Today is the first day of summer *cue ocean sound effects* and I’m openly judging books by their cover. It’s no secret that I’m a cover whore and can’t even get to page one of a book if I’m disappointed by the package it's in. Call me superficial, but a good cover can make me tingly all over. I guess I just need to feel that spark. Which is not that different from how I was when I was dating. Looks did matter. They weren’t most important on my list of “must haves,” but they were right up there next to intellect and humor. So if after some less than scintillating conversation, I discovered that there wasn’t much more to the attractive man sitting across from me other than his toned arms and strong jaw, I’d do what any self-respecting single girl would do. Go out with him a few more times, then move on…
But with books, I’m a little more on the picky side. I look for a good cover and then crave a plot that sucks me in and keeps me there until I come up for air on the very last page. I know that’s asking a lot but it happens over and over again with some of my favorite authors. Like Beth Harbison, whose latest novel (with a fun cover!) Thin, Rich, Pretty (also a fabulous title!) comes out on July 6th. (Bonus: If you pre-order it here at B&N, you’ll get 5% off!) The synopses I’ve read say Thin, Rich, Pretty is a story full of 80s references (love that about her books) and tells the story of two best friends who come back into contact with their camp rival some 20 years later. Aside from reminding me about my own camp horror stories, I have no doubt this book will be as fun as Hope In A Jar and Shoe Addicts Anonymous, two of my all-time favorite Harbison books.
On the cover of Jen Lancaster’s My Fair Lazy are just two leopard print slippers. And that’s enough for me. I’ve loved her hilarious past memoirs, Bitter is the New Black and Bright Lights, Big Ass so I know this one won’t disappoint. Any book that has this written on the cover: One Reality Television Addict’s Attempt to Discover If Not Being a Dumb Ass IS the New Black or a Culture-Up Manifesto is my kind of summer read! It’s out now and just ready to be snatched up and taken on summer vacays!
Julie Buxbaum’s After You just came out in paperback and I think has an even better cover than the hardback. I loved Buxbaum’s The Opposite of Love (the cover and the book) and will be ready to dive into After You the story of eight-year-old Sophie who witnesses her mother Lucy's death. Lucy's best friend, Ellie, immediately travels across the Atlantic ocean to help Sophie who's stopped speaking and whose father has retreated to drinking to deal with his own grief. To help Sophie, Ellie turns to the book, The Secret Garden. And as she begins to discover things about her best friend's life, she also must face things about her own, things her best friend didn't even know. Anyone who's had a past full of regret, a best friend or a lost love will relate to this book.
I can’t wait to find a pool, kick my feet up, and dive into these very different yet equally exciting books. What summer reads are you reading?
Lisa Steinke, along with her best friend Liz Fenton, co-authored the chick lit novel I’ll Have Who She’s Having and co-created the popular Chick Lit blog, Chick Lit is Not Dead.
