Summer Reading Is a Mood

Summer reading has a look: a pastel cover, a beach chair and a sunset in the background. But the look isn’t the point. Summer reading is a mood. It’s the book you crack open at noon on a lazy summer day and then look up to find the light’s gone. The one-sitting kind, the can’t-put-it-down kind. I’ve got four for you, and no two are alike: a backyard satire, a boy-band cruise, a Tuscan comedy and a romance to send you off warm. Pack accordingly!

“Alan Opts Out” — by Courtney Maum

I laughed out loud reading this book. It’s the kind of fun, sharp satire you need when life feels heavy. Alan is a wealthy advertising executive who decides to “opt out” of capitalism by trying to “live off the land” in his backyard — after an anarchist farmer crashes his big pitch. What follows is a hysterically absurd romp through the anxieties of wealthy Connecticut. Maum — a Connecticut resident herself — skewers it all with perfect precision, especially through Alan’s daughters, one of whom talks to animals, because of course she does. This is for readers who love social commentary that doesn’t take itself too seriously and will make you cackle at the ridiculousness of it all.

“American Fantasy” — by Emma Straub

Newly divorced and adrift at 50, Annie boards a four-day themed cruise she never meant to take: a floating party for superfans of Boy Talk, a fictional ’90s boy band. Then, somewhere between the slushy cocktails and the sea of women belting the songs of their youth, she finds a version of herself she’d misplaced. What made me feel so good while reading this book was that a member of the boy band finds himself just as lost as Annie. When they finally meet, they see in each other what the other might have been missing. This book is perfect for readers who love Taylor Jenkins Reid and Emily Henry.

“Villa Coco” — by Andrew Sean Greer

Broke and adrift, a young American answers an ad for an “adjutant” and lands at a crumbling villa in the Tuscan hills, in the employ of Coco — a gloriously imperious 92-year-old Baronessa whose demands run from evicting a marten to entertaining an endless parade of painters and princesses. What I loved about this book was its quirkiness and the sweet love story at its center, between the main character and a visiting cousin of the Baronessa, who happens to be married…but not in the way you think. For fans of “The Paris Novel” by Ruth Reichl and “Go Gentle” by Maria Semple.

“Our Perfect Storm” — by Carley Fortune

And finally, something that just feels good! Two best friends spend a week together at a Pacific Northwest resort to either repair a friendship that’s been fraying for years… or finally admit it was never just a friendship to begin with. Both the development of the characters and the setting were transportive to that rollercoaster ride of powerful love and the friendship at its core, which allows it to bloom so beautifully. Pick this one up if you want to get lost in the romance of the rocky, wild, mist-cloaked beaches of British Columbia.

Still on my nightstand

And still on my list for August are “Saltwater” by Katy Hays and “Last Night in Brooklyn” by Xochitl Gonzalez. “Saltwater”combines Capri, old-money family, and a death 30 years ago that no one believes was an accident. I can’t wait to read this one and be swept up in the craggy, saltwater-sprayed cliffs of Capri. And finally, a literary triumph by Xochitl Gonzalez, author of “Olga Dies Dreaming.” Also, “Last Night in Brooklyn,” described as a modern-day Gatsby set in 2007, takes place against the backdrop of the historic 2008 presidential election and the financial collapse of the same year. This book promises a propulsive, high-stakes drama of a classic beach read and the literary clout Gonzalez is known for.

Whatever you read this summer, I hope that you wile away warm afternoons with your nose in a book that enthralls you. Relish the power of a story to connect us to each other, to ourselves, and to the season. Happy reading!

What Cassie’s Reading: “Blacktail” by Scott Hawkins

The wolf Blacktail is faithful to his Forest God, but faith is not enough. His world is besieged by men. Soon his territory will be overrun, and then there will be nowhere left to go. When his mate is killed, Blacktail rebels. He invades the house of her owners, seeking vengeance.

As Blacktail journeys farther from his wild home and deeper into the world of man, he encounters strangers—animal, mortal, and otherworldly—who want to help Blacktail rid the world of humans. Along the way, it becomes clear that he is more than just a wolf. The Forest God is sleeping, yes. But what will be the price of waking him?