You’re Packing for Vacation (or Wish You Were)

Three reads that will transport you

Jul 10, 2023

Hi friends,

Hope you’re doing well.

Some fun news: The USA Today bestseller list is back after a brief hiatus. Unlike the New York Times list which, in the words of Vox, “is notoriously cloaked in secrecy” and highly curated, USA Today relies on data from indies, book chains, mass merchandisers (stores like Target) and online stores. Because it’s solely based on sales, it’s easier for self-published authors to make the list.

The way I think of it is that the NYT includes the list of books people think they should read, USA Today is the books people actually read.

Anyway, more book data is always fun, and as a bonus, USA Today is using Bookshop.org as its top destination for links to buy books, meaning more support for independent bookstores.

And, now, what to read if…

You’re Planning a Hollywood Tour

The Daydreams by Laura Hankin

Fun fact: This Thursday, July 13^th marks 100 years since the iconic Hollywood sign was officially dedicated. It initially said “Hollywoodland,” but the “land” letters were taken down in 1949. If you’re thinking ‘California, Here I Come,” grab a copy of Laura Hankin’s The Daydreams. (You should especially read this if you recognized that as an “O.C.” reference.)

The Daydreams follows the four stars of a hit 2000s teen drama reuniting thirteen years after their disastrous live season finale to film a reboot special. The intervening years have treated each of the former up-and-comers differently — Kat is a D.C. lawyer, Liana is an influencer married to a pro athlete, golden boy Noah is on the cusp of real fame, and Summer is a Lindsay-Lohan-type, struggling to deal with the fame she earned at a young age.

While fans are dying for the on-screen kiss between Noah and Summer they’ve wanted for years, the leads each bring a decade’s worth of baggage to the filming. As the shoot continues, secrets emerge, and the real reason for their on-air meltdown threatens to come to the surface.

Full disclosure: Laura is a friend, but even if she weren’t, I’d be plugging this book. It’s a sharp critique of our poor treatment of female celebrities in the early 2000s (see my rec of Jessica Simpson’s Open Book) that’s also fun and funny. I started it on a plane and was genuinely annoyed when my flight landed because I wasn’t done with the book yet.

As an added bonus, Laura just released this music video about promoting her book.

Bingo boxes this book checks: Book that makes you laugh

You’re Headed to the Beach

How Far the Light Reaches by Sabrina Imbler

Sabrina Imbler’s How Far the Light Reaches isn’t a conventional beach read, but it’s a great pick for those who enjoy searching for sea creatures in the ocean. Blending science and nature writing with memoir, Imbler, who uses they/them pronouns, deploys sea creatures to illuminate aspects of their own life and identity.

One essay, for example, describes a mother octopus starving herself while watching over her eggs and Imbler’s relationship with their mom, dieting and food. Another juxtaposes a giant predatory worm with depictions of distressing sexual encounters they experienced. As Ilana Masad wrote in The Washington Post, “There is grief in these essays as well, for the changes that humanity has wrought upon the deep. … But I found both solace and hope in Imbler’s ability to portray a world so foreign it’s barely legible to humans, and to bring forth the myriad ways of being that we might draw on to imagine our way forward through the depths.”

Imbler, the Defector’s creature reporter (what a great title) is a lyrical writer with a gift for creating vivid settings and imagery. (They also helped write one of the funniest headlines I’ve ever read.) The descriptions of whales, yeti crabs and salps are vibrant and almost made me feel as though I was in the sea staring at the creatures, not lying on my couch.

Reminder rec: This blend of science writing with memoir reminded me a bit of Lulu Miller’s Why Fish Don’t Exist.

Bingo boxes this book checks: Debut

Your Summer isn’t Complete without a Trip to the Ren Faire

Well Met by Jen DeLuca

Confession: I have never been to a renaissance faire. I keep meaning to fix that — I love costumes and turkey legs — but haven’t done it yet. If you have a corset in your closet or just adore a charming love story, check out Jen DeLuca’s Well Met.

When Emily moves home to help her sister April recover from a car accident, she expects she’ll spend her time driving her to and from physical therapy and cooking meals. Instead, she becomes a tavern wench at the town’s renaissance faire, since her teenage niece needs an adult chaperone to participate. Emily throws herself into her new role, learning her lines and befriending her castmates. The only hiccup is Simon, the stuck-up snob running the faire who can’t stop criticizing her for not taking the enterprise seriously enough. But, when Simon puts on his pirate costume, he also dons a new personality — a flirtatious, playful man interested in Emily’s tavern wench.

Well Met is a joy of a book and writing this blurb has me thinking I should re-read it (and maybe the whole series). Emily and Simon feel like real people, flawed but doing their best to grow and become better people. The side characters — ranging from the kilt-wearing PE teacher to the grumptastic April — are exactly the type of people I’d love to spend the summer hanging out with.

Bingo boxes this book checks: Debut, book published before 2020

One other note: I reviewed Evidence of Things Seen, a new true crime anthology from

Sarah Weinman

, for the Washington Post. Spoiler: I think it’s a brilliant edition to the drama.

I’m happy to have a guest recommendation from Julie Vick, author of Babies Don't Make Small Talk (So Why Should I?) and a very funny newsletter:

I'm always looking for funny books and have found several good ones from the list of Thurber Award winners and finalists. One that made me laugh out loud several times is the short humor collection Ant Farm by Simon Rich. It features very short pieces from unique narrators, like a murder victim trying to reveal the name of his murderer via a Ouija board, but the group of adolescent girls operating the board is focused on more trivial questions. I often go back and read some of the pieces in the book for little doses of humor.
And if you are looking for an audio series to entertain the kids in your life, I recommend the How to Train Your Dragon series, which is pretty different from the movies of the same name but is both funny and adventurous.

That’s it for me today. Thanks, as always, for letting me into your inbox. I’ll be back on Thursday with a Q&A featuring Kate Myers, author of Excavations, and a chance to win the book!

What to Read If is a free weekly book recommendation newsletter. Need a rec? Want to gush about a book? Reply to this email, leave a comment or find me on Twitter @elizabethheld.

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