Erica Westly

Erica Westly is a journalist and author currently based in Tucson, Arizona. She has a MS in neuroscience and a MA in journalism, and has written articles for Popular Science, Slate, the New York Times, and other publications.

Westly's new book is Fastpitch: The Untold History of Softball and the Women Who Made the Game.

Recently I asked the author about what she was reading. Her reply:

I like to read a mix of fiction and nonfiction. I'm currently toggling between C by Tom McCarthy and Jan Cleere's Never Don't Pay Attention: The Life of Rodeo Photographer Louise L. Serpa, two very different books, although both are history-focused. I tend to be drawn to stories set in the past, particularly the first half of the twentieth century. In C, I get to experience World War I-era Europe through the eyes of a troubled but highly intelligent fictional character. The narrative is full of surprises, and the writing is beautiful. With Never Don't Pay Attention, personal letters and photographs bring the protagonist to life. Serpa, the first female photographer to be allowed into professional rodeo arenas, is a fascinating character, who, in the 1950s, left her New York society life behind and moved West to embrace the cowboy lifestyle. Reading about Serpa has also been enlightening for me because, before buying this book, I had almost no knowledge of rodeo photography or how dangerous it is.

Visit Erica Westly's website.

--Marshal Zeringue