Finding Grace by Loretta Rothschild was on a great reads list I found this summer. “Honor seems to have everything: she adores her bright and beautiful daughter, Chloe, and her charming, handsome husband, Tom, even if he works one hundred hours a week. Yet Honor’s longing for another baby threatens to eclipse all of it―until a shocking event changes their lives forever. Years later, Tom makes a decision that ripples through their families’ lives in ways he could never have foreseen. As the consequences of that fateful choice unfold, two women’s paths become irrevocably intertwined. But when old love clashes with new, who will be left standing? And what happens when your secrets come back to haunt you? Blending a page-turning moral dilemma with satisfying emotional poignancy, Finding Grace is a sweeping love story that explores the price of a new beginning, how the ghosts of our past shape our future, and whether redemption can be found in the wreckage of what we’ve lost.” (Amazon) While I read a recent not-so-positive review of this one recently written by someone I usually agree with, I really loved the story and give it five stars. There was one flaw that niggled at me a little, but I found myself thinking and talking about as well as finishing it in two days. To me, that’s five-star worthy reading.

The Shampoo Effect by Jenny Jackson was another good beach read that I listened to. It’s been everywhere this summer in the same way her first novel, Pineapple Street was in 2016 – she’s got good publicists! – and reviewed by me here. Amazon: “When Caroline Lash arrives in Greenhead, Massachusetts, she falls head-over-heels for Van Whittaker, a fleece-wearing, litter-collecting kayak enthusiast with long, floppy hair and the personality of a Border collie. Born and raised in this picturesque coastal village, Van runs with the same crowd he did as a kid: His ex-girlfriend, Bailey, a beautiful girl who attracts men like moths to a flame; Augusta, old money, horsey, and snobbish; and Fran, surrounded by brothers and sons, too fed up with boys to ever consider marrying one. Together, the group runs wild through the marshes, beaches, and bars of Greenhead, drinking on houseboats, spending long afternoons sunbathing with their children, and playing games the way they always have. But when Bailey discovers that she is pregnant with Van’s baby, the delicate balance of the group’s friendship is thrown off. Soon Caroline is cast out of the circle and what she does next—in a potent mix of fury and heartbreak—exposes long-held secrets and works the entire town of Greenhead into a lather.” This was a good summer read. Perfect to throw in your beach bag.

I See You’ve Called in Dead by John Kenney has been everywhere this summer. “Obituary writer Bud Stanley isn’t really living his best life. He’s fallen into a funk after a divorce. (She left him for another man, who, in fairness, was far more interesting.) He’s not doing his job well. He’s given up on dating. And he’s about to be fired for accidentally publishing his own obituary one mildly drunken night (though technically the company can’t legally fire a dead person). As Bud awaits his fate at work, he does the only logical thing: He goes to the wakes and funerals of total strangers to learn how to live again.” I really, really enjoyed this read. It was a little too long, but otherwise, a terrific read.

Lake Effect by Cynthia D’Aprix Sweeney was a good beach read, even though I’m not at the beach. Amazon: “It’s 1977 and an air of restlessness has settled on the residents of Cambridge Road in Rochester, New York, a place long fueled by the booming fortunes of Kodak and Xerox and, for some, the mores of the Catholic church. When Nina Larkin is given a copy of The Joy of Sex by her newly divorced friend, she can no longer dismiss the nearly nonexistent intimacy of her marriage. Just as her oldest child, Clara, is falling in love for the first time, Nina finds herself longing for the forbidden: a midlife awakening. An intoxicating fling with a prominent neighbor brings Nina a freedom she never thought possible—but also risks the reputations of both families and unravels Clara’s world, just as she stands on the threshold of adulthood. Years later, Clara, now a successful food stylist in New York City, has never been able to move past the long-ago scandal. Drawn back home by the pull of a family wedding and wrestling with her own demons, she makes a pivotal decision that turns her life upside down. Written with Cynthia D’Aprix Sweeney’s signature humor and insight, Lake Effect is a wise and probing look at love and desire, mothers and daughters, loss and grief, and what we owe the people we love most.” While this wasn’t a five-star choice, I really, really enjoyed it and was sad when I finished reading. Highly recommend.

I’m generally a fan of Elizabeth Strout and was excited to get her latest, The Things We Never Say on audiobook from the library. It was a short one (usual for her) and to the point. I enjoyed it, but didn’t love it. “Artie Dam is living a double life. He spends his days teaching history to eleventh graders, expanding their young minds, correcting their casual cruelties, and lending a kind word to those who need it most. He goes to holiday parties with his wife of three decades, makes small talk with neighbors, and, on weekends, takes his sailboat out on the beautiful Massachusetts Bay. He is, by all appearances, present and alive. But inside, Artie is plagued by feelings of isolation. He looks out at a world gone mad—at himself and the people around him—and turns a question over and over in his mind: How is it that we know so little about one another, even those closest to us? And then, one day, Artie learns that life has been keeping a secret from him, one that threatens to upend his entire world. Once he learns it, he is forced to chart a new course, to reconsider the relationships he holds most dear—and to make peace with the mysteries at the heart of our existence.” (Amazon) This is certainly worth a read, but it wasn’t a summer favorite.

I’m not sure how Look What You Made Me Do by John Lanchaster made it to my TBR list. Amazon: “‘Every successful marriage has its own private language.‘ So it is for baby boomer Kate and her beloved architect husband Jack, thirty years into their seemingly idyllic metropolitan North London life. And so it is for spiky millennial screenwriter Phoebe and her charming loafer of a partner, Tony. But when Phoebe’s steamy television series Cheating becomes the year’s most talked-about show, Kate thinks she sees in it details and intimacies of her marriage that only she and her husband could possibly have known. Who has betrayed whom? Who has stolen whose story—and why? A black comedy of love, trust, resentment, and entitlement, Look What You Made Me Do is the sharply observed and suspenseful story of two very different women from two very different generations, entangled in a battle only one of them can win.” While this was a little dull to start, it packed a bunch and I ended up really enjoying it and the twist at the end. Good book to grab for the beach.

Abby Jimenez is always good for a summer beach read. And, while I am not at the beach, I thought Say You’ll Remember Me was worth a listen since it was free from the library. “There’s no such thing as a perfect guy, but Xavier Rush comes disastrously close. A gorgeous veterinarian giving Greek god vibes—all while cuddling a tiny kitten? Immediate yes. That is until Xavier opens his mouth and proves that even sculpted gods can say the absolute wrong thing. Like, really wrong. Of course, there’s nothing Samantha loves more than proving an asshole wrong … unless, of course, he can admit he made a mistake. But after one incredible and seemingly endless date, Samantha is forced to admit the truth, that her family is in crisis and any kind of relationship would be impossible. Samantha begs Xavier to forget her. To remember their night together as a perfect moment, as crushing as that may be. Only no amount of distance or time is enough to forget what’s between them. And the only thing better than one single perfect memory is to make a life—and even a love—worth remembering.” (Amazon) This was a great listen and not terribly long. It would also make a good beach read.

I read about Trash!: A Garbageman’s Story by Simon Paré-Poupart in the NYT. Amazon: “This fascinating no-bullshit account of twenty years in waste management paints a vivid portrait of the heroic labor, anarchic spirit, and violent conditions of the people who keep our cities clean. Paré-Poupart’s story is atypical: he started working as a garbageman to pay for school, and after earning graduate degrees and working in more “respectable” fields, he is still on a truck—out of love for the physical rush, for his rough-and-tumble colleagues, and for an honesty and freedom that no other job has yet given him. His sociology background informs his inquiry into our collective wastefulness and individual failure to confront the trash we produce. Every abstract observation comes with hilarious and hair-raising stories from the collection route to his days off spent hunting down furniture and toys for family and friends, as a committed freegan.Trash!—the French edition of which is a runaway bestseller in Canada—explains and questions efforts to “clean up” a business with longstanding conventions of its own, a last bastion of well-paid employment for people who cannot fit in anywhere else. Aligned with great books about work from Zola to Orwell to Lucia Berlin, and in dialogue with societal critiques like How to Do Nothing, Trash! will change how you think about your waste and the people who handle it.” And, while this was an OK listen, it wasn’t that fascinating to me. It passed the time, but wasn’t mind-blowing or super compelling.

Boring Asian Female by Conwen Xu was a fun and quick read (though somewhat disturbing…). “Elizabeth Zhang is well aware of her place in the world. She’s in the tenth percentile for likability, the seventieth percentile for attractiveness, and the ninety-ninth percentile for academics. While she’s never been the most beautiful or the most liked, she knows she has the intelligence and ambition to achieve her greatest dream: Harvard Law School. But when Harvard rejects Elizabeth for not standing out enough—which she knows means she’s just another boring Asian female—her carefully constructed life falls apart. What shocks her even more is that Laura Kim, a classmate at Columbia, got in. Elizabeth can’t figure out how this could have happened. Why was Laura accepted? What makes her so interesting? At first, she follows her because she’s just curious. What Laura orders for lunch. Where Laura shops. What Laura’s hobbies are. All of these things must contribute to her overall package, what makes her an acceptable person to Harvard. But still, Elizabeth just can’t see it. The only thing she sees is that Laura has taken her spot. A spot that she knows she deserves after working so hard. A spot that she’ll simply have to take back. Layered and subversive, this novel brings to light how, in the face of societal expectations and self-inflicted pressures, a person can unlock the darkest parts of themselves and show how far they’re willing to go to achieve their vision of success.” (Amazon) I recommend this as a decent beach read.

I didn’t know anything about Sara Hall before reading her memoir, For the Love of the Grind. “Sara Hall has been a fixture atop American distance running for more than two decades: first as a national high school champion, then as an NCAA star at Stanford University, and later, as the only pro runner to ever win U.S. titles in the mile and the marathon. She’s held the American record in the half marathon, clocked the fastest marathon in the U.S. by a woman aged 40 or older, and represented her country in ​multiple World Championships. But success has never come easy. Fear of failure set in during high school. In college, Sara competed through a results-obsessed culture that carried into her professional career. She battled anxiety and imposter syndrome, alongside outside pressure to quit the sport and instead devote herself to supporting her husband, Olympic marathoner Ryan Hall, and later, her kids. Yet Sara never gave up on the dream of reaching her potential. Fueled by faith, family, and an unbridled love of exploring her limits, Sara has proven the doubters wrong at every turn. When she and Ryan adopted four daughters from Ethiopia, motherhood only made her faster, running personal bests year after year and landing on podiums at the world’s most competitive races. Along the way, she discovered that choosing love over fear allowed her to take risks. She let go of results and embraced the pursuit of excellence instead. For the Love of the Grind is a love letter to running, and the story of Sara’s growth as an athlete, wife, and mom. Through her unflinching honesty and keen introspection, readers will be inspired to chase their dreams, to reimagine what might still be possible, and to embrace their own love of the grind.” (Amazon) I enjoyed listening to this audiobook, but it was a little repetetive…getting ready for a race, injury, doing well, not doing well…and over and over on repeat. The parts about her husband and children were more interesting to me, but overall, it was a good listen.