When I was a little girl, growing up in Newark, NJ, the public library had an annual summer reading contest. Who could read the most books! I don’t think there was a prize apart from bragging rights. I tried, but I never won. This summer, I read a good deal and learned a lot — from the bestsellers as well as from some classics.

The Reader’s Companion to South Africa, edited by Alan Ryan
Cape Town Calling: From Mandela to Theroux on the Mother City, edited by Justin Fox
Cry, The Beloved Country, Alan Paton
The Whale Caller, Zakes Mda
Jump, and Other Stories, Nadine Gordimer
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, J.K. Rowling
Eat, Pray, Love, Elizabeth Gilbert
Water for Elephants, Sara Gruen
The Year of Magical Thinking, Joan Didion
Jane and Prudence, Barbara Pym

What did you read?