[The arrival of summer means a lot of good things, but high on the list for this AmericanStudier is the chance to read for pleasure, preferably on a beach blanket with a view of the crashing surf. For this year’s annual Beach Reads series, I’ve highlighted recent or forthcoming books by colleagues and friends. Leading up to this crowd-sourced post featuring the suggestions of fellow BeachReaders—add yours in comments, please!]
Tuesday’s
subject Katy
Covino writes, “The Thursday
Murder Club mystery series are an absolute delight. I’ve read and reread
them too many times. Each is a good cozy-ish mystery, but also offers so much
in terms of tight, intricate plots and authentic, relatable characters and relationships.
They are irresistible.”
Wednesday’s
subject, my friend Ian
Williams, recommends Colson Whitehead’s new novel, Crook Manifesto, as a
great Beach Read.
Olivia
Lucier writes, “Finally finishing up the Chronicles of Narnia series. Most of
us have read The Lion, the Witch, and the
Wardrobe but the others in the series are must reads too!”
Tim
McCaffrey shares, “The Martian by Andy
Weir is a fun read.”
LaTonya Sadler Hamilton goes with
Book Lovers by Emily
Henry, and Paige
Wallace agrees, “I was going to suggest that too! It’s my favorite of
hers.”
Veronica
Hendrick says, “Don’t know if it is a Beach Read because it is quite long,
but am loving Pachinko.” [BEN: Oh no, having to spend more
time on the beach to read it? Curses!] Nicole Bjorklund agrees, writing, “I just
started this one and I’m loving it, too!”
Nicole
Bjorklund adds “The Measure by Nikki
Erlick was really great. It made me wish I was in a book club because it would
make a phenomenal book club book! Happy
Place by Emily Henry, I really feel like all of her books are great
traditional beach-reads while still having a decent amount of depth to them.
And Remarkably Bright Creatures by Shelby
Van Pelt.”
Elizabeth
Duclos-Orsello highlights Lessons in Chemistry, The Awakening, and The German Wife.
Natalie
Chase writes that ”Demon Copperhead by Barbara Kingsolver is next up on my
TBR. Can’t wait!”
Anne Holub nominates “the latest greatest
essays from Samantha Irby, Quietly
Hostile.”
Jessica Blouin shares “Mindsight by Dr.
Daniel J. Siegel. It’s a fascinating read that ties the objective physiology of
the brain to this subjective experience we call the mind. It’s really changed
the way I think about my life—what’s happened in the past and in the present
too.”
My
favorite podcaster
Kelly Therese Pollock writes, “I just finished I Have Some Questions for You by
Rebecca Makkai and couldn’t put it down.”
AnneMarie
Donahue goes with Stay Sexy and Don’t Get Murdered, When You Look like Us, and Hollywood Wives.
Shayne
Simahk highlights The Storyteller: Tales of Life and Music by Dave
Grohl and How to Sell a Haunted House by Grady
Hendrix.
Guest
Poster and Guest
Post-curator par excellence Robin Field nominates “Sonora Jha’s campus novel The Laughter. So
good!”
And longtime
friend of the blog Jeff Renye likewise shares
a pair of nominations: Louis Sachar’s excellent YA novel Holes and Adam Nevill’s The Ritual.
Finally,
Shirley Wagner, one of the great leaders in Fitchburg State University history,
emailed to share a list of Beach Read nominations: Edmund de Waal’s The Hare with Amber Eyes, Joe
Ide’s IQ, Laura Schenone’s The Lost Ravioli Recipes of Hoboken, Anne
Hillerman’s The Way of the Bear, and Atul
Gawande’s Being Mortal.
Next
series starts Monday,
Ben
PS. What
do you think? Beach Reads you’d nominate?
PPS. Adding a suggestion from Friday's subject Lara Schwartz, Tim Cope's On the Trail of Genghis Khan!
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