BOOKS FOR THE BEACH WEATHER
Summer is coming.
So what do you pack for that trip to the beach inside that gorgeous new tote bag you got for Mother's Day? A light and airy book with an umbrella on the cover you bought while in line at the drug store getting yet another bottle of sunscreen? How about that gritty new mystery everyone is saying is going to be the next Girl with a Dragon Tattoo? An old friend you have been wanting to reread as an adult? That one book that continues to haunt you from the bottom of the "to be read" pile on your nightstand, the one that glares at you every time you bring home another book from the store or library that gets to go on top of the mountain? Do you bring a classic you should have finished in college? Or a community read your librarian is recommending for the summer? Oprah's pick? Reese's pick? The Book of the Month Club pick? Non-fiction? Fiction? Graphic Novel? Why is it that summer inspires us to finish a myriad of books in a short time? For me, it is the Pavlovian response left over from elementary school and the free gifts my library would give out for reading a certain amount of hours. Or the looks on my teacher's face when I would turn in mini book reports the first day of school documenting my five favorites. I am still looking for that proverbial gold star.
In any case, the summer is a time to shop for books in new towns in quaint independent book stores and trade those light reads with your friends, you know, the ones you won't display on your bookshelf, but consume with gusto all the same. A good read is a must for any tote bag, and here are five I recommend you try this summer and a bag to go with it.
When in doubt, always try Obvious State: Buy the tote here!
The Five Books to Bring
1. On Beauty, Zadie Smith
This falls into the classic/reread category for me. This book, as with all of Zadie Smith's novels, ranks as one of my top ten of all time (depending on which one I reread most recently). While I am currently working on finishing my own book, I am inspired to reread this contemplative and meticulous novel on the fleeting nature of love, youth and art. Much like Smith said in her Proust questionnaire for Vanity Fair, I too would name "speed-reading" as the talent I would most like to have. Especially in the summer.
2. Born Standing Up: A Comic's Life, Steve Martin
I love comedians. I love to talk about comedy, to watch countless specials on Netflix (shout out to Ali Wong's Hard-Knock Wife and of course to Jerry Seinfeld's Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee). I love to follow comedians like Sarah Silverman and Nick Kroll on Twitter and Instagram, and I unabashedly and unequivocally LOVE Steve Martin. He is an avid art collector, a brilliant novelist, an erudite contributor to the New Yorker, and a versatile genius of an actor; I love all of it. As you may expect from such a literary soul, this memoir is incredibly well-written and thoughtful, full of funny and powerful moments regarding his family and career. I cannot recommend it highly enough.
3. The Kiss Quotient, Helen Hoang
A quirky love story written by an author who was diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder (formerly knows as Asperger's) and centers on a woman who is so math-centric she is not sure how to deviate from the data driven would she lives comfortably in most of the time. A wonderfully sweet debut novel, served up with great humor and warmth. So if you liked The Rosie Project, you may like this one too.
4. Wired to Create, Carolyn Gregoire and Scott Barry Kaufman
So for all my non-fiction loving peeps out there, I have been devouring a lot of brain science books lately and wanted to offer one up to consider for your summer tote bag. What first went viral as an article on Huffington Post entitled, "18 Things Highly Creative People Do Differently," grew into the longer and more research-oriented book called Wired to Create. The authors delved deeper into the science behind that which makes creative people see the world, receive the world, and engage with the world while never losing sight of their humanity. It is a short, but profound book that is worth your time, plus, it is a gateway to larger more epic-length "brain books" like Yuval Hurari's Homo Deus: A Brief History of Tomorrow that may take an entire season to get through.
5. The Happiness Project, Gretchen Rubin
I highly recommend the audio version of this book read by the author. I would suggest bringing a journal and a pen with you to the pool, maybe this one, and plugging those ear buds in (the kids are yelling too loudly anyway) and writing down the advice that most genuinely resonates with you. Then when you are done with the book, keep the happiness alive by listening to Gretchen Rubin and her sister Elizabeth Craft discuss everything from uniform dressing to designing your summer on the podcast "Happier". I know that someone gave you the real book two years ago as a gift, and you never got around to it, but that's her most salient point, make time to be more you.
Whatever you read, let me know. And if you would like a more in-depth guide, like the one I created last year, drop a yes please in the comment below.
Happy Reading.
x A