5 Good Things - Beach Read Edition

For summer relaxing and beyond

I’ve been getting into feel-good reads lately and usually consume a book/week on the Kindle app on my phone (easiest and most portable option). So this long weekend edition of Good Things is dedicated to that genre and is highly recommended for summer reading by the pool, beach or on your hammock (wow, you have a hammock?)

I owe a HUGE thank you to Fran Hauser who got me back on my reading game through her fantastic Instagram account Fran’s bookshelf, from whom I originally got many of these recommendations and then ended up just following the author. PS - if you are in the corporate world you must read her bestselling books The Myth of The Nice Girl and Embrace Your Work - Love Your Career. And if you’re an aspiring author, make sure you sign up for her Bookbound Accelerator!

Photo credit for all the covers - they are just screenshots from the Kindle Store and hence I have linked back to them (copyright belongs to the authors). Note that many of these e-books are free if you have Kindle Unlimited - I ended up signing up for it after the $12.99 charges started to pile up and think it’s totally worth it.

In no particular order

1. Romance

   

   1. Annabel Monaghan - Nora Goes Off Script, Same Time Next Summer, Summer Romance (pre-order) - Extreme feel-good category, I absolutely love her writing.

   2. Emily Henry - Happy Place, People We Meet on Vacation, Book Lovers, Funny Story, Beach Read - Even just the titles take me to my happy place. Reading these books is like taking a joy multi-vitamin (that works).

   3. Abby Jimenez - Just for the Summer, Part of your World, Yours Truly - Multi-layered delightful romances, with several characters continued across books. The author is also a Food Network winner and owns Nadia Cakes in Minnesota!

2. Whimsical Fiction - I'm not sure if this is a real category, but hey, this is my list.

   

   1. Hotel Nantucket by Elin Hilderbrand - A summer at a newly-renovated Nantucket hotel complete with lots of rose, a friendly ghost and an Instagram influencer. Unique and compelling.

   2. The Matchmaker’s Gift by Linda Cohen Luigman - A divorce lawyer realizes she has inherited her entrepreneurial grandmother’s gift for matching soulmates. Yeah!

3. Fiction

   

   1. Counterfeit by Kirstin Chen - A fast-paced read about a pair of Asian American women that operate a luxury handbag scam - complex friendships, cat and mouse switches - this one keeps you guessing and was the first book recommended by Fran that got me back on my reading horse!

   2. Lessons in Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus - Yes, this one spun off a TV series but the book is irresistible. Elizabeth Zott is a talented chemist in the 1960s that faces stubborn chauvinism in her workplace and then turns into the star of a cooking show. A teaspoon of sodium chloride, anyone?

   3. Blank by Zibby Owens - Facing writer’s block after a best-seller, a desperate writer takes a huge risk. Can she pull it off? A protagonist you’ll fall in love with and some fabulous plot twists!

4. Memoir

   

   1. Blissful Thinking - A Memoir of Overcoming the Wellness Revolution by my friend

      LL Kirchner
      - A vivid, sharply humorous and insightful account of the pursuit of wellness - Lisa Kirchner takes you on a trip you'll remember (includes yoga in India, as it must). Also run to pre-order her debut novel, Florida Girls!

   2. Bookends by Zibby Owens - Zibby is a dynamo who does the work of 5 people and I am beyond inspired by her gripping memoir. Also don’t miss her award-winning podcast Mom’s Don’t Have Time To Read Books.

   3. Private Equity by Carrie Sun - An analyst who drops her immigrant-parent-approved finance job to become an assistant to the founder of a top hedge fund, and her struggle to regain her identity when it gets consumed by work. Tough one to put down and lots that I could relate to from my old life- recommendation from my husband!

5. Indian-American authors - I’m delighted to highlight this category (being AAPI month and all! Also there are a couple of others in other categories in this list, obv). I would love to hear if you have any recommendations.

   

   1. Friends in Napa by Sheila Yasmin Marikar - When six frenemies from college descend on Napa valley, old conflicts return while wine flows - what could go wrong? Superbly etched out characters, lots of suspense and an action-packed ending. Read also The Goddess Effect for a similar vibe.

   2. In a Not so Perfect World by Neely Tubati Alexander- A video game developer is about to get her dream job offer but there’s a catch - no love life allowed. So wait, what is she doing in Turks and Caicos with her hot neighbor? Easy and fun read! See also Love Buzz by the same author.

What are your favorite books in the feel-good category? Put them in the comments for me to pick from this summer!