Weird N.J.: Your Travel Guide to New Jersey's Local Legends and Best Kept Secrets

There's much more to New Jersey than highways and diners, and Sceurman and Moran do their part to exalt the state's lesser-known virtues in this""journal of strange travels,"" which goes far beyond the legend of the Jersey Devil. The book, which sheds light on""slightly offbeat or left of center"" oddities of the Garden State, is a kooky compilation of roads less traveled, unexplained phenomenon and unsolved mysteries. The authors divide their work by subject, so there are chapters on strange roads (including Franklin Lakes's""gravity road,"" where cars in neutral travel uphill""as if forced by unseen hands""), local heroes and villains (such as Wyckoff's Midnight Walker, who's been scaring Bergen County teenagers for years) and eccentric abodes (like Richie and Leila Zorzi's Kendall Park home, which boasts a bowling ball collection on the front lawn). In a more serious vein, the book also devotes a good chunk of pages to more unusual aspects of New Jersey's history. The magazine-like format, perked up with numerous photos, perfectly suits the subject's quirky nature.