READING L.A.

Cathy Tanaka, budget analyst:

“Longitude,” by Dava Sobel (Penguin).

“ ‘Longitude’ reads like a novel and tells the true story of one man’s race in 18th century England to develop a ship’s clock that could be used for navigating. It says a lot about the technology we take for granted today.”

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Liese Gardner, editor:

“The Long Rain,” by Peter Gadol (Picador).

“The bucolic wine country turns ugly when the main character accidentally hits a boy with his car. The descriptions of California’s vineyards are detailed and beautiful, as is the interior world of a man in the throes of a life-altering situation.”

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Greg Stephens, commercial printing executive:

“Devil in a Blue Dress,” by Walter Mosley (W.W. Norton).

“I have thoroughly enjoyed all of the Easy Rawlins mysteries, as well as ‘R.L.’s Dream.’ I believe Dashiell Hammett would be envious of what Mosley has accomplished.”

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Kevin Gallivan, homemaker:

“The Sorrows of the Ancient Romans,” by Carlin A. Barton (Princeton University Press).

“It’s easy to think that ancient Rome with its fascination with gladiators nurtured a culture of sadism, but Barton goes beyond the psycho-sexual intrigue to give us a picture of celebrity, envy and repugnance. Sound familiar?”