The Curator: backlist books on my summer TBR
it's Summer Reading Guide Week! because reading outside is our favorite pastime. Also roasting Tom Brady and a little self promotion.
A little personal promo: I wrote a personal essay for and it is publishing next week, Thursday, May 23rd. Head on over to subscribe and make sure you don’t miss it.
50 points to Gryffindor if anyone can guess what book I chose to write about.
It’s late spring. You’ve been planning this vacation for months. It involves a pool, a lounge chair, and zero responsibilities. Here you are, hair wild, bed covered in clothes, packing the final crucial items - books. What shall you bring? Pick the wrong thing, and your vacation vibes are ruined. Everything you worked so hard for, gone in an instant. Do not mess this up. As Marshall Mathers once said, you only get one shot do not miss your chance to blow this opportunity comes once in a lifetime yo.
Now, you can bring multiple books; you can even bring five that sound interesting and still not bring a single one that you actually want to read while sitting in that lounge chair, your partner trying to tell you a story, pina colada all over your chest from attempting to drink lying down, fingers sticky from poolside chicken tendies. You want - need - a book that cuts through the noise, keeping you hooked between the sticky mess on your body and inside your head.
But how to find that perfect read?
Perhaps you, being a relatively sane reader, do not obsess over selecting the right book for the right occasion quite so intently. Regardless, the right book makes a vacation or a moment for me, and I bet it does for you, too. There is nothing wrong with being particular.
For summer reading, I want something magical, serendipitous, charming, thought-provoking, family-centered, thrilling, or low-stakes dramatic.
I want something for sitting in the sunshine with wet hair.
For sitting inside in a hoodie with the AC blasting.
For starry nights.
For drowning out the noise.
I also want something
that comes in paperback; hence we are mostly looking at backlist books or whatever came out last year that we missed.
where comprehension level is mid. We are not bringing Clarice Lispector to the beach.
that is not depressing. Not too heavy. But still has something to say OR is entertaining as hell.
not about winter, being cozy, hibernating, or reminding me of a time when I wasn’t sweaty.
And I can’t stress this enough - no depressing books. Emotional? Sure. But in like a it’s fun to cry happy tears kind of way. I made the mistake of bringing one of the darkest crime books to the river once, and I will never forget how awful it was to read that in the sunshine.
My summer TBR
I did my very best to come up with a mix of newer and backlist titles, easy to read and slightly more challenging, books of all lengths and genres so there would be something for any mood I happen to find myself in. I love that seven of these are second-hand so that I don’t have to worry about their pristine condition near bodies of water. This is clearly an extremely ambitious TBR, which I do not expect to complete, but it gives me **options**.
THE VINTAGE & THE THROWBACKS
Do Tell by Linsday Lynch - I hold a special place in my heart for Hollywood stories, and I blame Valley of the Dolls for almost ruining the genre for me. This is a classic 1940s Hollywood tale of gossip, secrets, and intrigue that I think could hold up to my high expectations. Lynch works at Parnassus Books with Ann Patchett and seems like a cool chick, so this was an easy pick for me (paperback out June 18th!).
Get Shorty by Elmore Leonard - more vintage Hollywood! A classic crime thriller from a classy man, this book is the material for the famous Travolta/DeVito movie of the same name. It's about a mob-connected loan shark named Chili who chases a client to Hollywood and falls prey to the bright movie lights himself. Funny, exciting, and set in the sun, plus Chili might be the coolest mob guy name of all time.
The Beach by Alex Garland - I had to include a Gen X cult classic in this list. Also inspired by a movie, this time featuring Leo DiCaprio, it’s about a murder at a legendary Thai beach town forbidden to tourists. What could be more summery than murder on the beach?
The Flamethrowers by Rachel Kushner - now we arrive at the 1970s New York art scene in this story of Reno, an artist obsessed with fast motorcycles and colonizing SoHo. It’s described as political, sexy, feminist, and thrilling, with too many rave reviews to count.
The Nix by Nathan Hill - many of us have Hill’s recent Wellness on our TBR or just read lists, but I found his previous novel, Nix, at my local thrift book store and had to snatch it up. A mother abandons her young son and reappears years later in the news for committing an absurd crime. It's ultimately about his journey to uncover the truth of the crime and his mother’s true nature. People says it’s a “fantastic novel about love, betrayal, politics, and pop culture,” which are all of my favorite things.
The Guest by Emma Cline - I don't believe this one needs much introduction, as it was THE read of last summer, but I couldn't bring myself to get a hardcover of it. So here we are this summer: a young grifter pretends to be someone she isn’t to ingratiate herself with wealthy summer vacationers. When she is sent packing, she wanders through Long Island, leaving drama in her wake. At the very least, I am excited to see what all the hype is about.
Rainbow Black by Maggie Thrash - This novel has many things going for it. One, it involves the satanic panic of the 1990s. Two, comps include Donna Tartt and Ottessa Moshfegh. Three, it’s a murder mystery. If the writing holds up to the promise of the storyline, it might be the sleeper hit of the summer for me.
THE RELATIONSHIP & THE FAMILY DRAMAS
Ghosts by Dolly Alderton - I read Everything I Know About Love at the end of last year and fell in love with Dolly. Her writing feels like every millennial best friend trying to figure out life and love. I will pick this one up when I need a laugh and to feel seen.
Magnolia Parks by Jessa Hastings - I see this book all over Bookstagramtok, so when my sister-in-law messaged me that she was loving the series, I knew it had to be included in this list. I went all the way across the pond to Blackwell’s to get a copy! It’s about a London socialite, her love affairs, and her group of friends - I’m getting The Hills meets Gossip Girl vibes, which sounds juicy enough to overlook the insanity of the plotlines.
Beach Read by Emily Henry -
at convinced me to finally give love a chance. I usually require a side of witchcraft with my romance, so I am excited to branch out a tit. What drew me in with this one was the meta-ness of reading a novel about two broke writers falling in love at the beach.Cleopatra and Frankenstein by Coco Mellors - the rave reader reviews for this one are never-ending! It's about an impulsive marriage made crazier by a 20-year age gap and the trials and tribulations of this oh-so-strange situation. Who doesn’t love reading about a “tumultuous relationship between two magnetic and damaged people”?
This Time Tomorrow by Emma Straub - The library at work had a book sale, so I scoured the shelves and came up with this gem (also a cookie from the very nice retired volunteer librarian lady 🥲). It’s a 13-going-on-30 in reverse when a 40-year-old woman wakes up in her 16-year-old self. At its core, it’s a story about a woman and her father that I know will make me cry (in a cleansing way).
Greenwood by Michael Christie - I had to get a generational family saga into the summer mix. I picked this one up on recommendation from a favorite indie bookstore, Laguna Beach Books. Spanning from 1934 to 2038, it details the crime, secrets, and betrayal of one Candian family. I get serious Glass Hotel or North Woods vibes and am very excited about it.
These Precious Days by Ann Patchett - I threw some soothing Patchett short stories into the mix in case my little heart gives out from all the above drama. Ann’s writing is like a balm for the soul, and I have been meaning to read this for quite some time.
There is one thing missing from this list that I just couldn’t decide on - a good fantasy or sci-fi series to start. I considered Dawn by Octavia Butler, Red Rising by Pierce Brown, and Crescent City by Sarah J Maas. If you have a recommendation, let me know in the comments!
What’s on your summer TBR??
READING 📖→
Wanderers had me in a chokehold this week. I wanted nothing more than to sit and read that book, which is exactly the vibe we are going for with our summer reads. Writing a full book essay on this one because I have a lot to say.
Blasting through Indelible on audio. I like the plot structure - a super tense current-day situation with flashbacks to a previous crime scenario that gives us background on the characters, heightens the tension, and is, so far, the best of the Grant County series. You can tell KS has improved her craft significantly.
Picked Claire Beams’ The Garden back up but fell asleep before I could get very far. Maybe it’s because I am not a mother yet, but it hasn’t gripped me yet. I may not force it, but instead try The Ministry of Time or something lighter.
WATCHING 📽️→
The Roast of Tom Brady. They clearly paid this man well to sit through three hours of harassment and the most aggressive dick jokes I’ve ever heard, but Netflix did some great editing, and it ended up being hilarious and not as mean-spirited as anticipated.
If there were winners and losers, Kim K should have stayed home while Nikki Glazer hit a career-defining moment (to be fair, I did think Kim K was hilarious).
NEW BOOKS 📚→
a translated haunted house witch story that Mariana Enriquez describes as “a house of women and shadows, built from poetry and revenge” that I can’t wait to get my hands on.
a literary thriller with a magical twist about the dangers of being a woman and the secrets of a small town.
a modern portrait of the artist as he navigates relationships and capitalism after surviving the end of the world as he knows it.
a coming-of-middle-age story about a woman’s quest for freedom that everyone is raving about but scares me - I am not sure I’m ready for middle-age/motherhood stories just yet.
BOOK NEWS 📰→
It is officially the week of summer reading guides! I tried my very best not to read everyone else’s until after I had mine set. Here are a few other lists to ratchet up the choices - I am sorry about your TBR.
The Atlantic Summer Reading Guide has something for every vibe. There is a lot of heady stuff on here, but if I could add one of theirs to mine, I would take The Bee Sting (the paperback doesn’t release until September rude) or The English Understand Wool.
Sarah @
released her 2024 Summer Paperback Reading Guide, and it’s chock full of books I’ve never read but sound very intriguing (must be a paying subscriber or make a small one-time payment to access the full list - but it is worth it!). I have read Special Topics in Calamity Physics and HIGHLY recommend.
RESTACK OF THE WEEK ♻️→
As someone who is also struggling through a Lispector novel, I found
‘s reading process interesting if not a bit chaotic, proving that if I let go a little bit I might get even more out of a challenging reading experience.
AND CATS 🐈⬛→
Bird Chattering
In Case You Missed It 🖤
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See you around the bookshelf!
Natalie
I laughed out loud at the Marshall Mathers comment 😂 this is such a good summer TBR! So many great titles, I look forward to hearing your thoughts in the coming months 💯
I'm reading Cleopatra and Frankenstein right now and enjoying it! The prose style + subject reminds me of Sally Rooney's novels - have you read any of hers?