Two book pairings to start your summer

A splash of Florida, Berlin, and millennial angst

Here’s my dream summer reading setup.

I’m in Denmark, it’s early June, and I’m staying in a Scandinavian designed home on the water on one of the country’s many islands, the interior filled with light tan wood, pops of primary colors, furniture with simple and clean lines, a super modern kitchen stocked with fresh produce. Every morning I walk down to the dock to swim in the ocean for around an hour, and then I get out and eat fresh melon, sitting on a towel in the sun. I spend the rest of the day reading an intellectually stimulating book, one that makes me reexamine my life in a good way, while sitting in the shade outside, or, inside on the comfy couch during a sudden rainstorm. It is light outside for almost the entire day. Dinner is freshly caught seafood and a baguette.

Okay no, wait. Actually I’m in a villa in Mallorca that has a view of the ocean and a heated pool. Again, it’s early June, so it isn’t too hot—the perfect temperature to sit outside with a book. I go out to the pool chairs around 11AM to read the latest Kevin Kwan, or Ann Patchett—a new release from an author I love so I know the book is going to HIT. Lunch is a sandwich by the pool along with a short dip. Back to reading, then Matt brings me an aperol spritz or a gin and tonic (elderflower tonic) around 3PM and I get in the pool with my drink, walking around like a person with more money than me. I finish the day a little sunburnt on the crisp white linen couch reading under lamplight.

Neither of these things are going to happen to me this summer and yet just thinking about them….wow. I’m going to conjure this feeling every time I sit down to read!!! Instead of recommending a slew of books across genres to read this summer (maybe I will next week…or the week after…my newsletter my rules) I have two books pairings for you to consider sampling, by the ocean or pool or not.

Carl Hiaasen fans know that his books are perfect beachside reads. His latest, Fever Beach, is probably his most political yet, a satire following one of the failed January 6 rioters (the only man kicked out of the Proud Boys for being too dumb) and his repeated disasters in Florida, several corrupt Florida politicians, a conniving prostitute, a woman working to uncover her employer’s corrupt philanthropy, and of course, some guy who breaks the law in order to do good (usually it’s some kind of animal control employee but this time he’s a rich guy with a conscience).

The second course of this meal is The Float Test by Lynn Steger Strong. I’m a big fan of Strong’s novels, she’s a very literary writer that captures the way families interact in a way I don’t see often. Her families are alway unhappy, and the family at the center of The Float Test is no different. Told from the POV of the writer of the family, this one is about three sisters and brother convening on their childhood home in Florida after their mom dies in the summer, which of course leads to family secrets coming out. It’s a slim novel, so perfect for a plane ride or vacation read.

If you’re looking to reconsider your sense of taste and the influence of globalization and homogenization of culture on not only your career choice but also your interior design choices, have I got two books for you. The Anthropologists by Aysegul Savas is your first course, about a young couple from an unnamed European country who move to an unnamed European city (probably Berlin) to seek out an exciting, meaningful, art-filled life. They end up doing creative-ish jobs, living in gentrifying neighborhoods, constantly fending off questions from family members as to when they’re going to return, enjoying the pros of city life until they become cons, falling out of love with life and each other and then back again. It’s a portrait of millennial life and desires, set against the backdrop of evolving trends.

I don’t know how to tell you this but Perfection by Vincenzo Latronico has an eerily similar premise. From my reading, Perfection is more of a critique, so if you want to be roasted for your choices I highly encourage you to pick it up. As a person working a creative job in a corporate structure, it really hit. Both books are around 200 pages so they’re delectable little bits to bring on vacation and have an existential crisis next to the pool or mountain or ocean or what have you.

Thanks for reading :’)