The season for beach reading might be drawing to a close, but if you're looking for a good book to read, here are some recommendations from producers and contributors of the Lopate Show.

Barbara Cahn, contributing producer:

     Ann Leary's The Good House, and Barbara Kingsolver's Flight Behavior. They were both very entertaining, and better than I expected them to be.

Casey Dalrymple, summer intern:

     Nova Express by William S. Burroughs. It's a follow-up to Naked Lunch, and an intense exploration of the nature of addiction and control, told in his signature cut-up style.

Virginia Dorris, contributing producer:

     Brewster, by Mark Slouka. A beautifully written story about a friendship between 2 boys coming of age in the lat 1960.

     Elsewhere, by Richard Russo. The novelist's moving memoir of his relationship with his troubled mother.

     The Woman Upstairs, by Claire Messud. The memorable story of an angry, unmarried schoolteacher.

     The Good House, by Ann Leary. Fascinating portrayal of a successful Cape Cod real estate agent with a serious alcohol addiction.

     A Prayer for Owen Meany, by John Irving. If you haven't read this one yet, as I hadn't until recently, don't wait any longer. It's laugh-out-loud funny.

Blakeney Schick, associate producer:

     I recently read Jeanette Winterson's Oranges Are Not the Only Fruit, which I really enjoyed. There's something magical about the way she captures her perception as a child and mixes it with her knowledge as an adult. 

     I also read Bleak House one summer, which sounds crazy, but was actually great because I read it in larger chunks. It's a wonderful book, and it also helps that Dickens repeats certain things to situate the reader because it was originally published in serial.