Beach, books, and an Ocean Isle Beach breeze. Is there anything better? We didn’t think so either. Great books and great beaches are a winning combination that is sure to soothe the soul. This week we have all the best summer reads of 2018 that every reader will want to check out. So grab a chair, dip your toes in the surf and get ready for some of the best page-turners of the summer.
Our Little Racket by Angelica Baker
The debut novel from Angelica Baker takes place in the fast-paced high-stakes financial world. The book charts a tale of what happens for five Greenwich, Connecticut women when the man they have in common, disgraced banker Bob D’Amico, finds himself in serious trouble. He closes his fund in disgrace. Soon the story spirals into a web of secrets and lies. All the while the author explores the undercurrents of the social norms of society. It is one of the longer books on the list, but you’ll love it.
Fly Me by Daniel Roy
If you love an action-packed novel then this fast past read, set in the 1970’s this is the book for you. Combine a drug smuggling stewardess, a sister, and the seedy side of the Los Angeles area and, well, you get what you might expect. A wild ride. Recent college grad Suzy Whitman, has relocated to California and has followed her sister into a career as a flight attendant, sort of. Over the course of the story Suzy will find herself at odds with her sister and her career as she tries to quench her thirst for a little danger.
A Long Way From Home, by Peter Carey
When you’re a double Booker Prize-winning author like Peter Carey, the sky is the limit. In his new novel, Carey returns to the rural and very remote country towns of his childhood. His book is a collision of adventure, history, and the horrible treatment of Australia’s Indigenous. Husband and wife, Titch and Irene Bobs, enter a grueling 10,000-mile 17-day car race. The race is around the country and a publicity stunt for Titch’s used car business. Along the way, they enlist the help of their neighbor and their expert navigator, Willie Bachhuber. What Willie discovers about his past is heart wrenching in unexpected ways.
Enlightenment Now by Steven Pinker
Is modern civilization doomed? Is the world in a state of moral decline? It’s difficult not to think so while scrolling through the news headlines each morning. But not so fast, says experimental psychologist Steven Pinker, two-time Pulitzer Prize finalist, and Harvard Professor. In his eleventh book, he makes the compelling argument that “life, health, prosperity, safety, peace, knowledge, and happiness are on the rise, not just in the West, but worldwide.” Pinker lends his cautiously optimistic perspective on the current push and pull between tribalism and global cooperation in this illuminating text.
Rich People Problems by Kevin Kwan
A smart and fast paced novel revolving around one of Singapore’s richest families. Add in a matriarch on her deathbed with various relations vying for their piece of the family estate, and millions on the line the stakes are high. Their behaviors are out of control and the fun factor in this novel is one that will keep any beach reader captivated for hours.
Warlight by Michael Ondaatje
Any new novel by the author of An English Patient is definitely going to make our list. Ondaatei’s new novel is set in dreary London. Warlight revolves around the young lives of Nathaniel and his older sister Rachel, whose parents have all but disappeared in Singapore. The children’s dubious caretakers, fondly nicknamed by the teenagers, the Darter and the Moth, are shadowy and inscrutable figures who expose the pair to the seedy underworld that quickly destroys their childhood innocence.
The Pisces by Melissa Broder
We warn you this book is a little weird but in a good way. The main character, Lucy, has been desperately trying to finish her dissertation for nine years. Much like her dissertation, her life seems to be falling apart, or at least stagnant. After a break up, Lucy can find little relief from her anxiety. Not in the Greek chorus women, or in her love addiction therapy group, nor in her frequent Tinder excursions. That is until she meets a swimmer, Theo, who happens to be a merman—but with ample “equipment.” Hey, we said it was a little weird. Lucy is so satisfied with her new-found lover that she even considers joining him in the sea! In the end, the book represents what we all wish for love! Not just any love, but love that transports us from our reality and swallows us up whole. It also reminds us that no matter how far love takes us, we can never entirely escape ourselves.
The Wisdom of Wolves by Jim & Jamie Dutcher
Have you ever wanted to live with wolves? Ok maybe not, but this fascinating book recounts a six-year period in the 1990’s when Emmy-winning filmmakers Jim and Jamie Dutcher, lived with and observed a pack of wolves in the Sawtooth Mountains of Idaho. Filmed during a period when the reintroduction of wolves was hotly debated makes this one a great page-turner. The Dutcher’s riveting account reveals wolves as emotionally intelligent creatures capable of empathy, compassion, apology, encouragement, and forgiveness. Maybe we all would be a little better off acting like wolves.
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