But be warned: This book will inspire some warm-weather nostalgia.
Last summer, you may remember Katie gushing over the hilarious, heartwarming novel A Shoe Story. While the book is absolutely charming in its own right, Katie had a special reason to be extra-excited: Katie has been friends with the author, Jane L. Rosen, for decades (ever since Katie’s daughter, Carrie, was in preschool).
This year, Rosen has penned another fun and moving summer read for all of us to enjoy: On Fire Island follows Julia Morse, a book editor who’s about to meet an untimely end. Given one last chance at life, she decides to spend a final summer with her loved ones on Fire Island. When you delve in, you’re sure to have a good cry — and a good laugh, too.
To celebrate the publication of this poignant, inspiring, and funny story, we asked Jane L. Rosen about her favorite warm-weather traditions. Here’s her picks, which may inspire you to rustle up some summer fun of your own…
Favorite ice cream flavor and why?
On summer nights, I ride my bike to the ice cream shop. I wait on the line that snakes out the door, chatting with people I haven’t seen in a while, or just saw yesterday, and order my favorite: two scoops of Graham Central Station. Aside from the fact that I love a good pun, the graham-flavored ice cream is brimming with crunchy chunks of graham cracker and chocolate-covered honeycomb. Then I sit on the bench outside and people-watch.
My favorite winter flavor is whatever half eaten carton of Ben & Jerry’s I dig out from the bottom of my freezer. I stand there, in the dark, excavating the remains before sneaking a few guilt-filled spoonfuls and shoving the container back in the freezer for its next similarly pathetic victim. Long live summer!
What’s better — swimming in a body of water (like a lake or the ocean), or hanging out by a pool?
Even though I spend summers by the ocean, when it comes to swimming, I love a lake. For me, there’s nothing quite like walking across a wobbly wooden dock and jumping into a crisp, clean, perfectly chilled lake. It’s like being saturated in childhood memories.
How would you spend an ideal summer evening?
With my whole family (seven humans, two dogs) squeezed onto my porch on Fire Island, listening to music, playing Catch Phrase or Scrabble or Boggle and laughing ’til it hurts.
What’s your favorite type of beach read?
My beach bag is usually filled with lighter gems that I have been saving for summer. This year’s stack includes Nan Fischer’s Book of Silver Linings, Carly Fortune’s Meet Me at The Lake, Annabel Monaghan’s Same Time Next Summer, You Were Always Mine by Christine Pride and Jo Piazza and of course, Elin Hilderbrand’s latest, The Five-Star Weekend.
Describe your perfect summer wardrobe.
Bikinis, cut off Levi’s, and a few large caftans to cover up my full-length mirrors.
What was your most memorable (best or worst) summer job?
My best summer job was being a counselor at Camp Olympus in the ’80s. Sometimes you look back on things and realize that they were perfect, and sometimes you recognize perfection right in the moment. That time in my life was pretty perfect, and I was lucky to have known it.
What’s the most romantic thing about summer?
The memory of meeting my husband on the beach on Fire Island many moons ago, and the beauty of growing older with him on that same beach.
