Author Archive
The 2021 Pick Is In!
The Vanishing Half by Brit Bennett
Identical twin sisters grow up together in small-town Louisiana before choosing very different lives. Years later, one sister lives with her Black daughter in the same town, while the other secretly passes for white. Even separated by many miles and many lies, the fates of the twins remain intertwined. What will happen to the next generation when their own daughter’s lives intersect?
Why The Vanishing Half?
~ Brit Bennett teaches in the Creative Writing and Literature Program at Stony Brook University/Southampton. A bold and skillful storyteller, Brit graduated from Stanford University and earned her MFA in fiction at the University of Michigan.
~ The Vanishing Half was an instant NYT bestseller, received starred reviews in Booklist, Publishers Weekly, and Kirkus, and was chosen as a Good Morning America Book Club pick. The New York Times noted, “Bennett creates a striking portrait of racial identity in America.”
~ The Vanishing Half features a multi-stranded narrative which swoops from the late 1950s to 1988 and back, tracking the radically different lives of the Vignes twins and navigating difficult truths with clarity and grace.
~ The Vanishing Half will appeal to readers of all ages who will be transported by this riveting novel which explores the complications of family, race, and the ties that bind.
~ The Vanishing Half is available in hardcover, book on CD, Playaway audiobook, large print, and downloadable ebook and audio formats.
~ Learn more about The Vanishing Half and reserve your copy now:
~ Long Island Reads will honor Brit at an award ceremony on Sunday, April 11, 2021.
Long Island Reads with Erika Swyler
In case you missed it, here’s your chance to watch our Facebook Live event of Erika Swyler speaking about her book The Light from Other Stars.
LI Reads Event Has Moved Online!
Please be sure to watch this year’s LI Reads Event online through Facebook Live!
2020 Author Event
The author will speak at 2:00 pm on Sunday, April 19, 2020 at the Plainview-Old Bethpage Library.
FREE TICKETS will be available beginning March 2.
Seating is first come, first served. The event is free and open to all. Be sure to mark your calendars!
Reader’s and Book Discussion Guide
Are you running a Light from Other Stars book discussion at your Library? Find helpful tips to enhance your reading and book club experience with our Light from Other Stars Reader’s Guide.
Long Island Reads will honor Erika Swyler in person at an award ceremony on April 19, 2020 at Plainview-Old Bethpage Library.
The 2020 Pick Is In!
Light from Other Stars by Erika Swyler
As Nedda Papas faces mystery and danger both in the orange groves of her Florida childhood and the vastness of space as an adult, Light from Other Stars keenly illuminates the magical limits of science while exploring, in detail, the bonds of family, friendship, and love of home.
Why The Light from Other Stars?
~ Erika Swyler was born and raised on Long Island, graduating from Miller Place High School. Both of her critically-acclaimed novels draw heavily from her experience of living in Long Islands small towns.
~ Light from Other Stars is a fresh, poignant, genre-bending novel about the electric combination of ambition and wonder that keeps us reaching towards the heavens.
~ Light from Other Stars offers a variety of topics and themes which lend themselves to programming and book discussions, ranging from Fathers and Daughters, STEM Careers for Women, the 1980s, Climate Change, Grief, Loss, and Exploring the Universe.
~ Light from Other Stars will appeal to readers of all ages, in particular to fans of well-written coming-of-age stories and stories which reconcile love and loss. Readers who have never read science fiction will be enthralled by the mystery of space travel.
~ Erika’s debut, The Book of Speculation, was a New York Times Bestseller and named one of BuzzFeed’s 24 Best Fiction Books of 2015.
~ Light from Other Stars is available in hardcover, MP3 CD, downloadable audio, and ebook formats.
~ Learn more about Light From Other Stars and reserve your copy now:
~ Long Island Reads will honor Erika Swyler in person at an award ceremony on April 19, 2020.
Our 2019 Selection Award Event with Meg Wolitzer
Thank you to Plainview-Old Bethpage Library for the generous use of their facilities and to everyone who attended this year’s Long Island Reads event with Meg Wolitzer.
If you weren’t able to attend, watch the live stream event here.
2019 Author Event
The author will speak at 2:00 pm on Sunday, April 7, 2019 at the Plainview-Old Bethpage Library.
Seating is first come, first served. The event is free and open to all.
FREE TICKETS are still available in the overflow room where the event will be live streamed. Attendees seated in the overflow section will still have the opportunity to have their book(s) signed.
Books will be available for purchase and signing.
Unable to make it, but still want to hear Meg Wolitzer speak? Be sure to like and follow our FACEBOOK page where we’ll be live streaming the event!
Reader’s and Book Discussion Guide
Are you running a Female Persuasion book discussion at your Library? Find helpful tips to enhance your reading and book club experience with our Female Persuasion Reader’s Guide. Download bookmarks and a poster to round out your experience.
Don’t forget to tell your book club members about our Facebook live stream of this year’s Long Island Read’s event: https://www.facebook.com/LongIslandReads/.
Programming Guide
Libraries around Long Island are celebrating this year’s selection with various events. Download our Programming Guide to get ideas for your library!
Don’t forget to like and follow us on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/LongIslandReads/ to watch the live stream of Meg Wolitzer’s discussion being given at the Plainview-Old Bethpage Library on Sunday, April 7 at 2 pm.
Long Island Reads 