You Need a Book for Your Beach Bag

Need a reminder truth is stranger than fiction or are taking a road trip

Hi friends,

A very special greeting to those of you who, like me, were equal parts excited and horrified to discover an “Oops …. I Did It Again” 25^th anniversary album was released last week. I still know all the words — including the astronaut interlude — to “Oops.”

Programming note: Next week’s newsletter will be out on Tuesday due to Memorial Day.

And, now, what to read if …

You’re Packing Your Beach Bag

The Influencers by Anna-Marie McLemore

If you’re headed out to a pool or beach for the Memorial Day weekend, I can think of no better book to bring than Anna-Marie McLemore’s The Influencers, the juiciest novel I’ve read in a while.

May Iverson, better known by her social media handle “Mother May I,” went from a casual mom blogger to an influencer with millions of followers by sharing content featuring her five daughters. Her twins, June and July, followed in her footsteps, becoming Instagram superstars. Then, their carefully curated life collapses. May’s new husband is found dead, and her house burned to the ground.

The internet suddenly has a new mystery to solve. Social media users take to analyzing decades-old videos, looking for clues ,and attempting to discover where May’s youngest daughter, March, disappeared to. With each new revelation, commenters claim to be closer to the truth.

I’ve read a fair number social media books recently (expect to see more in future newsletters), and The Influencers distinguishes itself by including chapters narrated by everyday users, not just influencers. In them, a Greek chorus of voices describes the old posts they’re poring over and the rabbit holes they’ve fallen down. It’s a smart move that shows how we’re all complicit with influencer culture, even if we think we’re too smart for that. With a propulsive plot and sharp commentary on race and gender, The Influencers is one of those books that tricks you into thinking. Perfect for the pool — or book club.

You Want a Reminder that Truth Has Always Been Stranger than Fiction

An Assassin in Utopia by Susan Wels

I recently read a Vanity Fair interview with Fox’s Greg Gutfeld about his new show “What Did I Miss,” which he described as the “strangest game show ever created.” (Note: I haven’t watched it yet.) It features four people who remained isolated from January’s Inauguration through mid-April. Then, in front of a studio audience, they must determine what are real and fake headlines.

Given the news environment we’re in (memecoins, clones of extinct animals and Justin Trudeau’s son launched an R&B career?) this could be very difficult. Susan Wels’ An Assassin in Utopia, which connects the dots between P.T. Barnum, the Oneida Free Love movement and James Garfield’s assassination, shows that we’ve lived through wild times before.

Wels documents the intersecting histories of the Oneida Community and its founder, John Humphrey Noyes; his mentor Horace Greeley, founder of the “New Yorker”'; assassin Charles Julius Guiteau and President James Garfield. Guiteau, a member of the Oneida Free Love Community, believed Garfield won election because of his efforts. He inundated the president with letters requesting a position in the cabinet that, unsurprisingly, went unanswered. Convinced that Garfield would ruin the Republican party, Guiteau determined he had no choice but to kill the president.

An Assassin in Utopia is a strong counter to the “great man” theory of history that holds individuals (normally men) shaped history with their decisive actions. Wels, instead, shows how a bunch of small coincidences can come together to change everything.

You’re Taking a Long-Weekend Road Trip

The Other Side of Disappearing by Kate Clayborn

If your long weekend plans include packing your favorite road trip snacks and making a drivetime playlist, consider pairing the journey with Kate Clayborn’s The Other Side of Disappearing. It’s a cross between a romance and a family drama set during a cross-country journey.

Thirty-one-year-old Jess Greene has spent the past decade raising her younger half-sister, Tegan, and keeping a giant secret. When their mother disappeared ten years ago, she ran off with Lynton Baltimore, a con man so prolific there’s a mega-popular podcast documenting his exploits.

Just as she’s preparing to leave for college, Tegan uncovers the secret. Instead of confronting Jess, Tegan reaches out to the podcast team and suggests they tape a series of episodes focused on finding her mother. It’s Jess’s worst nightmare, but she agrees to join the road trip hoping she can protect Tegan from what she’ll learn.

Jess and Tegan are joined by the nosy podcast host and her attentive, attractive producer, Adam. As the four travel across the country in hopes of finding the disappearing couple, the walls Jess has built over the years start to weaken, especially as she spends more time with Adam.

I am a well-documented Kate Clayborn superfan, so you might be tempted to ignore me gushing about it. But it’s not just me who loved this book. Christina Lauren described it as “Poignant, observant, tender, and deeply romantic. Clayborn takes what she does best and goes deeper, deftly braiding mystery and family drama with an absorbing romance in her trademark lyrical voice. This book is everything.” You’ll want your tissues.

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