In an unending effort to promote reading and literacy, the IE will occasionally feature summer reading suggestions from people in our community. We hope our readers will be inspired to pick up a book and share it with others this season. In this installment, we ask Julie Pham, the former managing editor of the Northwest Vietnamese News and founder of Seattle ethnic media coalition, SeaBeez, what she suggests for great reading this summer.
Hotel on the Corner of Bitter & Sweet
By Jamie Ford | historical fiction | 290 pp
“I go to Panama Hotel Tea House all the time to meet people,” said Julie Pham. “I feel so much closer to this local institution after reading this love story. I read it in one go on a recent plane ride home from Hanoi. Even though I was in public, I quietly cried as I read—I couldn’t help myself.”
Success By Ten: George Russell’s Top Ten Elements to Building a Billion-Dollar Business
By George Russell Jr. | business & money| 208 pp
“Richard Woo, CEO of the Russell Family Foundation, gave me a copy autographed by the author himself. It’s part memoir, part local history, part business manual. The guiding principles George Russell presents are easy to understand and ever relevant. I love the chapter “Be Creative.”
A Tree Grows in Brooklyn
By Betty Smith | novel | 493 pp
“I first read this coming-of-age story of an Irish-German American girl in early 20th century Brooklyn when I was about 12 years old. I learned a lot of new vocabulary by looking up the big words in my trusty paperback English dictionary. Since then, I’ve re-read it numerous times. There’s a bit of Francie Nolan in all women.”
Women & Money
By Suze Orman | self-help & money | 255 pp
“I recommend this book to all my girlfriends. It’s a great basic primer on managing your finances. More importantly, it offers empowering advice on how to take control of our own financial destiny. I also like to listen to it on CD, so I can hear Suze’s voice.”
