Hi! I'm John Glynn, and I'm excited to share some book recommendations inspired by one of my favorite Taylor Swift songs, "Cruel Summer." To me, this song perfectly encapsulates the heightened emotions of summer love—a theme at the heart of my memoir Out East. I chose books that capture the "fever dream highs" of the season. But at the same time, as Taylor sings, "Summer's a knife," filled with longing and heartache, primed for nostalgia. All of these books carry the kind of moonlit shimmer I crave in a smart beach read. As a Swiftie, a beach lover, an avid reader, and a hopeless romantic, I hope you enjoy.
Jane Green is an icon in every sense, and this is my absolute favorite of her many bestselling books. I love stories with a strong sense of place, stories that transport me. This book does just that, whisking the reader to a forgotten scene from the Swinging 60s, an ex-pat community in Marrakesh once frequented in real life by the Rolling Stones, the Beatles, Yves Saint Laurent, and other luminaries of the era.
The narrator is an outsider who falls under the spell of Talitha Getty, a magnetic actress and model who presides over the whole swirling scene. This novel feels like the literary equivalent of a starry summer night.
A PARADE MOST ANTICIPATED BOOK OF THE YEAR A NEW YORK POST BEST BOOK OF THE WEEK
In her first novel inspired by a true story, Jane Green re-imagines the life of troubled icon Talitha Getty in this transporting story from a forgotten chapter of the Swinging '60s
From afar Talitha's life seemed perfect. In her twenties, and already a famous model and actress, she moved from London to a palace in Marrakesh, with her husband Paul Getty, the famous oil heir. There she presided over a swirling ex-pat scene filled with music, art, free love and a…
I’ve been fascinated with historical fiction, especially the World War II era, ever since I listened to my mother playing her Big Band Records. I’ve also loved mysteries since I picked up my first Nancy Drew book. Once I discovered historical mysteries, I haven’t been able to separate the two. I’ve recently expanded my interest to include the first world war. There are so many great stories that I’m afraid I’ll never get to read them all. It was really hard to narrow down my list to five books and I hope you’ll love the ones I’ve chosen for you.
This book was one of the first historical mysteries I read that was set during World War II.
I love the protagonist, Rosie. She is feisty and a bit of a smart aleck. I connected with her immediately. Rosie is an actress, and because parts are hard to come by during wartime, she finds work as a secretary for a private investigator. When he ends up dead, she takes the case to find out why.
It's 1943, and the war escalating in Europe and the Pacific seems far away. But for aspiring actress Rosie Winter, the war feels as if it were right in New York City—what with food rationing and frequent blackouts . . . and a boyfriend she hasn't heard word one from since he enlisted in the navy. Now her rent is coming due and she hasn't been cast in anything for six months. The factories are desperate for women workers, but Rosie the Thespian isn't about to become Rosie the Riveter, so she grabs a part-time job at a seamy, lowbrow…
I didn’t grow up with a close family, but I yearned for one. Which is why I gravitate towards books with a cast of characters who are family, or a found family. I also prefer romantic plots or subplots. Combining romance and amazing side characters that are close automatically hooks me. That’s why I always include these dynamics in the books I write. I write my books for my own entertainment and hope others who love romance with swoony leads and a fun cast of characters will find my book and enjoy it as much as I do.
I love stories where neither of the main characters are looking for love, and sometimes are actively avoiding it, and then bam they meet someone they click with and can’t help but fall.
This is one of those books. Both leads are using a sprawling estate as an escape from their pasts and from people in general. They fall in love with the help of a meddling grandmother, forced proximity, baking, and off-the-chart chemistry.
The fact they fight it, and try to deny it, makes it all the more satisfying when they finally give in.
From New York Times bestselling author Kristen Callihan comes a charming, emotional romance about redefining dreams and discovering unlikely love along the way.
Life for Emma isn't good. The world knows her as Princess Anya on Dark Castle, but then her character gets the axe-literally. The cherry on top is finding her boyfriend in bed with another woman. She needs a break, and sanctuary comes in the form of Rosemont, a gorgeous estate in California promising rest and relaxation.
Then she meets the owner's equally gorgeous grandson, ex-hockey player and current recluse Lucian Osmond, and she sees her own pain…
In the beginning of the novel, Valentine writes, “What if instead of telling women to be grateful for their suffering we actually helped them with it.” That line hit me like a bolt of lightning.
So many pregnant women and new moms have had awful experiences similar to the main character of Delicate Condition, including myself. This novel truly highlights what it is like for women to go through a complicated pregnancy in a world where medical staff, friends, and family all minimize the physical and mental pain it takes to bring a new life into the world.
For those who have suffered birth trauma and are ready to process it, this book will certainly speak to you. Overall, it is a well-written fast-paced supernatural thriller that will open your eyes to how the struggles of expecting and new mothers are often brushed under the rug.
'Shockingly real, twisty and dark' - INDEPENDENT 'Tense, thrilling and darkly comedic' - HEAT 'The feminist update to Rosemary's Baby we all needed' - ANDREA BARTZ
I wanted this baby so badly. But she may be the death of me...
Anna Alcott is desperate to have a family. But as she tries to balance her increasingly public life as an indie actress with a gruelling IVF regime, she starts to suspect that someone is going to great lengths to make sure that never happens. Crucial medicines are lost. Appointments are moved without her knowledge. She's sure she's being followed. And…
I’ve been an incurable romantic for as long as I can remember. In fact, when I was in middle school, my friends and I started writing what would now be considered novellas. We would write our stories during class and trade notebooks in the hallways between bells. That is until I was caught writing one of my opuses in pre-algebra. There was nothing like the dopamine hit of writing those first stories that would deter me! The characters in my head grew up as I did and I found myself passionate about the telling of second chances in life and in love.
This book made me swoon. Sam has all of Tate’s important firsts - first love, first betrayal, and first heartbreak. Twice in a Blue Moon is the story of reconnecting and rewriting the wrongs of the past. It’s emotional, tender, redemptive, and impossible to put down. Christina Lauren’s signature witty banter and descriptive writing style pulls you into the book and keeps you there until the last page. It was one of my favorite pandemic reads!
'Emotional, sweet, and surprising novel about first loves and second chances' Shondaland
'You can never go wrong with Christina Lauren!' Paige Toon
Sam was Tate's first: Her first love. Her first everything. Including her first heartbreak.
During a whirlwind two-week vacation abroad, Sam and Tate fell for each other in only the way that first loves do: sharing all of their hopes, dreams, and deepest secrets along the way. Sam was the first, and only, person that Tate - the long-lost daughter of one of the world's biggest film stars - ever revealed her identity to. So when it became…
I
was born in Los Angeles and am a fifth-generation Californian. I love reading
books about local people and local history, like Mail Nurmi.
Mail Nurmi created the Vampira
character on television in the 1950s, lived on Melrose Ave., had her own curiosity
shop there, and hung out at Googies Coffee Shop on Sunset Blvd. and Crescent Heights in West Hollywood.
She was friends with Orson Welles, Marlon Brando, James Dean, and Elvis Presley.
She was the original queen of Goth and a very talented artist as well.
Her
story is also one of tragedy and sadness. But she was a real trailblazer, and oh, what
a life!
Vampira is an icon but her creator’s life was even more dramatic. Maila Nurmi, the beautiful and sheltered daughter of Finnish immigrants, stepped off the bus in 1941 Los Angeles intent on finding fame and fortune. She found men eager to take advantage of her innocence and beauty but was determined to find success and love. Her inspired design and portrayal of a vampire won a costume contest that lead to a small role on the Red Skelton show which grew into a persona that brought her the notoriety she desired yet trapped her in a character she could never…
I was born in Macon, Georgia, in 1942. My father was a druggist and my mother a housewife until his illness put her to work as a newspaper reporter and eventually as a school teacher. After spending four years in the U.S. Air Force I earned a B.A. and a M.A. in English. After teaching English for thirty-one years, I retired in 2006. My wife and I live in Savannah and have two daughters, five grandchildren, and a black Lab. Among the many novels that I taught during my years as an English professor, the five on my list were invariably the ones to which my students most actively responded.
First published in 1900, Theodore Dreiser’s Sister Carrie chronicles the rise of a poor girl, Carrie Meeber, and the contrasting, complementary decline and fall of the older, well-to-do man who is obsessed with her, George Hurstwood, whose steady, emasculating ruin is the most poignant narrative sequence, bar none, that I’ve ever read.
"Sister Carrie" by Theodore Dreiser. Published by Good Press. Good Press publishes a wide range of titles that encompasses every genre. From well-known classics & literary fiction and non-fiction to forgotten−or yet undiscovered gems−of world literature, we issue the books that need to be read. Each Good Press edition has been meticulously edited and formatted to boost readability for all e-readers and devices. Our goal is to produce eBooks that are user-friendly and accessible to everyone in a high-quality digital format.
This small-town romance centers around a middle-aged
actress, Margot Hughes, and a big-shot actor, Max Russo, who come
together to save Cambria’s historic theater through a summer season of
Barefoot in the Park.
The story is set in another California coastal
community, much like my book, and features seasoned characters
questioning their life choices and the opportunities presented to them. A
warm hug of a book, this romance is perfect for theater lovers who
believe everyone deserves a shot at love no matter the age or stage of
life.
Love isn’t just an act in this captivating and flirty romance by New York Times bestselling author Jane Porter.
Forty-nine-year-old Margot Hughes has lived and breathed theater for the past twenty-five years. After a devastating breakup with her playwright fiancé, she wants nothing to do with the industry. She has sworn off New York, theater, actors—all of it. She returns to her hometown on California’s central coast and takes a job in real estate, where she manages significant investment properties. But Margot’s suddenly thrown back into the theater world when Sally, her friend and boss, who had been restoring and…
I love writing my steamy, happily ever after romance novels. Billionaires are my Prince Charmings and they have a lot to offer the heroines I write. However, none of my heroines are weak. They are strong and they love the billionaires for who they are, not what they offer. I want a world full of romance, steam, and happily ever afters, so that’s what I love to write. My books are perfect for a relaxing day on the beach that will leave you feeling good.
Nora Roberts is the absolute queen of romance. She is often
the first author anyone recommends in the genre, and as such, I am a huge fan.
Hideaway has a scrappy heroine, but the real reason I love this book is Dillon.
He’s hard-working and protective and just right for Cate.
I also really enjoyed the other background characters and
relationships. So many times romance novels focus only on the two leads (with
good reason!) but it’s always nice when the characters have outside
relationships, especially good ones. Dillon’s relationships made me smile and
love him all the more as a romance hero.
A powerful new novel from global bestseller Nora Roberts about finding what matters most in the least expected places.
If you're after the perfect pick-me-up, take-me-away-from-the-world read, then she's your woman' The GuardianOne day, she thought, one moment, one innocent game. How was it that day, that moment, that game never seemed to end? Caitlyn Sullivan is just nine years old when a game of Hide and Seek at a family party will change her life forever. The betrayal she experienced that night will shape Caitlyn's life, and for years she runs and runs, hiding from the aftermath of…
I have a passion for this topic because I grew up in Harlem, New York under segregation. Black is beautiful is in my DNA. As a former Black student activist, former Black Beauty queen, Miss Black New York State, and one of the first natural hair models in the 1960s this topic is who I am and who I am becoming. When I grew up in the 1950s, Harlem was a community of open hearts and open doors that loved its children. There was also a strong narrative "Black is Beautiful", "Black is Powerful" countering general societal views of Black inferiority. I developed the Positive Affirmation NiteBabyNite picture book series in remembrance of those times.
Was an honor to read. To realize that this great woman had struggles, failures, missteps, and triumphs large and small as the rest of us spoke to her true greatness. She made it look easy. Her lifelong love of Miles Davis despite his many transgressions shows a real woman’s love. She modeled sacrifice and being true to yourself as a mother.
"In her long and extraordinary career, Cicely Tyson has not only succeeded as an actor, she has shaped the course of history." -President Barack Obama, 2016 Presidential Medal of Freedom ceremony
"Just as I Am is my truth. It is me, plain and unvarnished, with the glitter and garland set aside. In these pages, I am indeed Cicely, the actress who has been blessed to grace the stage and screen for six decades. Yet I am also the church girl who once rarely spoke a word. I am the teenager who sought solace in the verses of the old hymn…
