You Want a Book with an End-of-Summer Feel

Are a fan of “Trust Exercise” or are into magic

Hi friends,

Greetings from upstate New York, where Ellie and I have decamped to get a break from D.C.'s heat and humidity. Ironically, it's 95 degrees and humid here.

Before getting into this week's recs, I have an exciting announcement: My friend Aya and I are launching a free, short-run newsletter celebrating mystery author Louise Penny, her Inspector Gamache books and the world of Three Pines.  

Each week starting in mid-September through the end of the year, we'll share a post on topics ranging from the science of murder to the role of poetry in the books. I'm planning on writing about the pets featured in the series. We have such a great lineup of writers and authors — I can't wait to share it with you.

I hope you'll consider subscribing here.

Coming soon

And, now what to read if …

You're Looking for an End-of-Summer Book

Rock the Boat by Beck Dorey-Stein

We're in the last stretches of summer (as a reminder, Bingo Cards are due in just a few weeks), with Labor Day and September looming. Beck Dorey-Stein's Rock the Boat captures the feeling of long, sunny August days, with its pinnacle scenes occurring over the long weekend marking the unofficial end of the season.

The novel alternates between the perspectives of three childhood friends —Kate, Miles and Ziggy — who find themselves back in Sea Port, the tourist town where they grew up, for the summer. Kate is forced to return after a nasty breakup left her without a place to live. Miles, known as "the Prince of Seaport," is back to prove to his mother he's ready to take over the family's multi-million-dollar business. And Ziggy, grieving his father's death, never left. Over the course of the summer, long-held secrets arise, and the three are forced to put aside their differences to save their town from a real estate developer looking to tear down the place they live.

Rock the Boat is a coming-of-age story about a group of thirty-somethings grappling with their lives — and how they differ from what they had envisioned. It's a big-hearted book that acknowledges the process of growing up doesn't ever really end.

Bingo boxes this book checks: Book with multiple narrators

You're Still Thinking about Trust Exercise 

Trust by Hernan Diaz

Trust Exercise by Susan Choi is one of those books that elicits strong reactions from people. (I reiterate that you must read the first 150 pages — which I know is a commitment — before making a judgment.) Hernan Diaz's Trust has far more in common with Trust Exercise than just their titles. Both books explore the nature of fiction, the relationship between a book and its subjects, and what writers owe their readers.

Another similarity: It's tricky to write about both of them without giving away the twists and reveals. Trust focuses on a wealthy New York couple who made millions on the stock market in the years leading up to the Great Depression. Over the book's four sections, their story is told by four different people, reminding us just how much perspective affects how a story is told, what's included and what's left out.

Trust is on the long list for this year's Booker Prize, and it's easy to see why. The writing is sharp, and the storytelling is simultaneously complex and accessible. The book's final section carefully blows up everything that comes before it. It's a testament to Diaz's ability that rather than feeling conned, I was blown away.

Bingo boxes this book checks: Book with multiple narrators, book set before 1975

You've Gotten into Watching Magic on YouTube

Magic is Dead by Ian Frisch

Magicians and their acts have gotten wildly popular on social media, according to a recent story in The Economist. I will admit after reading Gigi Pandian's Under Lock and Skeleton Key, a mystery featuring a magician sleuth, I fell down a YouTube rabbit hole watching a lot of magic. If this is you, or you just like in-depth explorations of subcultures, pick up Magic is Dead by Ian Frisch, which documents the freelance journalist's time with the52, a group of the world's youngest and most talented magicians.

Frisch takes us backstage at magic shows and conventions in Las Vegas and England and walks readers through what it takes to build a trick no one has performed before. He ultimately joins the52, getting the tattoo referencing a playing card all members must get before formally joining the group. He even tricks Anthony Bourdain after running into the famous chef at a restaurant while out with a group of magician friends.

I love books that take me into a world I'll never visit myself, and Magic is Dead accomplishes that. The volume, though, really hits its stride when Frisch talks about the hours he spent playing poker with his mom, a card shark, after his father's death. That time sparked his interest in card manipulation, and its inclusion adds a layer of complexity and poignancy to the book.

Bingo boxes this book checks: Book that teaches you something new

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Thanks as always for reading. You can catch up on last week's recs here and my Q&A with Lexie Neeley of Little Free Library here.

And please remember to subscribe to my Louise Penny project, Notes from Three Pines, if you're interested.

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