By Katie de Iongh

Literary Mamas share what they are reading right now. Enjoy!

Download the list to bring to your local library or favorite bookstore.

Literary Reflections Co-Editor, Christina Marie Speed, shares, "I am reading the Moosewood Restaurant Cooking for Health cookbook. Vegetarian, I recently began seeing a nutritionist to become more aware of my overall health and my food choices. Since the rest of my family is not vegetarian, I aim to meld dinner for all of us using mostly the same ingredients, sans meat for me, of course. This cookbook allows for this with a little added creativity on my part; Southwestern Black Bean Burgers, Pasta with Butternut Squash and Sage, and Tofu, Leek and Almond Stuffed Portabellas to name a few. And meat can be added to any of these without sacrificing the recipe's intent. Cheers!"

Kristina Riggle, Fiction Co-Editor, says, "I'm reading the magical, haunting The Last Will of Moira Leahy by debut novelist Therese Walsh. The story of twins broken apart and the aftermath of that breaking revolves around a mysterious keris (Javanese dagger) and sprawls across time and continents. The writing is lyrical, the plot involving, the characters fully realized and complex. I'm drawing out the reading to make it last longer."

Suzanne Kamata, Fiction Co- Editor, recommends, "Elise Blackwell's An Unfinished Score, in which Suzanne Sullivan, violaist in a struggling quartet, learns that her lover, a prominent composer, has just died in a plane crash. Suzanne must hide her grief from her emotionally distant husband, Ben; her best friend, Petra, a violinist; and Petra's deaf daughter, Adelle, who share a house with them. Meanwhile, the composer's well-heeled widow contacts Suzanne and asks her for a favor - or does she want revenge? Blackwell also reveals an impressive understanding of classical music, but the intense emotions at the heart of the novel keep the story from being overly high brow."

Columnist Heather Cori shares, "The blurb on the back of Little Bee begins, 'We don't want to tell you what happens in this book,' so in keeping with the wishes of Chris Cleave and his publisher, I will say that it was a page-turning, uncomfortable read. If you are a reader with strong visual imagery, the beach scene is intense. Two women, Little Bee and Sarah, take turns telling the story where their lives intersect and then move apart, only to collide again. This novel got me thinking about the experience of illegal immigrants as well as the fragility and resilience of the human experience."