September is here, but summer isn’t over yet (technically it doesn’t end until the 22nd)! Stretch out the season by finding time to squeeze in one more book. Grab one of our top picks and head to the beach, the park, or your own backyard this Labor Day weekend.
1. Where’d You Go Bernadette? - Maria Semple
When quirky housewife Bernadette goes missing, her 15-year-old daughter Bree is left to pick up the pieces. Bree gathers emails, school newsletters, and official documents in hopes of finding her mother. This format is refreshing and light, making for a quick, witty read.
2. In the Unlikely Event - Judy Blume
Judy Blume’s new adult novel tackles true life historical events, and a multi-generational family drama which begins in the 1950s. As a series of airplanes mysteriously crash into Elizabeth, New Jersey, a community is unhinged. Without an explanation for what happened, what should they prepare for next?
3. Go Set a Watchman - Harper Lee
Set twenty years after her Pulitzer Prize-winning To Kill a Mockingbird, Harper Lee’s newly discovered novel follows 26-year-old Jean Louise Finch as she returns home to Maycomb, Alabama to visit her aging father, Atticus. While there, she makes discoveries that cause her to question the people and place she considers home.
4. Barbarian Days - A Surfing Life - William Finnegan
William Finnegan’s memoir takes readers inside the intense, often obsessive world of surfing. From his childhood in California and Hawaii through his years as a war reporter, Finnegan was always chasing waves. Barbarian Days is full of adventure, male friendship, and surfing culture.
5. The Rocks - Peter Nichols
The Mediterranean Sea makes an irresistible backdrop for this mystery and love story. What happened in 1948 to drive a honeymooning couple apart? As the truth slowly unravels, readers are transported to a coastal resort community that has been feeling the effects of a secret past for decades.
6. Happier at Home - Gretchen Rubin
Gretchen Rubin’s follow up to The Happiness Project focuses on the home, offering up tangible solutions for getting more satisfaction from it. Starting at the beginning of the school year in September, Rubin vows to make her home a happier place through a series of experiments that tackle topics including material objects, marriage, and parenting.
