Throw these in your beach bag.
It’s no secret that Katie Couric Media staffers are massive bookworms, and from sharing lists of our favorite books for grandparents, best reads for moms, best offerings from bestselling authors, and our top picks from very specific genres, we’ve discovered you are all bibliophiles, too.
While we read all year and could dole out recommendations any day of the week, we have a soft spot for summer reads. Whether you’re relaxing on the beach, hopping on a plane to your dream vacation destination, or even commuting home in the July heat, there’s something special about delving into your warm-weather reading list. Maybe it’s because it reminds us of the summers we spent trying to complete school reading assignments or that escaping into someone else’s story just feels like a mini vacation, whether you’re actually on one or not.
Katie and John are no exception to the sway of summer reads — they’re bursting with recommendations, which they share here. The rest of our editors joined in on the fun by gushing about their fave, new, wide-ranging picks. From suspense to drama to short stories, your next obsession will surely be on this list.
Katie Couric’s book recommendations for summer 2024
That Summer, by Jennifer Weiner
Jennifer Weiner knows how to write a summer beach read. This latest one’s about two very different women whose lives intertwine via mixed-up email addresses. I can’t wait to plop my you-know-what in a chair and start this on the beach!
Summer Island, by Kristin Hannah
I haven’t read a Kristin Hannah novel before (although I know so many people who love her books), but this one sounds right up my alley. In Summer Island, a bitter daughter returns home to care for her long-estranged mother — and it seems like both of them have some lessons to learn about forgiveness. I’ll keep you all posted on my review.
Seven Summer Weekends, by Jane L. Rosen
My friend Jane Rosen is such a talented writer. I loved her book On Fire Island, and my guess is I’ll love this one too! It’s about a woman who inherits a dreamy Fire Island beach house that comes complete with quirky guests and a handsome next-door neighbor.
Park Avenue Summer, by Renée Rosen
This pick has been described as Mad Men meets The Devil Wears Prada — which put it at the top of my list. It’s a fast-paced novel set in 1965 New York City, and the protagonist is a wide-eyed, small-town girl who’s thrust into the cutthroat magazine biz. What’s not to love?
Demon Copperhead, by Barbara Kingsolver
I’ve been carrying around this Pulitzer Prize winner for months but haven’t had the time to read it. I know so many people who loved it (including my daughter Ellie), so I can’t wait to crack it open. Inspired by David Copperfield, it follows an Appalachian boy nicknamed “Demon” as he survives poverty in the American South.
John Molner’s book recommendations for summer 2024
Just the Good Stuff, by Jim VandeHei
I enjoy business and advice books, but there are only a few that’ve stayed with me years after I’ve put them down. And I know that’ll be the case with a new book called Just the Good Stuff by Jim VandeHei, co-creator and CEO of Axios (and before that, Politico). He calls this his “no BS secrets to success,” and his savvy way of offering insights will be relevant to anyone interested in achieving success, either career or personal.
VandeHei’s advice — on “life stuff, work stuff, boss stuff, and even tough stuff” — is relatable in large measure because he’s the first to tell you how he’s messed up in the past. A screw-up in his school days (with a 1.9 GPA and limited ambition beyond securing his next beer), VandeHei’s life changed when he found his passion, journalism. Speaking of passion, he argues that we should each pursue work “so personally satisfying that you would do it for free.” Since finding his professional purpose, VandeHei has enjoyed enormous commercial success (Axios sold a few years ago for $525 million) and, by his account, a rich personal life.
The guidance in Just the Good Stuff also hits the mark because VandeHei writes in the “smart brevity” style, pioneered alongside his brilliant Axios co-founders, Mike Allen and Roy Schwartz. He explains, “Chances are you talk and write too long, too fancily, too foggy. You need to be smarter, briefer, more straightforward.” So, Buy this book. Read it carefully. Commit to deliberate actions to achieve your personal success. Is that brief enough?
Katie Couric Media staff’s book recommendations for summer 2024
Nightbitch, by Rachel Yoder
This gripping novel follows a narrator whose name we never learn, but whose problems are quite clear: As she struggles to reorient her life after motherhood turns it upside down, she begins transforming into a dog. She sprouts fur, develops an insatiable appetite for raw meat, and spends nights roaming the neighborhood in search of smelly things to roll around in. The descriptions of her animalistic behavior are darkly funny, but the book has plenty of serious things to say about the unique toll parenthood takes on women (which I found thought-provoking even as someone who neither has children nor can biologically bear them). Nightbitch got major buzz when it was published in 2021, but if you haven’t read it yet, this summer is the perfect time to catch up — a big-screen adaptation starring Amy Adams hits theaters later this year. — Ryan Buxton, Features Director
Shakespeare: The Man Who Pays the Rent, by Dame Judi Dench
Nerd alert: I love reading Shakespeare. But it’s been a while since I cracked open my Complete Works of William Shakespeare textbook from drama school, so my days of easily breezing through one of his plays and understanding at least 80 percent of it are far behind me. Alas, I’ve been craving some iambic pentameter. Knowing my Early Modern English was rusty (and not wanting to dampen summer with a tragedy), it seemed unlikely I’d satiate my craving. Until I heard about Dame Judi Dench’s new book. Yes, the fabulous Judi Dench from the big screen. You probably know this, but she’s also renowned for her stage experience and has acted in 21 of Shakespeare’s 38 plays — some more than once. In conversation with actor and director Brendan O’Hea, this oral history of Dench’s relationship with Shakespeare is a charming, near-complete journey through his works, with tons of British wit and inside scoop mixed in. If you love Dench, dry humor, or classical theater, you’ll appreciate this lighthearted romp through Stratford-upon-Avon and beyond. — Maggie Parker, Deputy Editor
The Searcher, by Tana French
I’m self-admittedly late to the Tana French fan club (I’ve been under a rock, I’m sorry!), but I love a good crime mystery — bonus points if the person solving it is brooding and the story is set somewhere on an isolated foreign coast. Enter The Searcher, where we meet Cal Hooper, a former Chicago police officer who’s ended up in a remote Irish village after a divorce. (Check and check.) Hooper is looking to build a new, quiet life but gets wrapped up in a missing-person case that unravels dangerous secrets that lay just below the surface of this idyllic small town. This book was published in 2021, but the second book in the Cal Hooper series, The Hunter, just came out in February 2024 (and already has rave reviews), so it’s a perfect time to revisit or dive in for the first time! — Julia Lewis, Producer
We Were Once a Family: A Story of Love, Death, and Child Removal in America, by Roxanna Asgarian
Honestly, this isn’t your typical light, summer beach read — but if you’re interested in harrowing tales of social injustice, this brilliant piece of heartfelt journalism has to be next on your list. Asgarian expertly unpacks the incredibly complex story of the Hart family murders and asks if this tragic case of family annihilation was preventable. Asgarian dissects the family histories of the adopted Hart kids to expose racist and classist patterns woven tightly within the institution of American foster care. You’ll emerge with a newfound perspective on what families need from the systems that are intended to protect and nurture children. — Diana Valenzuela, Assistant Editor
The Bee Sting, Paul Murray
I’ve been a sucker for books shortlisted for the Booker Prize since I took a course on Booker winners at the University of Wisconsin in the early 2000s. The Bee Sting fits the mold well but also surpasses expectations in key ways. This modern drama focused on a middle-class family in small-town Ireland casually and methodically weaves undertones of classism, wealth, identity, gender, and politics through a story comprising different chapters in the voices of each family member. The novel is structured to gain momentum as the story progresses, with longer chapters laying character backstories near the front of the 600+ page behemoth. But the characters are anything but a slog: They’re compelling and relatable, in ways archetypal without being cliché. Murray deftly uses their different voices and storytelling modalities to lend an omnipotent narrator quality to the patchwork story. The end result is a colorful, beautiful narrative that drives readers to discussions of meanings and themes. You won’t regret a single moment reading or discussing this book. — Matthew Sobocinski, Video Producer
Women! In! Peril!, by Jessie Ren Marshall
As an editor, I am ashamed to admit that it’s hard for me to finish a book quickly these days. I spend my entire day reading and writing, so in the evenings, I just want to allow my brain to rot by watching bad TV or listening to music. However, I recently tore through Jessie Ren Marshall’s collection of short stories, Women! In! Peril!, all of which are full of dry humor, witty social commentary, and incredibly creative characters. The stories take you everywhere, from the inner workings of the mind of a sex robot to the thought spirals of a woman living in space after the Earth’s demise. You’ll find yourself relating to her protagonists in unexpected ways, laughing to keep from crying, and being in total awe of how someone can create the types of stories she does. I highly recommend it to anyone in search of hope and laughter in these trying times, especially if you identify as a woman. — Katie Pittman, Commerce Editor
Rip Tide, by Colleen McKeegan
This is a beach read, but it’s got a little more meat than your usual breezy fare. It’s set in a small town on the Jersey Shore, where everyone knows everyone, and centered on sisters Kimmy and Erin Devine. The novel opens with the discovery of a body, then flips back in time between the early 2000s and present day as it explores sisterhood, sexuality, trauma, and forgiveness. — Sara Levine, Managing Editor of Newsletters
Tom Lake, by Ann Patchett
I truly devoured this book. From its beautiful writing to its plot twists, Tom Lake by Ann Patchett is a wonderful story to start your summer. The novel follows Lara and her three daughters as she tells the story of a summer long ago when she fell in love with famous actor Peter Duke. Taking place on what can only be described as a magical farm in northern Michigan, the novel goes back and forth between the past and the present as Lara reveals the details of her life before children. What I loved about this book was the complexity of Lara and the reminder that a woman’s life doesn’t begin when her children are born. Tom Lake is beautifully written, and I related to Lara’s daughters’ curiosity as someone from a family of three daughters myself. This would be great for a book club with some girlfriends. — Alyssa Horwitz, Executive Assistant
The Next Mrs. Parrish, by Liv Constantine
The sequel to the national bestseller The Last Mrs. Parrish is the perfect summer beach read. Daphne and Amber Parrish are once again thrust into each other’s lives as their abusive ex, Jackson Parrish, is set to be released from prison. Daphne Parrish has tried to put her ex-husband behind her but is forced to reconcile once her daughter starts demanding facetime with her father. Meanwhile, Amber’s forced to team up with Daphne, her one-time rival, when a ghost from her past resurfaces. — Sara Levine, Managing Editor of Newsletters
Anna Bright is Hiding Something, by Susie Orman Schnall
Oftentimes, I find that when a book is described as “X” meets “Y,” the comparisons are totally off — so believe me when I say that this book is truly a delightful mixture of The Dropout meets Inventing Anna. It’s centered on an enigmatic young startup founder and the ambitious journalist who sets her sights on covering her, and this fast-paced read tackles issues like sexism in Silicon Valley, toxic workplace culture, and the “fake it ‘til you make it” mentality. — Sara Levine, Managing Editor of Newsletters
