Just started the novel "Morning Pages" by Kate Feiffer. Breezy, funny, but also very witty. It's the epitome of a great summer read (which for me means something I can dig into easily anywhere--on a beach blanket or in a crowded cafe. And I'm not a reader who easily focuses in crowds).
These are brilliant recs, Kathleen! I didn't have any summer reads yet and just added them both to my cart after scanning the summaries. Thank you for this thread!
The Fury by Alex Michaelides. It's actually really good so far and feels very much like a summer read. Gorgeous, immersive. An isolated Greek island, the rich and beautiful and their hangers on and their murderous jealousies. Kind of perfect (but I'm only 33% in)
For beach reading my only real criteria is something I can dip in and out of the same way I sort of dip in and out of the ocean. So nothing so dense it requires "deep" reading or keeping track of a lot of details. Doesn't necessarily mean fluff, but something that can be read in bite-sized pieces so I can pick it up and put it down easily.
Totally normal to unravel after finishing your MBA: I had a three-day meltdown after I passed the candidacy exam for my PhD. The body has to process all those pent-up stress hormones!
This week I've been reading Yellowface, with a fluffy romance novel on standby for when Yellowface gets too intense. It's brilliant, but it's also A LOT.
+1 for body revolts after a big milestone. When my PhD dissertation was finally accepted for final filing (I had to sit in front of a person who used and eraser to turn each of the 500 to check the formatting), my arms broke out in welts.
I loved Yellowface! One of the big buzzy debuts of the summer, The Ministry of Time, has a little of the same vibe but Yellowface moves a lot faster. I definitely enjoyed it more.
I’m all about seasonal! Whether it’s activities, music, food, or books. I LOVE switching gears. It makes the seasons more nostalgic for me. Life less mundane.
I am reading The Beautiful People by Michelle Gable. With Palm Beach as a main background and Lilly Pulitzer a frequent character, it is a perfect beach read!
Congratulations on your MBA. Book suggestion: The Historian by Elizabeth Kostova is an older book but well worth the read. I discovered this book while flipping through a Time Magazine. At the back, they had a small blurb where they wrote that she was receiving a one-million-dollar advance for the book. You will not be disappointed.
I'm waiting on Elin Hilderbrand's "Swan Song," which she says is her last Nantucket novel. The late Dorothea Benton Frank was my favorite beach read every year. Now I'm writing my own big soapy novel!
Hello from the Jersey Shore! I usually pick a good engaging novel for my beach reads. Although not new, I just picked up Tom Lake : a novel by Ann Patchet. The Little Liar by Mitch Albom was very good — I had no idea about the Nazi invasion of Greece until our trip there last summer. If you like historical fiction, which I do.
I don't read seasonally, per say, but I have made a commitment to read a "classic" fantasy work this summer. As much as I love fantasy, I noticed recently that I'm not as well read in the classics of my favored genre as I should be.
(hope its ok to interject here!) I've actually got an upcoming post planned about fantasy in next couple of weeks. I highly recommend The Name of the Wind and its sequel Wise Man's Fear. An incredibly detailed story but follows just one protagonist so not as intimidating as a game of thrones like situation.
I think summer reads can be from most any genre but MUST be intensely engrossing from the first page if not the first line. The pacing and overall vibe has to grip you enough to deserve your distraction from whatever exceptional environs you're in and is able to always re-grab you in a moment as you flit from one activity or location to another. I didn't plan to make a "summer reads" specific post in my book rec newsletter but maybe I should...
My summer book will be Summer at Saint by Mary Kay Andrews and that is my idea of a summer read! Not a dark thriller, not literary fiction with unlikable characters…just fun, frothy, reliable….likely has the word “summer” or “beach” in the title. Like real Basic B*tch Book…that’s what I’m looking for and I DO think it will help with your MBA blues! Hang in there and take care of yourself
On the subject of basicness, when I go on vacation, I love reading books that match the vibe of are set in the same location. I read The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo at La Quinta Inn in Palm Springs and it is a core memory.
Totally my approach too. On my first ever biz trip to NY I read the Mambo Kings in my hotel room with the sounds of taxis and garbage trucks and police sirens as my soundtrack. Truly memorable.
Canadian romance author Carley Fortune has a new book out titled "This Summer Will Be Different" that sounds like a fun read. Carley is best known for writing "Meet me at the Lake". Might be the right kind of content for a retreat! Have a lovely time!
I don't change my reading habits during the summer. We might spend a week on Nantucket or something, and then I just bring whatever I'm reading and plan on buying more books on the island. Sometimes I'll pick a retro thing like Valley of the Dolls or re-read a favorite but a "beach read" is whatever I'm reading on the beach!
Any book that felt like an escape was a beach read, for a long time, for me. Usually something set in summer, on a coast, maybe a little steamy or drama-riddled.
These days a "Beach Read" is the same to me as a "Beach Body" -- it's just a book I take to the beach (pool, river) same as my body -- doesn't have to meet any criteria, just has to be there!
I'm not a fiction person, but I think I've picked up the non-fiction equivalent of the Beach Read. I've just skimmed a few pages, but so far, so bonkers! The book is: Erotic Vagrancy: Everything About Richard Burton and Elizabeth Taylor by Roger Lewis.
Oh, and to an ongoing discussion about book discovery...I'm in the industry and heard about this one from a colleague and seeing the Guardian review reminded me that it was out.
Just started the novel "Morning Pages" by Kate Feiffer. Breezy, funny, but also very witty. It's the epitome of a great summer read (which for me means something I can dig into easily anywhere--on a beach blanket or in a crowded cafe. And I'm not a reader who easily focuses in crowds).
Oh that’s up my ally.
Perfect description of a summer read!
I just put in a library request for this!
These are brilliant recs, Kathleen! I didn't have any summer reads yet and just added them both to my cart after scanning the summaries. Thank you for this thread!
The Fury by Alex Michaelides. It's actually really good so far and feels very much like a summer read. Gorgeous, immersive. An isolated Greek island, the rich and beautiful and their hangers on and their murderous jealousies. Kind of perfect (but I'm only 33% in)
Sold!
Oooh would welcome a discussion! I liked it but wished it stopped one chapter short of the end.
I’m still reading! Will pop back in when done and comment 🙂 But so far the atmosphere is exactly what I need in a summer read
For beach reading my only real criteria is something I can dip in and out of the same way I sort of dip in and out of the ocean. So nothing so dense it requires "deep" reading or keeping track of a lot of details. Doesn't necessarily mean fluff, but something that can be read in bite-sized pieces so I can pick it up and put it down easily.
Totally normal to unravel after finishing your MBA: I had a three-day meltdown after I passed the candidacy exam for my PhD. The body has to process all those pent-up stress hormones!
This week I've been reading Yellowface, with a fluffy romance novel on standby for when Yellowface gets too intense. It's brilliant, but it's also A LOT.
+1 for body revolts after a big milestone. When my PhD dissertation was finally accepted for final filing (I had to sit in front of a person who used and eraser to turn each of the 500 to check the formatting), my arms broke out in welts.
yellowface is soo good, but i also needed a palate cleanser after finishing. a relief to escape that narrator's POV!
I loved Yellowface! One of the big buzzy debuts of the summer, The Ministry of Time, has a little of the same vibe but Yellowface moves a lot faster. I definitely enjoyed it more.
I’m all about seasonal! Whether it’s activities, music, food, or books. I LOVE switching gears. It makes the seasons more nostalgic for me. Life less mundane.
I am reading The Beautiful People by Michelle Gable. With Palm Beach as a main background and Lilly Pulitzer a frequent character, it is a perfect beach read!
Kathleen,
Congratulations on your MBA. Book suggestion: The Historian by Elizabeth Kostova is an older book but well worth the read. I discovered this book while flipping through a Time Magazine. At the back, they had a small blurb where they wrote that she was receiving a one-million-dollar advance for the book. You will not be disappointed.
I'm waiting on Elin Hilderbrand's "Swan Song," which she says is her last Nantucket novel. The late Dorothea Benton Frank was my favorite beach read every year. Now I'm writing my own big soapy novel!
Hello from the Jersey Shore! I usually pick a good engaging novel for my beach reads. Although not new, I just picked up Tom Lake : a novel by Ann Patchet. The Little Liar by Mitch Albom was very good — I had no idea about the Nazi invasion of Greece until our trip there last summer. If you like historical fiction, which I do.
I don't read seasonally, per say, but I have made a commitment to read a "classic" fantasy work this summer. As much as I love fantasy, I noticed recently that I'm not as well read in the classics of my favored genre as I should be.
So this will be the summer to rectify that!
yes to fantasy!
Do you have a list of classic fantasy that you're interested in (that you'd be willing to share)?
I don't yet, but I'm building one, and will likely share it in a post over on An Enchanted Life! Thanks for asking!
(hope its ok to interject here!) I've actually got an upcoming post planned about fantasy in next couple of weeks. I highly recommend The Name of the Wind and its sequel Wise Man's Fear. An incredibly detailed story but follows just one protagonist so not as intimidating as a game of thrones like situation.
I would love to recommend those myself... if not for the fact that Book 3 is never going to happen.
i knowwwwww, but i still think they are worth reading even if we never get it. don't you???
I think summer reads can be from most any genre but MUST be intensely engrossing from the first page if not the first line. The pacing and overall vibe has to grip you enough to deserve your distraction from whatever exceptional environs you're in and is able to always re-grab you in a moment as you flit from one activity or location to another. I didn't plan to make a "summer reads" specific post in my book rec newsletter but maybe I should...
Yes, to all of this!
My summer book will be Summer at Saint by Mary Kay Andrews and that is my idea of a summer read! Not a dark thriller, not literary fiction with unlikable characters…just fun, frothy, reliable….likely has the word “summer” or “beach” in the title. Like real Basic B*tch Book…that’s what I’m looking for and I DO think it will help with your MBA blues! Hang in there and take care of yourself
On the subject of basicness, when I go on vacation, I love reading books that match the vibe of are set in the same location. I read The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo at La Quinta Inn in Palm Springs and it is a core memory.
Totally my approach too. On my first ever biz trip to NY I read the Mambo Kings in my hotel room with the sounds of taxis and garbage trucks and police sirens as my soundtrack. Truly memorable.
Oooh nice! I’ll add it! Hopefully we can get a list of Book Vacation pairings going
Canadian romance author Carley Fortune has a new book out titled "This Summer Will Be Different" that sounds like a fun read. Carley is best known for writing "Meet me at the Lake". Might be the right kind of content for a retreat! Have a lovely time!
I don't change my reading habits during the summer. We might spend a week on Nantucket or something, and then I just bring whatever I'm reading and plan on buying more books on the island. Sometimes I'll pick a retro thing like Valley of the Dolls or re-read a favorite but a "beach read" is whatever I'm reading on the beach!
Any book that felt like an escape was a beach read, for a long time, for me. Usually something set in summer, on a coast, maybe a little steamy or drama-riddled.
These days a "Beach Read" is the same to me as a "Beach Body" -- it's just a book I take to the beach (pool, river) same as my body -- doesn't have to meet any criteria, just has to be there!
I'm not a fiction person, but I think I've picked up the non-fiction equivalent of the Beach Read. I've just skimmed a few pages, but so far, so bonkers! The book is: Erotic Vagrancy: Everything About Richard Burton and Elizabeth Taylor by Roger Lewis.
The tile is <chef's kiss>. I'm envious of how good it is. The writing style is singular and really, bonkers is the best word to describe it. We all know where we buy books, so here's a fun Guardian review of it: https://www.theguardian.com/books/2023/oct/22/erotic-vagrancy-everything-about-richard-burton-and-elizabeth-taylor-review-roger-lewis-a-hymn-to-a-joyously-vulgar-pair
Oh, and to an ongoing discussion about book discovery...I'm in the industry and heard about this one from a colleague and seeing the Guardian review reminded me that it was out.