On the Bedside Table: Susan Levine

The books we take to bed.

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Susan Levine's bedside table.

Taking this picture was a good excuse to throw out the detritus that collects on my night table (like last night’s dental floss that I was too tired to get up and throw away). The books by my bed are consistently a huge collection of genres — always some kids books (currently the Newbery Award winner “Hello, Universe” (Erin Entrada Kelly) and Kimberly Brubaker Bradley’s sequel to “The War that Changed My Life, The War I Finally Won.” Also a picture book from the imaginative Red Nose Studio — “The Beginner’s Guide to Running Away From Home” — love their stuff). Two books from a list I saw of titles Obama loaded on his daughter’s Kindle — “Gilead” (Marilynne Robinson), and “A Bend in the River” (V.S. Nailpaul); Marie Kondo’s “The Life Changing Magic of Tidying Up” will remain on my night table until I actually follow her advice. “Feed the Resistance” (Julia Turshen) and “Hope in the Dark” (Rebecca Solnit) were gifts from young people in my life and inspire me to keep going in this horrible time. We met Jon Lewis on the Vineyard and simply being in his presence was inspiring. His graphic novels “March” are for everybody. This copy was signed by him and means a lot to me. And there’s always a cookbook on the night table, a special kind of pornography.

Mark Levine’s bedside table. — Susan Levine

Marc’s night table: He has less time to read; his medical practice and committee work keep him quite busy. The New Yorker is usually there; the stack of books are either gifts or titles he’s heard of and wants to read. His bedside book pile is aspirational, always something there for when he has blocked out time and can get into a book without interruption.

Susan and Marc Levine first came to the Vineyard with two toddlers in tow, the week after his medical residency ended in 1985. It rained for the entire week and it took them a while to come back, but 25 years ago the Vineyard became their summer vacation place, and 14 years ago they bought a house. Susan is a librarian (currently working at a boys school in New York City); Marc is an ENT/Head and Neck Surgeon.

Want to share what you’re reading? Send a snap of your bedside table and a few sentences about what’s on it, what you’re reading, and why you like or don’t like it. While we hope you will show us your bed table as is without straightening them up, please note this is a family publication so before snapping your photo, we encourage you to remove anything . . . erotic . . . other than, perhaps, those lines found in the books you may be reading. Email photo and descriptions to kate@mvtimes.com.