buzzworthy books

These titles are among recent releases available now by Montclair authors

Sarah Arcuri ’ s first novel couldbe considered a happycaseoflife imitating art — in both her story and her personallife , awoman falls in love with an Italian restaurateur ( in Arcuri ’ s case , the man in question is Franco Porporino , owner of Fresco Da Franco and Bar Franco on Church Street ). “ I started writing the novel a year prior to meeting my husband ,” says Arcuri , who was inspired to write astory in the romantic tradition of the film Moonstruck aftermoving to Baltimore ’ sLittle Italy neighborhood , and working at Vaccaro ’ s , her cousin ’ s bakery , and nearby Aldo ’ s Ristorante .

This isn ’ t her first attempt at mass communication , though . Arcuri , aka The Sweet Paisana , is a social influencer with more than 100,000 followers on Instagram and TikTok , and partnerships with brands including Nutella and Carbone Fine Food . Learn moreabout her work at thesweetpaisana . com — and Amazon . com and Barnesandnoble . com , of course .

WRITTEN BY CINDY SCHWEICH HANDLER

Your Difference is Your Strength is aspiritual self-help book with universalapplications . Who hasn ’ t felt out of place , misunderstood , or just different ? As described by its publisher ,“ It ’ s a book forthe kid who wastoo … shy or tooweird , and is now anadult who still isn ’ t quitesurewheretheyfitin — orif they even want to .” Filled with real life examples , personal stories , journal prompts , and practical wisdom , the book invites the inner child in all of us to embracewhatinthe past made us feel disconnected . “ We have all felt out of place from time to time ,” writes Sherianna Boyle , author of Emotional Detox Now .“ Kris Ferraro takes the shame out of being ( feeling different ) and turns it intoasuperpowerstrength .” Ferraro , aMontclair resident , is also the author of Manifesting : The Practical , Simple Guide to Creating the Life You Want and Energy Healing : Simple & Effective Practices to Become Your Own Healer .

Area residents are likely awareofPaterson ’ srecent renewal projects — the beautification of Great Falls National Historical Park , the renovation of Hinchliffe Stadium — but sometimes , it ’ s easy to forget thatthese developments exist on a continuum in acity rich in history . RichardPolton , aGlen Ridge urban planner , trained architect and part of the Hamilton Partnership for Paterson , worked with the Paterson Museum to review historic photographs of the city . While looking overthe hundreds of pictures in the collection , he realized thatifproperlyorganized , they toldthe story of the city during its period of greatest growth . The result is Paterson ’ s Industrial Age , releasedbyArcadia Publishing , which documents the architectureofaconfident , forward-looking period in which the city ’ s manufacturing center hadagreat impact on the nation and the world .

THE OWNER & THE WIFE : COURTESY OF SELVATICA BOOKS ; ARCURI : COURTESY OF ALEJANDRA ESCALANTE PHOTOGRAPHY ; YOUR DIFFERENCE IS YOUR STRENGTH : COURTESY OF ST . MARTIN ’ S ESSENTIALS ; FERRARO : COURTESY OF LEE SEIDENBERG ; PATERSON ’ S INDUSTRIAL AGE : COURTESY OFARCADIA PUBLISHING ; POLTON : COURTESY OF CARLEY STORM

6 FALL 2023 MONTCLAIR MAGAZINE