Someone once told me that writers are people who have failed at other careers. That’s not always true, but it is for me.

When Eric Asimov visits the Island for the book festival it will be his first time on the Vineyard in 30 years. His last trip was marked by trying his first farm-fresh egg. He was in college at the time, sleeping on a friend’s floor, and for breakfast one morning they went to the neighbor’s next door to fetch the eggs for breakfast.

The Harlem Fine Arts Festival opens with a breakfast on Tuesday, August 6, at Hooked in Oak Bluffs. The event is from 9 a.m. to noon and speakers will include Touré, a music journalist and co-host of MSNBC’s The Cycle, fashion artist and author Harriet Cole and Martha’s Vineyard artist Harry Seymour.

For a parent, a child’s teenage years can be a frustrating time, when adulthood and independence start to rear their twin heads. Most parents, though, have the benefit of knowing the ins and outs of their child, having raised them since birth. But what if you were to skip the younger years entirely and suddenly find yourself a first-time parent to a 15 year old?

It’s every seasonal resident’s worst nightmare. What happens to your summer home when no one is around?

Consider, for example, this passage from A.X. Ahmad’s new novel, The Caretaker.

About a year ago, closed boxes filled with computer tablets were left in two villages in Ethiopia.