My favorite books that won’t make your workout any less painful, but they might make you not mind as much

Some may scoff at popular history, but I absolutely love it. It’s where you can find riveting tales that read like roller-coaster thrillers—think The Devil in the White City by Erik Larson or The Perfect Storm by Sebastian Unger. This 2017 gem by David Grann ranks highly among the books in this subgenre, illustrating in vivid detail a dark chapter of American history that I never even knew existed: the systematic stalking and murder of oil millionaires in Oklahoma in the 1920s. The twist? The victims were all members of the Osage Indian Tribe, who ranked among the richest people in the country. Sound intriguing? It is. The twists and turns will keep you guessing, so much that you’ll think such a thing could never have happened for real. But it did.

Genre fiction tends to lean on tropes and be somewhat predictable, particularly thrillers (I have yet to read a Robin Cook novel in which I didn’t figure out the villain halfway through the book)—but in her debut mystery, YA and popular culture writer Kat Rosenfeld subverts all that and give us a genuinely original tale of greed, envy, treachery, and murder with well-drawn characters and a mastery of setting.  The greatest trick she pulls is leading you to believe that you’re reading one kind of story, before pulling a switcheroo that changes everything—and believe me when I say, you won’t see it coming.

I can’t remember the last time I had this much fun reading a novel, but if you take this one for a spin you’ll find out what I mean. Aguilar is a screenwriter and a former reporter, and it shows here in the visual flair with which he constructs his scenes and his eye for detail as he follows the adventures of young wannabe journalists trying to make their bones in the cutthroat offices of The Washington Post. The characters are witty, winsome, and way better looking than anyone I ever knew during my own short stint as a local TV guy—but who cares? This is an absolute romp, which will have you rooting for a happy ending and for love to conquer all.

I have zero fascination with celebrities, but remain a sucker for a showbiz memoir as told by a true raconteur. And though you might never have known it from the pretty-boy reputation cemented firmly by his 80’s era film oeuvre, Rob Lowe ranks right up there with George Hamilton in both his having known pretty much everybody in Hollywood, but also having a great story to tell about each one. At turns self-deprecating, deeply touching, brutally honest, and laugh-out-loud funny, Lowe’s Stories doesn’t dish any dirt—so if that’s what you’re looking for, you might want to look elsewhere. But if you’d like an inside peek at Hollywood as told by a Gen-X icon in his own words (no ghostwriters here!), you can’t go wrong here.

My wife found this on my Kindle among the Michael Crichton and Jack Carr, and couldn’t believe I bought it—but after having made the delight of her acquaintance on Twitter, I decided to give Gigi’s latest novel a try. And boy, am I glad that I did! A screenwriter (Stepmom) and veteran Los Angelino herself, Levangie knows the ins and outs of the Hollywood lifestyle where showbiz is the only biz and the characters are always jockeying to be seen but never to be believed. No mysteries here—just a lot of laughs, with an endearing protagonist who provides the center of gravity to an orbit of crazy family and friends. Highly recommended.