in the electric chair, was taken hostage twice, had threats made against him and his family, and spent his days among the most violent criminals the prison ever housed, including Dutch Schultz\u2019s killer Charlie \u201cThe Bug\u201d Workman, mob hit-man Richard \u201cThe Iceman\u201d Kuklinski, and serial killer Rich Biegenwald. Yet throughout it all, Camisa managed to maintain a sense of humor and decency, which makes this memoir of his 50-year career both fun to read and informative. Camisa\u2019s experiences, which he recounts here with the help of coauthor Jim Franklin, reflect the changes in American society that shaped the last half of the 20th century. Woven throughout the book is the story of a remarkable friendship that developed between Camisa, a white guard, and Teddy Roberts, a black inmate serving a life sentence for murder.<\/p>\n

Click here to read more about Harry’s book and find out where you can purchase it.<\/a><\/p>\n

A Perfect Scandal<\/em><\/h2>\n

by Tina Gabrielle \u201993<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"\"After receiving her mechanical engineering degree from TCNJ, Tina Gabrielle worked on nuclear power plants. She left that job to attend law school, and then worked as a patent attorney as well as a New Jersey Deputy Attorney General for several years. But all along, what Gabrielle really wanted to do was write fiction, and with the help of a writer\u2019s group and some courses at a local community college, she made her dream a reality. Her new book, the historical romance A Perfect Scandal,<\/em> tells the story of Lady Isabel Cameron, who dreams of studying art in Paris but whose father has arranged for her to marry a domineering lord twice her age. Isabel devises the perfect escape: a marriage of convenience to her childhood flame. But a marriage that starts as \u201cpretense becomes deliciously real,\u201d Gabrielle explains on her book\u2019s Web site. Like her first novel, Lady of Scandal<\/em>, and her forthcoming In the Barrister\u2019s Chambers<\/em> (due out this September), A Perfect Scandal <\/em>is set in the Regency Period (c. 1790\u2013c. 1820). \u201cI love history, and I particularly love that period,\u201d Gabrielle explained, before adding that she\u2019s thinking about tackling other historical periods in future books she\u2019s under contract to write. Her three published novels share another characteristic: Each tells the story of a fearless, self-reliant woman\u2014not the typical damsels in distress that some readers might associate with romance novels. \u201cPublishers like strong, educated women; that\u2019s what\u2019s selling these days,\u201d Gabrielle explains.<\/p>\n

Click here to read more about Tina and find out where you can purchase her books.<\/a><\/p>\n

Baseball\u2019s Greatest Series:Yankees, Mariners, and the 1995 Matchup That Changed History<\/em><\/h2>\n

by Chris Donnelly \u201903<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"\"\u201cNo series in baseball history had as much riding on it\u2014both on and off the field\u2014as this one,\u201d says Chris Donnelly about the 1995 divisional playoffs between the Seattle Mariners and New York Yankees. \u201cThe Mariners were literally playing for their existence in Seattle,\u201d Donnelly said, explaining that a series loss meant the team would be moved to Tampa. On the Yankees\u2019 side, key personnel were in the last year of their contracts, and in the background lurked owner George Steinbrenner, who was never more than one loss away from firing everyone. \u201cAnd that doesn\u2019t even get into what happened on the field,\u201d Donnelly says, where there were blown leads in every game, two of which were extra-inning affairs and three of which were won in the home team\u2019s final at bat, all while numerous offensive records were set. Through interviews with former players (including Don Mattingly, Wade Boggs, Paul O\u2019Neill, Edgar Martinez, and Jay Buhner) and front-office officials from both teams, Donnelly chronicles the earlier struggles of both clubs during the 1980s, their mid-1990s resurgence, all five heart-stopping games of the series, and the dramatic and long-lasting effects of Seattle\u2019s victory.<\/p>\n

Chris’s book is available for purchase on Amazon. <\/a><\/p>\n

The Vampire Seduction Handbook: A Guide to the Ultimate Romantic Adventure<\/em><\/h2>\n

by Luc Richard Ballion and Scott Bowen \u201991<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"\"Ladies, if you\u2019re looking to meet a lover who lasts forever\u2014literally\u2014and find a romance that\u2019s to die for\u2014again, literally\u2014then The Vampire Seduction Handbook<\/em> is the book for you. It teaches you how to meet, snag, and hold on to your very own prince of darkness. \u201cWritten\u201d by real-life vampire Luc Richard Ballion (who was born in 1753, wounded in the Revolutionary War, and has been undead ever since)\u2014with more than a little help from \u201ccoauthor\u201d Scott Bowen\u2014this is the perfect how-to dating guide for women looking to meet and marry \u201cthat very extraordinary gentleman,\u201d Bowen wryly explained. And for the guys out there who are tired of watching creatures of the night steal all the girls, you\u2019ll want to pick up a copy of Bowen\u2019s The Vampire Survival Guide: How to Fight, and Win, Against the Undead<\/em>. It\u2019s your field guide to saving the world from eternal darkness. Bowen, a freelance professional writer and editor who has been a fan of vampire fiction and film\u2014\u201cboth the classic stuff and the pulpy, comic-book stuff,\u201d he says\u2014since childhood, is also the author of a short-story collection, The Midnight Fish & Other Stories<\/em>.<\/p>\n

Scott’s book is available for purchase on Amazon.<\/a><\/p>\n

Red Glove (Curse Workers, Book 2)<\/em><\/h2>\n

by Holly Black \u201995<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"\"Perhaps you\u2019ve heard of The Spiderwick Chronicles,<\/em> another series of supernatural-tinged tales written by Holly Black? That five-book serial, released in 2003\u201304, has sold millions of copies, has been translated into 32 languages, and in 2008 was adapted into a major motion picture and video game. Black is back, this time with Red Glove<\/em>, her 20th book overall and the second in her Curse Workers <\/em>series. Set in a world where magic exists but is illegal and controlled by the mob, Red Glove<\/em> continues the story of Cassel Sharpe. In White Cat<\/em>, the series\u2019 first installment, Cassel discovered he is a curse worker\u2014someone with the power to control others\u2019 emotions, memories, and luck. In Book 2<\/em>, the mob is after Cassel because of the power he holds, and the Feds have called on him to help solve a murder\u2014his brother\u2019s. As Cassel tries to figure out who he wants to be\u2014\u201che\u2019s not an entirely good guy, and he\u2019s not doing entirely good things,\u201d Black explains\u2014he has to stay one step ahead of both sides to survive. Black says readers can expect \u201cmore cons, more romance, and more twists\u201d in this book, which she describes as a \u201cmobster fantasy novel\u201d aimed at a more mature audience than her kid-friendly Spiderwick<\/em> collection.<\/p>\n

Click here to read more about Holly and find out where you can purchase her books. <\/a><\/p>\n

The Bachelor Chronicles<\/em><\/h2>\n

by Ron Geraci \u201992<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"\"As the former dating columnist for Men\u2019s Health<\/em>, Ron Geraci went on hundreds of dates and found himself in situations the average guy wouldn\u2019t or has, but just never wrote about it. The Bachelor Chronicles <\/em>is Geraci\u2019s hilarious memoir about the time in his life when he unintentionally became the \u201cmale Carrie Bradshaw.\u201d From working with a professional matchmaker and image consultant, to navigating the world of online dating, to shaving his entire body to back up a lie that he was a competitive swimmer, Geraci shares the often outrageous particulars of his steadfast quest for true love with unabashed honesty. \u201cI decided when I was writing this book that I could not hold anything back,\u201d he explains. \u201cWomen will enjoy the book because it\u2019s [a look inside] the absolutely unvarnished male mind. And men will recognize some of the same impulses they have, and will be able to commiserate and perhaps learn from some of the things I\u2019ve seen.\u201d Geraci, whose book has been optioned for film and television, reports that he\u2019s \u201cstill dating and looking to meet that perfect woman.\u201d But beware, ladies: he\u2019s also thinking about writing a follow-up book chronicling his continuing search for Ms. Right. \u201cI\u2019ve learned a lot more dating throughout my 30s,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

Click here to read more about Ron and find out where you can purchase his book. <\/a><\/p>\n

Lascivious Something\/Roadkill Confidential\/That Pretty Pretty; Or, The Rape Play: Three Plays<\/em><\/h2>\n

by Sheila Callaghan \u201995<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"\"The two comedies and one drama anthologized here are Sheila Callaghan\u2019s newest, most recently produced, \u201cand perhaps most political\u201d plays, the author explains. Roadkill Confidential<\/em>, a comedy, \u201cattempts to tackle, with style, humor and high theatricality, mediated violence and the numbness it produces,\u201d and examines \u201cwhether in art or in global politics, the ends can justify the means,\u201d says Callaghan. The other comedy, That Pretty Pretty; Or, The Rape Play<\/em>, features \u201cguns, gals, Jell-O wrestling, war, and lots and lots of profanity,\u201d and is \u201ca fragmented exploration of the things we find really [expletive] hot,\u201d she notes. The lone drama, Lascivious Something<\/em>, takes place in 1980 on the day Ronald Reagan was elected president. Although the story is set on a Greek island, \u201cthe Reagan years hang like an ominous pall over the play\u2019s landscape,\u201d wrote one reviewer. Callaghan, currently a writer on the Showtime series The United States of Tara<\/em>, was profiled by Marie Claire<\/em> as one of \u201c18 Successful Women Who Are Changing the World,\u201d and named one of Variety<\/em> magazine\u2019s \u201c10 Screenwriters to Watch\u201d in 2010. Her pilot Over\/Under<\/em> is currently being filmed for the USA Network.<\/p>\n

Sheila’s book is available for purchase on Amazon. <\/a><\/p>\n

The Spaghetti Set: Family Served Italian Style<\/em><\/h2>\n

by Rose Marie (Maisto) Boyd \u201973<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"\"Set in 1947, The Spaghetti Set: Family Served Italian Style<\/em> is the story of two Italian-American clans struggling to \u201ccope with the absurdities of love, intimacy, and life,\u201d author Rose Marie Boyd said. \u201cBut readers don\u2019t have to be Italian to enjoy the book, smile at the characters\u2019 antics, or identify with their frustrations,\u201d she explained. At the center of Boyd\u2019s comedy of errors are Teresa Camara, who recently immigrated to America from Italy, and \u201clove-starved\u201d Mack Matteo. When Teresa and Mack\u2019s paths cross, their economically disparate families are thrust together. But a scheming parent jeopardizes the relationship by trying to hurry it along rather than letting nature takes its course. Boyd, who lives in Arizona these days, looked back East for inspiration when writing The Spaghetti Set<\/em>. Her story is set in a fictionalized representation of her childhood home: Chambersburg, the former \u201cLittle Italy\u201d section of Trenton. Boyd said the book grew out of stories her relatives used to tell her about her own family. \u201cBut there is a lot of fiction thrown in,\u201d she quickly added with a laugh, lest any of her relatives recognize themselves. Readers who aren\u2019t related to Boyd will delight in the antics of the Camaras and Matteos as they slowly drive each other crazy. Said the author: \u201cThe book affirms the old adage: Family is family, like it or not.\u201d<\/p>\n

Click here to read more about Rose Marie and find out where you can purchase her book. <\/a><\/p>\n

My Times in Rhymes<\/em><\/h2>\n

by Paul Leestma \u201977<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"\"\u201cI\u2019ve always felt that if you read something it should evoke some sort of feeling\u2026or have some meaning, so that\u2019s what I try to do with my poetry,\u201d said Paul Leestma. My Times in Rhymes<\/em>, the first published collection of his poems, is a powerful and heartfelt work that fuses together the topics of love and hope with fear and failure in a truly beautiful way. Leestma said he began writing poetry \u201cas an outlet\u201d in high school, and the hobby continued into his undergraduate days at the College (a few of the poems collected here were published in The Signal <\/em>and Chimes<\/em>, a now-defunct college literary magazine). \u201cBut that was as far as my writing career went,\u201d Leestma said. Recently, upon rediscovering several poems, he started to write again with an eye toward publishing a collection of his works. Leestma, who is already at work on a second volume, said he published this first book more as the completion of a personal goal than for financial gain. \u201cI\u2019m not going to make a lot of money off [the book],\u201d he said. \u201cBut it\u2019s copyrighted and has a Library of Congress number, so when I \u2018go\u2019 someday, at least there will be a little part of me that shows I was here.\u201d<\/p>\n

Paul’s book is available for purchase on Amazon. <\/a><\/p>\n

Driven: Stories in the Life of a Limo Driver<\/em><\/h2>\n

by Joseph James Shoemaker \u201994<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"\"Joe Shoemaker witnessed plenty of wacky, wonderful moments while driving a limo for 15 years. Friends always told him to write a book about his adventures. That\u2019s just what he did. In Driven: Stories in the Life of a Limo Driver<\/em>, Shoemaker relates his tales of chauffeuring the rich and famous (his clients included Oprah Winfrey, three Dallas Cowboys, and actor John Lithgow) to the rich and hilarious (such as the trust fund princess who, when her parents kicked her out of the house, packed all her belongings\u2014including the furniture and the rugs\u2014into Shoemaker\u2019s limo, climbed on top of them, popped open a bottle of whiskey, and instructed Shoemaker to take her to a posh New York City hotel). \u201cSome of these stories will make you laugh, and some will make you cry,\u201d Shoemaker says. \u201cSome will even seem impossible to believe, but I guarantee you they\u2019re all true!\u201d<\/p>\n

Joe’s book is available for purchase on Amazon.<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Looking for some adventure this summer? Perhaps you\u2019d prefer a little romance? Maybe true crime, tales of the supernatural, or poetry are more your thing. Wherever your tastes lie, we think you\u2019ll find something you\u2019ll like among these books, each written by a TCNJ alum. And the best part of this summer reading assignment is that there\u2019s no test to take or paper to write when you\u2019re finished reading.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":4041,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8,45],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4037","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-features","category-june-2011"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.tcnjmagazine.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4037","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.tcnjmagazine.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.tcnjmagazine.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tcnjmagazine.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tcnjmagazine.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=4037"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.tcnjmagazine.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4037\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tcnjmagazine.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/4041"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.tcnjmagazine.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=4037"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tcnjmagazine.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=4037"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tcnjmagazine.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=4037"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}