It's become something of a tradition for me to discover just how many books I can cram into my family's annual beach week. This year I managed 5!
For the historical fiction fans
Stopping by Island Bookstore while at the beach has also become a tradition and how could I not pick this up?! Not only does my family decamp to the Outer Banks every summer, I lived there with my grandparents and my mom when I was younger and spent two summers lifeguarding + working as a yoga camp counselor. My heart is firmly planted in these dunes!
So is Abigail's, it turns out. This beautiful novel, Ducharme's debut (and the beginning of a series, I discovered happily) is set in the latter half of the 1800s when the wealthy Sinclair family decides to summer on the wild Outer Banks to escape their troubles. Abby, the seventeen year old eldest daughter of this rather morose clan, devours books with a familiar fervor and agrees to tutor her father's local guide, nineteen year old Benjamin. You can fill in the blanks, can't you?
This novel is far from trite, though. I adored how Ducharme constructed the landscape of the OBX and lovingly crafted a story about race, family, love, responsibility, and freedom without deadening the true weight of the past.
4/5
For the ensemble lovers
Long Island Compromise by Taffy Brodesser-Akner
As I wrote in my quick Insta review: "the perfect beach week read because if you think YOUR family is dysfunctional, just wait." Brodesser-Akner creates an entire, sprawling universe out of the members of the Fletcher family.
We have Carl Fletcher, the patriarch of the family who was kidnapped in the 1980s and never really returns to functionality. His wife, Ruth, and his mother dedicate their entire lives to shielding him from the psychological trauma of the event, a decision that ripples through the rest of the family—namely Carl and Ruth's three children—for generations. Brodesser-Akner is a wickedly funny writer who also presciently skewers a lot of the hallmarks of privilege, the inner workings of insular communities, and the general American attitude of taking things for granted.
Things keep going wrong in this novel, but it never got to be too much, and I literally gasped out loud with the casual revelation of a pretty huge piece of info at the very end. Highly recommend.
5/5
For quick wisdom on the go
Maktub by Paulo Coelho
Ever since graduating, I've been reading a lot of spiritual books as I try to find reconnection with my yoga practice. And even though I've never read The Alchemist (I know, I know), Coelho's companion book stood out to me at the library. I'm so happy I picked it up!
The quickest of my 5 reads, Maktub is a collection of vignettes that Coelho has collected throughout his life. Some of them are stories from gurus and other spiritual leaders, some are fables he's heard, and still others (I imagine) are fictions of his own creation. There were numerous pages I had to fight the urge to dogear (multiple bookmarks came in very handy) and I actually copied some of his aphorisms down in a notebook so I can come back to them even after I return the book to the library.
4/5
For the drama queens
Elizabeth Taylor: The Grit & Glamour of an Icon by Kate Andersen Brower
As one of her many, many fans, I am particularly endeared to Elizabeth Taylor. Her performance in Cleopatra stunned me when I was 12 and she continues to occupy a pretty lofty pedestal in my limited hall of celebrities.
Andersen Brower's story was a quick read, an impressive feat when you consider the heft of the life she encompassed on the pages of this book. It was clear that Andersen Brower really took the time to care about Elizabeth's feelings, and those of her loved ones who agreed to participate in the research and development of this account, and that respect marks this as a very different novel than other, more exploitative celebrity biographies I've read.
I found myself wanting more at the end, which isn't surprising for a woman who retained the unique capacity to captivate everyone and anyone she chose. I might pick up another, different biography of her life to add to my knowledge, but if this was the only one I ever read, I'd feel closer to the star that lit up my childhood with her strong presence on the screen.
4/5
For those celebrating Halloween in July
Pet Sematary by Stephen King
Now, I am a pretty huge Stephen King fan and his Gerald's Game is undoubtedly the scariest book I have ever read. In the introduction to this edition of the book, King even admits that we all have different fears. This book caters to his, in particular, but not to mine in the way that Gerald's Game and It did. The suspense builds at the typical frustrating-in-a-good-way pace for a King story, but I think I was hoping for an extra emphasis or heinous twist at the end that never quite came across.
I don't regret adding this one to my shelves, though. As I try to consciously curate a collection of books for my home library, collecting novels by treasured authors (like King and Virginia Woolf) is a sizable part of that effort for me. And who knows? Maybe when I return to this book in a few years, my own sense of fear will have shifted!
3/5
Note from Kate: Hi! If you buy something through a link on my page, I may earn an affiliate commission. I recommend only products I genuinely like & recommend, and my recommendation is not for sale. Thank you!
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