3 New Smart and Suspenseful Poolside Reads
Ilana Lucas
Ilana Lucas
Ilana is an English professor, theatre consultant and playwright based in Toronto, Canada. When she’s not at the theatre or insisting that literary criticism can be fun, she’s singing a cappella or Mozart, occasionally harmonizing with the symphony, or playing “Under Pressure” with her rock handbell group, Pavlov’s Dogs.
Summer’s coming, and though it’s still a few weeks away, most of us can already feel that beach chair under our backs. One of the great joys of the season is sitting by the pool, sipping a fancy drink, and reading a book that’s the perfect mixture of smart and fun: a book filled with action and maybe a little mystery, something exciting and full of great characters. Get ready for pool-reading season with this week’s book club; hey, even if it’s too cold to swim, you can still hang out on a beach chair and read.
<em>Little Sister</em>
What better way to start your pool-adjacent reading than with a book that’s a little mysterious and a little fantastical? Barbara Gowdy takes on difficult subjects and produces nuanced, three-dimensional explorations of difficult and unusual people. In Little Sister, she tells the tale of Rose Bowan, who runs a family-owned repertory movie theater in Toronto. Rose’s life doesn’t seem to hold a candle to the intrigue of the silver screen, until one day, a thunderstorm causes a completely unexpected effect: Rose wakes up in someone else’s body. These visits to the life of book editor Harriet Smith continue to coincide with thunderstorms; increasing in frequency, they serve to remind Rose of the more interesting life she doesn’t have.<em>According to a Source</em>
The world of celebrity intrigue is a classic setting for a successful poolside escape, and Stern delivers with this tale of Ella Warren, successful celebrity gossip reporter, whose freelance columns for The Life magazine are incredibly popular. Ella gets the best stories by going where most reporters can’t; she’s invented an alter ego named Bella who can get herself invited to all the best parties and becomes the confidante of an up-and-coming star named Holiday Hall. “I’m aware ‘Bella’ isn’t the most discreet alias,” she says, “but when I started this job, I didn’t think celebrity reporting needed a CIA-worthy nom de plume. Now I know better — the majority of the time, my job does indeed feel like a black-ops mission.”<em>The Heirs</em>
Speaking of intrigue, who doesn’t love a good family drama? As the next step to summer reading bliss, turn off daytime TV and pick up a book that gives you the same kind of thrill without making you feel your brain’s turned to junk. Rieger’s The Heirs is about the secrets and lies that threaten to consume the Falkes family, moneyed Manhattanites with a flawless educational pedigree.Ilana Lucas
Ilana is an English professor, theatre consultant and playwright based in Toronto, Canada. When she’s not at the theatre or insisting that literary criticism can be fun, she’s singing a cappella or Mozart, occasionally harmonizing with the symphony, or playing “Under Pressure” with her rock handbell group, Pavlov’s Dogs.