Time feels a little more precious in the summer than at other times of the year, making the question of how to spend it all the more consequential. Like many, I devote a great deal of my time to reading. Whether lazing in a hammock or lounging on a beach chair, this summer’s stack has something for everyone: a giant glowing jellyfish, an art heist in Paris, a missed romantic connection at 30,000 feet, family secrets on Block Island, murder, mystery, and enough emotional drama to keep you slathered in sunscreen and suspense all summer long.
Single Girls by John Searles
First up, our inaugural “Seaview Reads” selection, Single Girls, which Wally Lamb calls “A poignant and rollicking good time.” Set in 1965 Manhattan, Single Girls follows a fictionalized Helen Gurley Brown as she races to save the flailing Cosmopolitan magazine. With only three issues to prove herself, she assembles a daring team of women whose ambition, wit, and determination could change publishing and their own lives forever. All are welcome to join John and me in conversation on August 27 at 6 p.m. at the Fire Island Synagogue.
Land by Maggie O’Farrell
The kind of big, immersive family saga that leaves you feeling genuinely accomplished when you reach the end, Land will keep you turning pages well into August. Spanning generations, it tells the story of people bound to a place and to one another by fate, inheritance, and deep-rooted loyalty. Its exploration of what it means to belong to a piece of land may resonate with many Fire Islanders, whose connection to the place runs just as deep.
Puck by Samantha Allen
A queer retelling of A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Puck, a 30-year-old reality TV producer, decides to stir up trouble at their college roommates’ wedding in the Appalachian forest by rearranging the couples in the spirit of classic Shakespearean shenanigans.
The Missed Connection by Tia Williams
A casting director who prides herself on reading people meets a handsome stranger on a flight to Paris, only to lose him before they can exchange contact information. Convinced she’s let “the one” slip away, she launches a search that becomes part romantic comedy, part mystery, and part self-discovery.
The Jellyfish Problem by Tessa Yang
A grieving marine biologist is summoned to a tiny island off the Maine coast to investigate reports of a giant, glowing jellyfish. When she arrives, the friend who called her is missing, the locals can’t agree on what they’ve seen, and the creature at the center of the mystery may be changing everyone who encounters it. Equal parts mystery and meditation on grief.
London Falling by Patrick Radden Keefe
Part investigation, part social history, Patrick Radden Keefe delivers another knockout work of nonfiction in this shocking story about how a young boy gets caught up in the dangerous world of Russian oligarchs and ends up at the bottom of the Thames.
The Paris Heist by Jo Piazza
Art theft, Parisian glamour, hidden agendas, and high-stakes deception. If your ideal beach read pairs a passport, a mystery, and a very expensive painting, pack this one in your carry-on.
June Baby by Shannon Garvey
At seventeen, Ruth is sent to Block Island after her mother’s death, with nothing but a name scribbled on the back of a receipt. A decade later, she’s still tied to the island and forced to confront whether nostalgia is keeping her from moving forward.
Summer State of Mind by Kristin Woodson Harvey
A small coastal town, found family, second-chance romance, and the kind of Southern charm Harvey’s readers have come to expect. The literary equivalent of a week at the lake, to be sipped slowly with a glass of cold sweet tea.
Dolly All the Time by Annabel Monaghan
A fake-dating summer romance to end all fake-dating summer romances. Dolly Brick, a hardworking single mom, returns to the seaside town where she grew up to save her family home. This may be my favorite Monaghan rom-com yet, and that says a lot. I’m a devoted fan of her sharp banter, her saucy heroines, and Annabel in general.
Famesick by Lena Dunham
A satirical look at celebrity culture, obsession, and the strange hunger for relevance in modern life. Smart, uncomfortable, and worth all the hype. Narrated by Dunham herself, it is also a great listen!
The Calamity Club by Kathryn Stockett
I have been waiting 17 years for a new Kathryn Stockett novel since The Help, and I can’t wait to sit down with a gin and tonic to dive into this 1930s Southern tale of buried secrets and complicated relationships.
The Things We Never Say by Elizabeth Strout
For me, Elizabeth Strout is essential reading. Nobody captures the small heartbreaks and quiet revelations of ordinary lives quite like she does. Expect luminous prose, emotional truths that sneak up on you, and characters who stay with you long after the last page.
Happiness and Love by Zoe Dubno
Seaview’s own Zoe Dubno’s breakout debut unfolds over one night in a Bowery loft, and it took me about that long to whip through this witty and propulsive send-up of pretentiousness. I’m looking forward to all that comes next from this funny, wry young talent whom I’ve had the pleasure of watching grow up.
Jane L. Rosen is the author of six books, including three set on the narrow spit of land she calls home: “Songs of Summer,” “Seven Summer Weekends”, and “On Fire Island.”
