Summer Reading

DEBORAH CROMBIE: Memorial Day is the traditional kickoff of summer in the U.S. Schools are (mostly) out, pools are open, vacations are planned. And for us bookish people, it's the time of year when we are inundated with ads for SUMMER READS!!! We talked about "beach reads" on the blog the other day, so I'm wondering if we can differentiate a "summer read" from a "beach read?" (I love, by the way, that SUMMER READING is the title of our Jenn McKinlay's wonderful novel from last year–and if you somehow missed it, add it to your list!) I am taking a stance on this and saying that "beach read" is a sub category of "summer read!)

Either way, heres a start on summer reads from Bookbub, with a lovely shout out to our Jenn's LOVE AT FIRST BOOK!

And here's another Bookbub list--this one designated "beach reads--several of which are already in my to-read pile. A glut of riches!

So do those of us not actually going on vacations still get to have "summer reads?" (The closest I ever get to vacation reading is on my trips to England, when I get to read whenever I want, for as long as I want–sometimes even into the wee hours of the morning, a luxury I seldom get at home.) I certainly don't want to feel left out, so here are a few books that I've earmarked for some special summer time.

I've bought all four of Liz Williams' Fallow Sisters novels, starting with COMET WEATHER. This series is described by Paul Cornell as "...a golden slice of British rural fantasy…" which I adore, and I've been saving them for a time when I could clear the decks a little.

Also, Susan Coll's BOOKISH PEOPLE, which is described as a "quirky gem" and sounded just the thing to enjoy while having a cup of tea in the garden.

And Nancy Thayer's THE SUMMER WE STARTED OVER, which I think, as it's set on Nantucket in the summer, crosses over into beach read category, but I'm fine with that.

Oh, adding two more on the British front!! Sara Nisha Adams' (author of THE READING LIST) THE TWILIGHT GARDEN, and David Nicholls' (author of the fabulous ONE DAY) YOU ARE HERE!

What have you saved for summer reading, dear Reds? And how are you all spending Memorial Day?

JENN McKINLAY: Thanks for the nod, Debs. SUMMER READING was so much fun to write! 

As for what i’m reading this summer, I am trying to catch up to all of the recent cozy fantasy books since I’m stepping into that genre, so my beach reads are mostly in that vein with A WIZARD’S GUIDE TO DEFENSIVE BAKING by T. Kingfisher, HALF A SOUL by Olivia Atwater, and THAT TIME I GOT DRUNK AND SAVED A DEMON by Kimberly Lemming. You can tell by the titles, I’m in for a good summer!

LUCY BURDETTE: A Wizard’s Guide to Defensive Baking, Jenn??? That sounds irresistible though I don’t think I’ve ever read cozy fantasy. I started LOVE AT FIRST BOOK yesterday and I’m trying so hard to read slowly so it doesn’t go by too quickly. I love being in Ireland with you and your characters. And I love this line: “Don’t talk.” I held up my hand as I took another spoonful of the chowder. “I’m having a moment with my food.”

I think next up will be Ruth Reichl’s The Paris Novel. I certainly won’t go to Paris this summer with the Olympics happening, so I can go on the page. I’m trying to save the paperbacks for a long plane ride…

HALLIE EPHRON: I’m listening to Meryl Streep reading TOM LAKE by Ann Patchett. Harmonious mother and daughters, my favorite subjects. It’s a little confusing the way it moves back and forth in time… something that would NOT be confusing if I were reading the printed page. Just one of the many differences between reading/reading and listening/reading. 

RHYS BOWEN:  I loved the WIZARD’S GUIDE TO DEFENSIVE BAKING, Jenn. So different! And I’ve read Nancy’s Nantucket book–having had a lovely lunch with her there last year I feel a special affinity!  I’ve just had a rather busy week (British understatement) with two lots of copy edits and one proposal plus three chapters all due at the same time, but I have been sneaking a few minutes each day for Jenn’s LOVE AT FIRST BOOK and nearly finished it but I don’t want to.  Next up is Harini’s NEST OF VIPERS. 

HANK PHILLIPPI RYAN: I am so happy that I get to read Ruth Ware’s new  ONE PERFECT COUPLE –it takes place on an island, so THAT’s summer, right?

And in preparation to interview him, Chris Whittakers’ new ALL THE COLORS OF THE DARK, a big fat book–and that’s summer too, right? The perfect time for epic drama.

And for another interview–something completely different—Kristy Woodson Harvey’s A HAPPIER LIFE . It has a beach chair and a floppy hat and the beach on the cover–so that’s summer, too! 

JULIA SPENCER-FLEMING: Put me down as another Nancy Thayer fan - summer doesn’t start until I’ve read her most recent Nantucket novel. I’m a reader who likes her books in season, which means from June through August, I want to read mysteries, thrillers, romances and adult fiction set in expensive summer resorts or on east coast beaches, or at a tropical island. 

For the first, Lucy Foley’s latest: THE MIDNIGHT FEAST. If you’re a fan (I am) you know you’re going to get a luxurious, isolated setting, a Clue-like list of victims guests, and rich people behaving Very Badly. The fact the murder occurs on the summer solstice is just the chef’s kiss for this book.

JACKPOT SUMMER (Elyssa Freidman) scratches the second itch, as four siblings gather on the Jersey Shore to pack up their widowed father’s house - oh, and to win millions on a Powerball ticket. Will sudden wealth solve all their problems, or tear the family apart?

Finally, THE DESIGN OF US (Sajni Patel) coming out in July, presses all my rom-com buttons: fake dating, enemies-to-lovers, raincloud meets sunny-side-up-egg PLUS an Indian wedding, all set on the Big Island of Hawai’i.

Oh, and bonus goodie: LIES AND WEDDINGS by Kevin Kwan, author of CRAZY RICH ASIANS. It’s a pastiche of Anthony Trollope’s DOCTOR THORNE, with lots more money, travel, and sexy men!      

DEBS: How will we ever squeeze in a fraction of these??? I have to admit that I started Liz Williams' COMET WEATHER and it is absolutely delicious!! So glad today is a holiday and I can indulge myself a bit because I don't want to put it down!

Readers (at least our American set) how are you spending Memorial Day? And what are you cooking?     

 

Beach Reads by Ali Rosen

 LUCY BURDETTE: Ali Rosen visited us a while back and we enjoyed not only her first novel, but also her recipe for Amalfi Lemon Pasta. We’re thrilled that she’s back today with a second novel, and watch your waistlines—a recipe for Irish cheddar gougeres. Welcome Ali!

ALI ROSEN: I’ve been thinking a lot lately about the term ‘beach read’ and what we all hope to get out of our reading in the summer. 

Among non-readers (or reading snobs!) there’s this idea that a beach read is vapid. That it’s meant to not challenge. As a romance writer, I see this dismissal all times of year, but there’s a certain synergy with summer and vacation that seems to make these stereotypes raise their heads even more.

But for those of us who love reading, summer is just a chance to maybe have a bit more time for our favorite escape and to perhaps get to do it outside. Winter is snuggling up on the couch with a book and summer is lying on a lounger in the warm weather. Maybe the mood strikes for something a little different (cozy mysteries vs sunshine escapes), but the sentiment to me is the same. A book is an adventure. A book is there to take me somewhere new. A book propels me inside someone else’s life. 

I think the assumption of frothiness in a beach read is because it often relates to books where we know the shades of the ending before we start. With a romance or a women’s fiction beach read, we’re guaranteed our happy ending. But to me, the knowledge of a happy ending can contain so much more depth than other books because it cocoons us enough to explore the complexities of life without the fear of them hurting us. 

My newest book, Alternate Endings, has all those fun trappings of a beach read—it’s a romance set across New York and Ireland and features all the hijinks you want out of a romcom (falling out of boats! sexy castles! a precocious kid!). But it tackles some headier topics that I hope resonate with the women who read it: what happens when we reach middle age and don’t actually have everything figured out as promised? How do we balance being mothers and career women who also want a romantic life? Can we ever become brave enough to not only ask for what we want, but just know what we want? 

For me, that’s the best kind of beach read. Because as women and readers, we contain all those multitudes. We want thoughtful prose along with our fun. So I’m going to wear the beach reader label as a badge of honor, and I hope you will too. I hope we all get time to ourselves on a beach (or wherever our summer vacations take us) to reflect on our lives while enjoying our books.

And since I can’t ignore my other favorite love - cooking! - I’m going to leave you not just with a recommendation to read my book (out now in paperback and on Kindle Unlimited for those digital readers like myself!) but also with an Irish recipe from it. Have a marvelous start to summer everyone!

What's a book everyone described as a beach read but has sat with you forever and changed your perspective?

Irish Cheddar GOUGÈRES

This is an appetizer that no one can argue with: it’s cheese and bread—come on! Gougères are technically French, but we’re making them Irish here with one of the best exports you can get from the Emerald Isle—assuming you can get Irish cheddar, of course.

Makes 30–35 small gougères.

Ingredients

1 cup water

8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 cup all-purpose flour

5 large eggs

2 cups grated cheddar cheese (Irish cheddar preferred)

Preheat the oven to 450˚F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper. Combine the water, butter, and salt in a saucepan and bring to a boil over high heat. Turn the heat to low and immediately add the flour, whisking it into the liquid. You want to stir quickly and long enough for the dough to get drier and much smoother—a bit of starch on the bottom is totally fine. Transfer to the bowl of a mixer and allow to cool for a few minutes. Then add the eggs slowly as the dough mixes (if you don’t have a stand mixer, you can use a hand mixer, but put it on a low setting). The eggs should be fully mixed in and incorporated. Then add the cheese and fully incorporate that—the dough should be sticky but manageable.

Scoop out the dough into approximately 1-tablespoon balls and place them on the parchment paper.

Put the gougères in the oven and immediately turn it down to 350˚F. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes, rotating the pan once halfway through. They should be golden and puffy when cooked.

Note: you can also freeze the uncooked balls and then cook them for just a few minutes longer, and they should turn out almost completely the same.

About Ali Rosen:

Ali Rosen is a bestselling writer of both cookbooks and novels, and is the Emmy and James Beard Award-nominated host of Potluck with Ali Rosen on NYC Life. Her first novel is the #1 Amazon romance Recipe for Second Chances and her second, Alternate Endings, is coming May 7th. She is also the author of the cookbooks 15 Minute Meals, Modern Freezer Meals and Bring It!. She's been featured everywhere from The Today Show to The New York Times and has written for publications including Bon Appetit, Wine Enthusiast and New York Magazine. She is originally from Charleston, SC but now lives in New York City with her husband and three kids and can usually be found cooking in her kitchen or curled up in a chair reading a romance novel.

Follow Ali on Instagram

What's in Your Beach Bag? by Jenn McKinlay

 Jenn McKinlay: As the school year comes to a close,  I am anticipating tasty waves on a beach somewhere...I hope. 

                      Jenn and Hub -- Surf's Up!

To that end, I dug out the old beach bag and started thinking about what I need for a perfect day at the beach. Here's my short list:

1. Sunscreen. SPF 50 and waterproof -- consider this a PSA. Having had skin cancer blasted off my face a few years ago, I'd like to avoid that experience again forever and ever. Amen.

2. Frisbee. This is a must. One can not merely sit all day. You have to get up and chase something. It's the beach, for Annette Funicello's sake!

          

3. A beverage, preferably water and kept cold. You have to stay hydrated out there on the hot sand!

4. Snacks! These are tricky because the sun will melt candy (darn it)  and if you leave your blanket for even a second (see item number two), miscreants, also known as seagulls will make away with your sandwich -- true story. Whatever salty, sweet, or healthy (bleck) item you pack, make sure to keep it on lock down.

5. And last but not least, I need to have a book or two -- obvy. But what book should I bring? I'm open to pretty much anything except scary water stuff. Yes, JAWS scarred me as a child and I can not read any underwater horror/disaster type stuff because I'll never swim again. 

This leaves a women's fiction? Excellent choice - very beachy. But which one? Perusing the titles I've read most recently and enjoyed, I can honestly say I'd pack anything by the Queen of the Beach Read -- Mary Kay Andrews, but I really enjoyed Hello, Summer recently and think it's perfect for the beach. 

If not in the mood for women's fiction then definitely a mystery, but not a rain soaked streets type of suspense. There's too much sun at the beach for that, so I'd probably skew traditional/cozy and my fave read of late was Jesse Q. Sutanto's Dial A for Aunties. Sooo fun!

Okay, Reds and Readers, tell me what's in YOUR beach bag?

BEACH EATS AND READS

LUCY BURDETTE: Even though it didn’t feel much like summer this past week, Memorial Day weekend is supposed to mark that transition. Which makes it time to talk about what to read and what to eat while we’re reading. We have a lot of authors who visit here to tell us about their books, so maybe we’ll choose one from someone who hasn’t come to JRW?  

My pick is Walter Wells and Patricia Wells WE’VE ALWAYS HAD PARIS...AND PROVENCE.  I’m definitely a Francophile so I snatched this up when I saw it at one of the Key West Library’s book sales. If you aren’t familiar with the Wells family, they left good jobs at the New York Times to move to France when Walter was offered a job at the International Herald Tribune. Patricia managed to work herself into the position of food critic at L'Express, unheard of for a woman, and an American to boot. 25 plus years later, they are still living in France. The chapters alternate between the two--both are excellent writers and their journey is fascinating and mouthwatering.

Now what to eat...I’m dying for some real summer tomatoes. And once they arrive, I am going to make Patricia Wells’s recipe for puff pastry (found in THE FRENCH KITCHEN COOKBOOK) and serve tomato and olive tarts!

HALLIE EPHRON: Last month I did a shared event and got to know Holly Robinson. I adored her new book, "Haven Lake." It's one of those multi-generational stories that just have you rooting for everyone in it, though I confess I identified with the former-Hippie mother. So I've been saving one of Holly's other books, "Beach Plum Island," for a relaxing summer read. Great setup: Ava Barrett's father's last words on his deathbed: "I want your brother to know the truth." But Ava doesn't have a brother. What I didn't know about Holly: she wrote a piece for a women's magazine years and years ago called "Mom on Strike." It caused quite a stir, and I vividly remember reading. (Click here if you missed it and want to see what it said.)

What to eat? Peaches! Our produce market has just starting to get those little southern tree-ripened peaches that are exploding with flavor.

HANK PHILLIPPI RYAN:  I  just did  shared event with the amazing Elin Hilderbrand--we had a fabulous time, laughing and  sharing stories.  She's written I forget how many--17?--NYT bestselling beach-read books about life on Nantucket. People were coming to her signing line with arms full of books, each sharing a personal nugget about how they'd connected with her stories. So, yeah, I bought two, and cannot wait. Her newest one is THE RUMOR, coming soon.

But generally, um, that's not what I read. Those family saga books make me sad, I have to admit So I--well, I remember spending delighted summer vacations with WINDS OF WAR, and BONFIRE OF THE VANITIES.  With THE GREEN MILE, remember? And UNDER THE DOME. Stephen King is a perfect beach read for me, as is Nelson DeMille.  Lisa Scottoline. And there's a new Linwood Barclay coming! So that's my kind of summer read…

As for food? CORN! Grilled outside. Fresh basil and mozzarella. Prosciutto and gorgeous melon! And gin and tonics! And lovely chilled rose wine.


SUSAN ELIA MACNEAL: Usually loaded down with research books regardless of season, but I _am_ looking forward to one "fun" read in particular, called I, RIPPER: A NOVEL, by Stephen Hunter, about — yep, you guessed it — Jack the Ripper. It's the Ripper's story (of course), but entwined with that of a fictional Irish journalist who's covering the case — "and how the two men stalk each other."

I'm not really into those generational family saga books, although I do remember loving THE JOY LUCK CLUB and THE SHELL SEEKERS. If anyone has a great recommendation, I'd certainly try it!Summer food — tomatoes, mozzarella, basil drizzled with oil and vinegar. Anything grilled, especially corn on the cob. The Kiddo is obsessed with S'mores and the hubby does a great job with grilled meat and fish. It seems like we're house-sitting the late Jane Henson's (Jim Henson's widow's) country house in Connecticut for part of this summer, while Noel teaches a puppetry master class, so that's where we'll be....

RHYS BOWEN: Ah, summer reading. I'm hoping to do some un-work-related reading on a beach in Corfu next week. I met James Runcie at Crimefest and have one of the Granchester books to read. Also Connie Willis"s Blackout Books on my Kindle. And I love multi generational books. I'm a huge fan of Kate Morton... The Forgotten Garden etc. and to eat when reading? Being. Messy person it can't be peaches, Hallie. I'd drip all over the pages. But a favorite summer food is cherries. A bowl of cherries, and smoked salmon on thin brown bread, and Pimms to sip.... Now I'm really being indulgent!

DEBORAH CROMBIE: Rhys, you will love Black Out and the James Runcies, I hope! Lucy, I have Patricia Wells' cookbook, too! Time to get that out and be inspired--although it feels more like monsoon than summer here. No beach for me (Rhys oh so casually says "on a beach in Corfu" and we are all dying of envy...) But I would just be thrilled to see sunshine. To sit on my deck in the mornings. To--gasp--lie in my hammock on my new (drowned) patio! As for summer reading, I have to confess that I have been re-reading Diana Gabaldon. I'm now halfway through Voyager, and at this rate I might get caught up on the books I haven't read by Christmas.  But if I picked a summer read for the days when I will eventually get to enjoy my hammock, I'd start with the Nancy Thayer  novel I bought last week, then move on to the Patricia Wells memoir that Lucy mentioned.

Summer food most anticipated?? Real tomatoes, with basil and olive oil. Cantalope with prosciutto. And TEXAS BLUEBERRIES by the pint!

What are you going to read and eat this summer Reds?

I've Got A Little List!

Hank Phillippi Ryan: Summertime! And soon…the summer reading lists will be out! But hey, why wait for the Times or the News or People--when we have the Reds? What are you reading--right now? (Come on, be honest.) and what're you reading next?

I'll admit it--I'm reading Dan Brown's Inferno. And okay, fine, it's a page turner. Irresistible! I'm also reading Joe Hill's NOS4ATU. Which is creepy as pie and just as delicious.  And Bruce DaSilva's new PROVIDENCE RAG. He's good! Sort of if Spenser was a reporterand lived in Rhode Island.

 Next is Jon McGoran's DRIFT. Or maybe ...Susan Elia MacNeal’s HIS MAJESTY"S HOPE.(She’s so terrific. I am hooked on her books!) And Catriona McPherson has a new one, AS SHE  LEFT IT. Sigh. And I SHOULD be writing!

 How about you?

LUCY BURDETTE:  I'm reading a romance by Nancy Herkness called TAKE ME HOME. It's about a woman who goes home to West Virginia from NYC and finds both a "whisper horse" (a horse who will listen to your troubles) and a romance with a sexy vet. It's light summer reading that seriously sizzles....

 And next up, KNEADING TO DIE, by our friend Liz Mugavero. And after that, Erica Baumeister's THE LOST ART OF MIXING. But really, seriously, need to be finishing MURDER WITH GANACHE...

HANK : Oh, me, too. (and Lucy, I cannot wait to read it!) LOVE Liz Mugavero!   Ah, I’m at 50,000 words—hurray! Of a book that has no title, boo. Soon, I’ll be coming to you to ask  for advice. How can you write a book that has no title? Well, I secretly  have one. (Is it: The Last to Lie? One False Move? No Good Deed? As Good As True? What do you think?)

Rhys is en route from London, Julia has a big deadline, Ro is doing something glamorous,  and Hallie’s writing, too, I know…and she’s just back from vacation.

HALLIE EPHRON:     My TBR pile is topped by Jess Walter's "Beautiful Ruins" -- I'm a huge fan since he blew me away with Edgar winner "Citizen Vince." Like Roberta I'm behind on my

deadline so reading for pleasure is on the back burner--temporarily at least. 

JULIA SPENCER-FLEMING:  Hallie, I'm so happy to be (temporarily) able to read for pleasure! I'm still recovering from the Best Novel Edgars, and as such, I've been reading a lot of romance, womens fiction, etc. I just finished the latest Nora Roberts stand-alone, WHISKEY BEACH. Always a good read. When you're in a Nora mood, nothing else will suffice. 

I'm also backtracking to read Lee Child's THE AFFAIR; after I bought it in 2011, Ross grabbed it off my pile and read it and for some reason, I never got back to it. I want to catch up before NEVER GO BACK lands at the beginning of September. A couple of summer books I'm REALLY looking forward to laying hands on: William Kent Kruger's TAMARACK COUNTY and Paul Doiron's MASSACRE POND. Both faves of mine in the "Rugged men sleuthing in places that can kill you" genre. Seriously, I may have to hit up their editors for Advance Readers Copies.

DEBORAH CROMBIE: Whew, Julia, now I feel a bit better (grovel, grovel) about admitting the fact that until now I had never read a Lee Childs' novel. Not a deliberate oversight--I've had two in my TBR pile for donkey's years-- just too many books... Anyway, I'm reading the very first Jack Reacher, KILLING FLOOR, while alternating hitting myself on the head for not having read ALL of them sooner.  Halfway through, I could write a dissertation on Reacher as the iconic hero in literature, but suffice to say it's a cracking good story.

Also part way through the 75th anniversary edition of THE HOBBIT (a birthday gift from a friend,) which I hadn't reread in years. And THE HOBBIT: THE CHRONICLES, a gift from my publisher--a fabulous coffee table book on the art and design in the film. Then a good bit more non-fiction: THE POSSIBILITY DOGS by Susannah Charleson (out yesterday!), THE TRAIN IN THE NIGHT by Nick Coleman (a book about music and hearing loss,) and THE MURDER ROOM, by Michael Capuzzo. Then more fiction; a galley of MIDNIGHT by Kevin Egan, who will be my guest on JR in July. And somewhere there is a new Jo Bannister novel, if only I could find it... I think we will all be buried in books...

(Oh, and I LOVE William Kent Krueger, so the new one is going on the pile, too.)

RHYS BOWEN:  I'm on a plane as you read this, finishing up Deb's No Mark Upon Her, which I had had on my Kindle for a year and never had time to read. I was interviewed by a woman who belongs to Leander Club so that was fun. And I'm no longer sure what lurks in the TBR pile at home. I know I have to blurb Hannah Dennison's new one, and definitely want to read Catriona's (she'll be our guest next week) and the latest Kate Morton is waiting for me and I confess, I'll have to read Dan Brown as I was just in Istanbul.

LUCY BURDETTE:  Could I just say that I was on the Edgar committee that chose CITIZEN VINCE as best novel that year? I was very proud of that one!

HANK: See, Lucy/Roberta? You know your stuff!  It’s very gratifying to be on that committee—ours picked Mo Hayder’s GONE. A fabulous book! I smile every time I see it in a bookstore.

So how about you, Readers? Tell us your then, now, next! We’d love to hear what you’re reading! There are SO many wonderful books!

(And yes, indeed! One lucky commenter wins the ARC of THE WRONG GIRL!) Yesterday's winner: Katie Baer! Email me h ryan at whdh dot com with your address!