Saturday, June 24, 2023

June 24-25, 2023: Crowd-sourced Beach Reads

[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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