Author Archive

Registration Now Open

Tickets are now available for this year’s Long Island Reads event honoring John Aldridge and Anthony Sosinski for their book A Speck in the Sea: A Story of Survival and Rescue.

TWO WAYS TO ATTEND:

  1. Free tickets to the in-person event at the Half Hollow Hills Community Library are available on EVENTBRITE. The event will begin at 2 pm.
  2. For those who prefer to attend virtually, we will also be livestreaming the event that day. CLICK HERE to register to attend the event virtually. Thank you to the Glen Cove Public Library for hosting the event on Zoom.

April 1, 2023 at 12:12 pm Leave a comment

Reader & Book Discussion Guide

Are you running a book discussion of A Speck in the Sea at your Library or book club? Find helpful tips to enhance your reading and book club experiences with our 2023 LI Reads A Speck in the Sea Reader’s Guide.

Long Island Reads will honor John Aldridge and Anthony Sosinski in person and online at an award ceremony on April 23, 2023 at Half Hollow Hills Community Library.

February 13, 2023 at 3:11 pm Leave a comment

2023 Author Event

Authors John Aldridge and Anthony Sosinski will be honored at the 2023 Long Island Reads Selection Award event for their book A Speck in the Sea: A Story of Survival and Rescue in a dual in-person and online program hosted by Half Hollow Hills Community Library on Sunday, April 23, 2023 at 2 p.m. 

TWO WAYS TO ATTEND:

  1. Free tickets to the in-person event will be available to the public beginning Saturday, April 1, at 9:30 a.m. Click the EVENTBRITE link for more information. 
  2. For those who prefer to attend virtually, we will also be livestreaming the event that day. CLICK HERE to register to attend the event virtually. Thank you to the Glen Cove Public Library for hosting the event on Zoom.

For more information, please contact your home library. 

Long Island Reads is sponsored by the Nassau Library System and the Public Libraries of Suffolk County.

John Aldridge (L) and Anthony Sosinski (R)

January 18, 2023 at 12:37 pm Leave a comment

The 2023 Pick Is In!

A Speck in the Sea: A Story of Survival and Rescue by John Aldridge and Anthony Sosinski book cover.

A Speck in the Sea: A Story of Survival and Rescue by John Aldridge and Anthony Sosinski

Two veteran sailors who co-own and operate a Montauk lobster boat recount the 2013 search-and-rescue mission for co-author John Aldridge, describing how his partner, their families, the local fishing community, and the U.S. Coast Guard in three states mobilized an unprecedented and ultimately successful operation.

Why A Speck in the Sea?

~“… the book takes readers into the water with Aldridge as he shares first-person accounts of shark encounters and the mind games he played while clinging to his rubber boots to stay afloat. Sections written in the third person recount the immense battle the U.S. Coast Guard, search-and-rescue aircraft, and a slew of volunteers (including singer Jimmy Buffet) waged against time to find Aldridge before the ocean claimed him. A rich backstory—including complicated personal lives and deep family histories—adds depth to this page turner.” – PW Annex Reviews

~This title offers a variety of topics and themes which lend themselves to programming and book discussions, including commercial fishing, lobstering, marine search and rescue, trauma, and the history and future of Long Island maritime communities.

~A Speck in the Sea is available in hardcover, audio CD, ebook and downloadable audiobook formats.

~Long Island Reads will honor John and Anthony at a ceremony in April 2023, ten years after John’s rescue.

~Learn more about A Speck in the Sea and reserve your copy now:

Nassau County

Suffolk County

~The Long Island Reads committee will honor John and Anthony in person at a ceremony in April 2023, ten years after John’s rescue.

~Tickets will be available beginning April 1.

November 16, 2022 at 1:30 pm Leave a comment

Reader’s and Book Discussion Guide

Are you running a book discussion of The Living and the Lost at your Library or book club? Find helpful tips to enhance your reading and book club experiences with our 2022 LI Reads The Living and the Lost Reader’s Guide.

Long Island Reads will honor Ellen Feldman in person and online at an award ceremony on May 1, 2022 at Plainview-Old Bethpage Library.

March 2, 2022 at 10:47 am Leave a comment

2022 Author Event

Author Ellen Feldman will be honored at the 2022 Long Island Reads Selection Award event for her novel The Living and the Lost in a dual in-person and online program hosted by Plainview-Old Bethpage Library on Sunday, May 1 at 2 p.m. 

TWO WAYS TO ATTEND:

  1. Free tickets to the in-person event will be available to the public beginning Friday, April 1, at 9:30 a.m. Click the EVENTBRITE link for more information. 
  2. For those who prefer to attend virtually, Plainview-Old Bethpage Library will also host the event as an online program through the Crowdcast platform. Tickets are not required for the online event. Online attendees will receive a direct link to the event after registering. Click the CROWDCAST link to access the online event.

For more information, please contact your home library. 

Long Island Reads is sponsored by the Nassau Library System and the Public Libraries of Suffolk County.

February 24, 2022 at 10:54 am Leave a comment

The 2022 Pick Is In!

Book cover of The Living and the Lost by Ellen Feldman

The Living and the Lost by Ellen Feldman

After finding refuge from the Nazis in America, a brother and sister return to their native Germany in 1945, as the Allied occupation begins. Mostly set in a bombed-out, black-market-driven, postwar Berlin, The Living and the Lost brims with a spot-on timeliness in its concern about the lasting damage of a culture of hatred while delivering a riveting look at the days and months leading up to the building of the Berlin Wall, its consequences and its lasting impact on individuals.

Why The Living and the Lost?

~Ellen Feldman, an Amagansett, Long Island resident and 2009 Guggenheim fellow, has written 9 novels, including Scottsboro, The Boy Who Loved Anne Frank and Paris Never Leaves You.

~Perfect for book clubs, Feldman’s novels are “for fans of Anthony Doerr’s All the Light We Cannot See and Kristin Hannah’s The Nightingale… groups are sure to find much to dissect and discuss.” (Booklist)

~The Living and the Lost is an illuminating historical drama set in a lesser-known historical period—the immediate postwar era and Berlin before the wall, delving into the complications and compromises that come with the end of war.

~This title offers a variety of topics and themes which lend themselves to programming and book discussions, including loss and grief, antisemitism, war refugees, PTSD, and military service.

~The Living and the Lost is available in hardcover, paperback, ebook, large print, audio CD and downloadable audio formats.

~Learn more about The Living and the Lost and reserve your copy now:

Nassau County

Suffolk County

About the Author

~Long Island Reads will honor Ellen in person at an award ceremony on May 1, 2022.

November 24, 2021 at 12:11 pm Leave a comment

2021 Long Island Reads Event

In case you missed it, here’s your chance to watch our recorded 2021 Long Island Reads event with Brit Bennett speaking about her book The Vanishing Half.

April 11, 2021 at 4:08 pm 1 comment

Keep the Discussion Going

The libraries around Long Island are doing programs and book discussions all month long to celebrate this year’s book The Vanishing Half by Brit Bennett. Check out the lists below and join in on the discussion.

Book Discussions

Coordinated Programs

April 11, 2021 at 3:08 pm 1 comment

Event Tickets Now Available!

Tickets for this year’s Long Island Reads event are now available through Eventbrite. Join us on Sunday, April 11, 2021 at 2 pm via Crowdcast for a conversation with Brit Bennett about her New York Times Best Selling novel The Vanishing Half.

Signed/Bookplated Books are available for purchase through the Book Revue website.

March 1, 2021 at 1:12 pm 2 comments

Older Posts


Enter your email address to receive notifications of new posts by email.

Join 247 other subscribers

Follow Us on Social Media

Our Past Events