As a young adult services librarian, reviewing books for (585) Kids has always been in my zone. So when editor Christine Green asked me if I would write for the “grown-up” magazine, I was hesitant. “Can I write about books by local authors?” I asked. “Sure!” she said. But I was nervous that I wouldn’t find enough titles. Turns out I needn’t have worried. Without further ado, here are five Rochesterians’ books to check out—and plenty more to come!
How to Make Your Mother Cry: Fictions
By Sejal Shah
West Virginia University Press, 2024, paperback, $24.99
A Gujarati woman reflects on her childhood, dating, and family through wistful, interconnected stories. Between the tales are unsent letters from a woman to a childhood teacher, adding more layers to the narrator’s life. Photographs, dance choreographies, and other ephemera further blur the lines between fiction and what may be part of the author’s life.
This work is not written in poems, yet is quite poetic. “The Half King,” which locals will love beyond the cadence of Shah’s language, takes place in Rochester. Readers looking for something wholly original will soak up this second-person narrative.
Sejal Shah is the daughter of Gujarati parents who moved to the U.S. from India and Kenya. She loves Highland and Cobbs Hill Parks, the latter of which is pictured on the cover of her book (it is a 1918 autochrome!). Learn more this 10,000 Maniacs fan and her other work here: sejal-shah.com.
By J Hubbell
Divergent Press, 2022, PDF, $15.00
Justin knew their gender assigned at birth didn’t fit the way they felt, so they explored what that meant through comics. The artwork illustrates J’s different gender expressions and what they learned about the process of discovering oneself.
This book was originally published in 2019 with the help of a successful Kickstarter campaign, then released with more material in 2022. It is a great collection on the topic of gender, identity, and transition.
J Hubbell is a transgender nonbinary (they/them) artist who grew up crawling about the Frederick Douglass Library and obsessing over Godzilla. These days their favorite places are the Rochester Rainbow Union’s Lilac Library (where J founded Rochester Queer Comics) and the Gandhi Institute for Nonviolence. They live with their spouse and cats Yams and Coffee and are working on opening an online store. Hubbell’s latest comic project is free to read at jhubbell.com.
By Adam Frank
Harper, 2023, hardcover, $27.99
Have aliens landed on Earth? Or have their UFOs been spotted and covered up by the government? An astrophysicist uses the best science available to answer these questions and then tells us why any of this matters.
Outer space facts and debunked UFO scams are fascinating. The arguments for why aliens have not been to Earth yet may upset those who, like Fox Mulder, want to believe. The author’s humor and enthusiasm for the topic are contagious, and his explanations of complex problems can reach even the most pedestrian of minds.
An astronomy geek since age five, Adam Frank is now an award-winning professor of physics and astronomy at the University of Rochester and a frequent guest on CNN, MSNBC, and NPR. Even cooler was his Marvel gig as the science advisor for Doctor Strange. Find out what Frank thinks about NASA’s latest attempts to find life on Jupiter’s moons and more: rochester.edu/news/adam-frank.
Palestine 1936: The Great Revolt and the Roots of the Middle East Conflict
By Oren Kessler
Rowman & Littlefield, 2023, hardcover, $26.95
In 1936, Palestine’s Arab residents, Jewish immigrants, and British government all had different plans for the land and people and how to attain them. Specific individuals and their roles in the roots of the revolt are fleshed out, including Musa Alami (Palestinian politician), David Ben-Gurion (Israel’s first prime minister), and Lord Robert Peel (British politician).
This award-winning book helps readers understand the Arab Revolt in a fairly unbiased way. Readers will see how British colonialism failed the entire region, and they will hopefully finish the last chapter with a wider understanding of how Israel came to be.
After high school, Oren Kessler left Rochester and primarily lived in Tel Aviv, where he is a journalist. In 2023–24, he and his wife spent six months back in New York, where he regained his appreciation for the Pittsford Community Library, Another Chapter Bookstore, and Dinosaur Bar-B-Que. Subscribe to Kessler’s substack to see what else he has to say: orenkessler.com.
Resting Among Us: Authors’ Gravesites in Upstate New York
By Steven Huff
Syracuse University Press, 2023, paperback, $32.95
Many Rochesterians know that Susan B. Anthony and Frederick Douglass are two famous writers buried within our city limits. But there are more authors buried in upstate New York. Organized by region, each chapter opens with an overview of the place where the graves can be found. From Rod Serling (The Twilight Zone) to Carl Sagan (Cosmos) to James Fenimore Cooper (The Last of the Mohicans) to Paula Danzinger (Amber Brown Is Not a Crayon), there are a variety of people to appreciate and places to explore.
Photos of each grave are published alongside detailed instructions of how to find them, whether they stand alone or in a cemetery. Huff even includes one person who is not an author; give it a read to find out who it is and how they contributed to a 1969 bestselling novel. Huff lives in Rochester and teaches creative writing in a low-residency MFA at Lasell University. He was the founding publisher of BOA Editions and Tiger Bark Press and is the award-winning author of numerous poems, essays, and short fiction. Huff’s current project is The Moveable Marquee, a “love letter to old movies.” Subscribe here to get your monthly classic cinema fix: stevenhuff. substack.com/p/the-moveable-marquee.
This article originally appeared in the March/April 2025 issue of (585).
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