With Guest Blogger Martha Frankel, Woodstock Writers Festival

For months I've been searching for a resource to help me put together a reading list of books by local Hudson Valley authors to share with our newsletter subscribers. I've always been a sucker for locally grown talent. When I was in high school my friend's older brother was an up-and-coming folk singer. He came to do a concert at our school and I've been an Ellis Paul fan ever since (give him a listen, great songwriter). I think that sharing the same geography with an artist can give you an extra connection to their work. Maybe you'll find a little extra comfort or meaning by taking in the creations of those who have walked the same ground as you. Well, I searched high and low for a good source using my trusty keyboard and mouse and came up with nadda. Not surprisingly, to connected with local authors I had to go to a real, live, local source!

Martha Frankel is one of the founders of The Woodstock Writers Festival and is now its Executive Director. The Woodstock Writers Festival is in its 5th year and it continues to grow. It's a celebration of writing that provides a "commitment to quality programming, mind-blowing speakers, fabulous parties, life-changing workshops, and the general merriment that the name Woodstock evokes". A fun writer's workshop? Perfect. She was thrilled at the prospect of putting together a list for us. She worked in conjunction with her friends at The Golden Notebook bookstore in Woodstock. If you've never been in the Golden Notebook don't miss it next time you're in town (or browsing books online). It is the antithesis of a chain bookstore. It's comfy, cozy friendly and smart in the least intimidating way possible. The book selection is carefully curated and employees (often the owners) can offer real recommendations. I've never been disappointed in a book I've picked up there because of a recommendation and I'm....well...a very choosy reader.

Without further ado: MARTHA'S LIST. Click the jacket covers to purchase from the Golden Notebook.

The Hudson Valley is rich in writers, and this month, some of our best have books that you’ll want to snap up…

 Philippe Petit's latest, Creativity: The Perfect Crime, is “a new manifesto on the creative process from a master of the impossible.” This summer marks 40 years since Petit’s heart-stopping, illegal walk between the Twin Towers of the World Trade Centers, and he remains as vital and important now as he was then. (Thrilling that Joseph Gordon Leavitt will play Petit in the feature adaptation of that story, titled To Walk in the Clouds. The documentary about that walk, Man On Wire, won the Academy Award in 2008.

Shandaken resident Holly George Warren’s, A Man Called Destruction: The Life and Music of Alex Chilton, From Box Tops to Big Star to Backdoor Man is “a rags-to-riches in reverse, beginning with teenage rock stardom and heading downward.”  Chilton’s life story is a wonderful read.

Beverly Donofrio, who wrote the classic Riding In Cars With Boys, has the new-to-paperback Astonished, about her rape and rebirth in Mexico. Told with incredible insight and humor, Donofrio draws you in from page 1.

And Mimi Lipson’s searing new collection, The Cloud of Unknowing, takes us to places we might not ordinarily go--- but guaranteed, we’ll want to go back!

We hope you enjoy one, or all of these great reads. We welcome your comments and hope to have Martha back soon with another list.