5 Hudson Valley Books for Your Summer Reading List

Add these books by Hudson Valley-based authors to your summer reading list for your next beach trip or lazy afternoon.

Hudson Valley recommendations are objective, unbiased, and curated by the editorial team. If you buy something through our links, we may earn an affiliate commission at no cost to you.

Looking for your next great read to pack in your beach bag as you lounge under an umbrella? Or perhaps you simply need a page-turner to flip while sipping lemonade on the patio? Either way, these five books have a little something for everyone when it comes to summer reading in the Hudson Valley.

summer reading

Elegy for an Appetite

Shaina Loew-Banayan

Hudson
PANK, $18, memoir

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An insight into the owner and chef of Hudson’s Café Mutton, this bold memoir catalogues the life of a chef battling an eating disorder. Told through a series of tales from the kitchen, Loew-Banayan shares their search for identity and validity while questioning the existing culture of the restaurant world.

summer reading

Gods of Deception

David A. Cleveland

The Catskills
Greenleaf Book Group Press, $24.38, historical fiction

At age 95, years after defending alleged Soviet spy Alger Hiss in a 1950 Cold War trial, Edward Dimock retreats to his Catskill estate to write his memoir—but finds himself weighed down by doubts and secrets that could change not only his family, but American history. A tale of espionage, deceit, and family, this novel explores how we interact with our past and the actions of our ancestors.

summer reading

Knocked Down: A High-Risk Memoir

Aileen Weintraub

Stone Ridge
University of Nebraska Press, $12.64, memoir

What happens when a Brooklyn girl makes a sudden decision to move upstate? For Aileen Weintraub, it meant a whirlwind romance, moving into an old farmhouse, and enduring five months of bedrest during pregnancy. Fast-paced, humorous, and often emotional, her story delves into marriage, motherhood, and the risks people willingly take for both.

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Related: How to Spend 24 Hours in Saugerties

nineteen reservoirs

Nineteen Reservoirs

Lucy Sante

Kingston
The Experiment Publishing, $20, science & nature

It’s no secret that NYC’s high-quality drinking water comes from the Hudson Valley, but how did those reservoirs come to be? Bard College professor Lucy Sante celebrates the industrial victories and reveals the loss of ecosystems, villages, farms, and more that were sacrificed to provide a seemingly limitless supply.

plainchant cover

Plainchant

Eamon Grennan

Poughkeepsie
Red Hen Press, $15.95, poetry

The call of a lark, the scent of the sea, the sight of a man working in the fields: these are the experiences former Vassar College professor Eamon Grennan recalls in his collection of poems set in his home country of Ireland. The author’s detailed recollections will have you rethinking the world around you— wherever you may live.

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Related: Hudson Valley Bookstore Owners Offer the Best for Your Summer Reading List

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