Readers' lists on books set in New York state

In last week's Unwind, we published a list of 25 books that would be included in the New York state-themed library of Daniel Brennan, from Loudonville. But he recognized that his wouldn't be the end-all-be-all list, so we did a callout to readers for their own submissions.

The following are the responses we received (some lightly edited):

I enjoyed the article in Unwind on Empire State set/inspired literary gems. I think it is a great subject for debate among the literati ... perhaps would make a fascinating panel discussion at an event hosted by the New York State Writers Institute.

While I won't detract from the many fine works that were included, at first glance I was disappointed that "Breakfast at Tiffany's" by Truman Capote was not among the works cited. And I would also add "Summer of '49" by David Halberstam, which chronicled that year's pennant race between the Yankees and the Red Sox. I liked it much more than the "Boys of Summer" (though a baseball classic).

One more: "Wait Till Next Year: A Memoir" by Doris Kearns Goodwin. I also think from discussing with friends that it would be interesting to try to pare the list from 25 to 10.

— Maryann Riviello

Just finished a very interesting book "Tailspin: The Strange Case of Major Call," by Bernard Conners, a Loudonville resident. A nonfiction work about Air Force Maj. James Call who was the object of an intensive manhunt throughout New York state, especially around Lake Placid, and wanted for a variety of serious crimes after going AWOL from the Air Force. He was called the "phantom killer of the Adirondacks" by the press at the the time. After covering his crime spree, Connors makes a compelling circumstantial case in the second part of the book that it was Call who murdered Marilyn Sheppard, wife of Dr. Sam...