Books to transport you across the globe

Plus cozy magical reads and "apocalyptic systems thrillers"

Hi readers!

Last weekend we traveled to Palm Spring sto get away for part of Louise’s spring break. This is the third time we’ve been and it pretty much can’t be beat as a vacation spot for us at this point in our lives. The flight is less than two hours, the airport is tiny which means picking up and dropping off a rental car is a breeze, and once you’re there it’s basically a 10 minute drive to a gazillion AirBnBs with pools. For us, the key for traveling with a two year old has been zero expectations and making sure we have somewhere nice where the monitor reaches to hangout during naps and post bedtime. Luckily for us, our notoriously bad sleeper gave us the gift of three exquisite naps each of the three days we were gone, which meant I got to do some much needed and long-missed poolside reading.

I focuses most of my Palm Springs reading on exploring more titles for my Paperback Summer Reading Guide. It’s crunch time, but it also felt very appropriate to the locale. I had quite a few busts, unfortunately, which is always a strange thing about reading for a specific purpose. A book that I may actually really like becomes a bit of a bummer when it isn’t right for my current project. I finally found more of my groove on our last day and am back to feeling good about finding just the right books for my collection.

This week in books.

This week I read…

• The Three of Us by Ore Agbaje-Williams. I really enjoy a story of a relation told from multiple perspectives because we see the way the parties involved in a romantic partnership interpret the same events in drastically different ways. The Three of Us takes that idea and gives it a twist: we get the same events told from the perspective of a wife, a husband, and the wife’s best friend. Nothing much happens in this book. Two friends enjoy a bottle of wine over lunch, relationships are reflected on, a friend discusses her dating life—but Agbaje-Williams manages to reveal so much about these people and people in general in very few pages. Ultimately, what I took away from this book is the “threes” involved in any couple. Whether it’s work, a child, a friend, an obsession, a worry—there are always outside factors interpreted and handled differently by romantic partners, and that can lead many unexpected places. Amazon | Bookshop | Libro.fm

• Stolen by Ann-Helén Laestadius. I’ve been wanting to read this Swedish translation set amongst the Sámi reindeer herders for months, and I’m glad I waited to read it with the FictionMatters Book Club. The story begins when nine-year old Elsa discovers her reindeer butchered. Although she sees the man who did it, she is paralyzed with fear and unable to tell anyone this truth she knows. This fear gradually morphs into anger and ten years later we see Elsa continuing to fight for justice in the face of a willfully negligent police force and unrelenting systemic racism. There are some thriller elements to this book, especially as the story draws to its dramatic conclusion, but it was the quieter moments and breadth of issues Laestadius brings into her story that made this novel a winner for me. I highly recommend this, though I do want to note that there is graphic animal abuse on the page. I recommend readers who are at all sensitive to this—even a tiny bit—skip chapter 36. Amazon | Bookshop | Libro.fm

• The Pink Hotel by Liska Jacobs. I started this book as a contender for my Paperback Summer Reading Guide only to discover it’s not out in paperback until mid-July…whomp whomp. But it was fast, absorbing, and perfectly complementary to my Palm Springs vacation locale, so I decided to finish it poolside anyway. This story follows a very young newlywed couple on their honeymoon at the famed Pink Hotel (inspired, I believe, by the Beverly Hills Hotel) in Los Angelas. They are firmly outsiders at this luxury spot and soon new wife kit learns that her husband Kyle brought them to this spot more for a job interview at the hotel’s kitchen than a romantic vacation for the two of them. Things really take a turn when wildfires break out in the California hills and the guests are forced to shelter together to survive. The side characters include both guests and staff, and Jacobs exposes the reader to the interior thoughts of almost everyone. This leads to a lack of desired tension, because you know what everyone is thinking and feeling. I’d still recommend this, if you don’t mind over-the-top plot points and a bit of repetition. It would pair well with The White Lotus’ satirical take on the ultra wealthy’s vacation antics. Amazon | Bookshop | Libro.fm

Now I’m reading…

• The Garden by Clare Beams (out April 9th). I loved Beams’ debut The Illness Lesson and so far this one is exactly what I’d hoped for in a sophomore novel. Amazon | Bookshop | Libro.fm

If you are an international reader or just prefer UK covers, you can also order books through my Blackwell’s affiliate page!

Links I love.

If you want to track your progress on The Atlantic’s Great American Novel List or don’t have access to the list behind the paywall, you can see all the books and mark them as you go on Storygraph.

My friend Cree interviewed Percival Everett about James, and it is such a great read!

Six books that will jolt your senses awake. (Atlantic)

A brief literary history of the murder ballad. (Lit Hub)

The best new books to read in April. (Time)

The best and most anticipated mysteries and thrillers of 2024. (Elle)

I haven’t been actively playing my NYT games, but I loved this little profile of Connections and what makes it so fun…and so frustrating. (Vox)

I have very mixed feelings about personality tests (that’s a conversation for another day) so I enjoyed reading this piece. (Time)

16 cozy and magical reads. (Pop Sugar)

I’m not sure I’m brave enough to read these “apocalyptic systems thrillers.” (NYT)

Professional book people shared how to set goals and read more. (NPR)

Romantasy series for fans of ACOTAR. (Vulture)

For book recommendations, people are always better than algorithms. (Lit Hub)

End notes.

This week in views, listens, eats, and moments of joy.

• I am obsessed with this dry shampoo. I can go days without washing my hair and I feel like my hair actually looks better than when I wash it.

• Every year for my birthday, I gift myself some skincare products. This year I invested in this Vitamin C serum and this insanely luxurious moisturizer. I love them both.

• I am ready for spring shopping! I loved this roundup of stylish spring footwear from

  Chelsey Feder
  . I’m also eyeing all the beautiful tops from Sezane, especially this and this.

• I’m also ready for spring cleaning. I always like going through my closet after my birthday to get rid of the things that don’t feel like me anymore. Hoping to do that this week, with an audiobook in my ears, of course.

• For me, vacationing with a little one is about latching onto the little moments of joy and forgetting about all the big things I might have in mind. Louise’s absolute delight about morning swims, scurrying lizards, and palm trees “with beards” made the trip—even though more going on also meant more meltdowns.

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Happy reading!

Sara