The thinking woman's beach read
Everything I read on holiday
All I want from a holiday is a pool, an endless supply of cocktails and salty snacks, and plenty of time to read in the sun. I don’t like doing things on holiday, unless those things are swimming, wandering around or sitting at a bar - and in all of those scenarios my ideal conversation topic is what I’ve been reading. In this way, I am sort of anti-culture and I’m only a little embarrassed. Ruins and architectural delights are wasted on me.
This time, I went away with my partner and family: my parents, my sister and brother-in-law and their two kids (one toddler, one newborn). This meant that I was not allowed to read at mealtimes - which is a rule that my partner occasionally waives when we go away just the two of us - and also that there were two small children to play with and generally fuss over during the week. Because of this, I read less than I normally do, but it was worth it because toddlers inject a sense of melodrama and whimsy into dinner conversation that I really enjoy.
I like two different kinds of books on holiday; compulsive reads with fun, sweeping stories that I can’t put down; think Stephen king, Taylor Jenkins Reid etc. or slim thoughtful books about expats having a weird time; Jean Rhys and Hemingway. I usually buy a new hardback book in the airport to read on the plane because I like that airport hardbacks are like giant paperbacks so I can buy a brand new book without the unwieldiness of the dust jacket flapping about (Does anyone else feel like this or is it a niche opinion?).
Ok - the stats. I read five books on this holiday. Two of them were rereads, two of them were by the same author and the last one was a curveball I’d been meaning to read for a while. Let’s go!
Book 1: Long Island Compromise by Taffy Brodesser-Akner
I had been meaning to read this one for a while but I was holding off in the hope I’d find it in the airport. I didn’t, so I bought it on kindle and spent the whole plane ride reading it - with the occasional injection of my niece Posy who was sitting behind me but decided to come for a visit halfway through the journey. I love Posy more than life itself, but I found myself anxious to get back to reading, and if that isn’t a compliment to Brodesser-Akner’s writing then I don’t know what is. Here’s the schtick: Long Island Compromise is a family saga about the forty year fallout after a violent kidnapping. We get long chapters from each of the three Fletcher children’s perspective as well as a couple of sections from the parents. I love books like this - think The Corrections, The Bee Sting, The Interestings - long books that manage to convey the weight of time passing and things changing. I finished it and felt bereft. Also, I loved this book because everyone in it was pretty awful. A mediation on the paradoxes and nuances of wealth that does not shy away from critiquing its subjects. Very very good, very very readable, perfect for plane/train/pool/beach
Book 2: Fleishman is in Trouble by Taffy Brodesser-Akner
Doing that thing where I like a book so much I feel compelled to read the authors back catalogue. I didn’t read this when it came out in 2019 because it was absolutely everywhere and I don’t like doing what I’m told. But I was cutting off my nose to spite my face because this was great and I really enjoyed it. It follows Toby Fleishman, a New York doctor post divorce as he navigates a weird summer of dating apps and attempting to locate his ex-wife. It’s hard to have a unique take on dating apps, and this book doesn’t really, but it’s so funny and heartfelt that I was along for the ride anyway. It’s a novel that spends the first half telling you things and the second half tearing those things down - which I loved. I really enjoyed it, although it didn’t grip me as much as Long Island Compromise. To sum up, Taffy Brodesser-Akners two novels are just as clever, funny and readable as you would expect from her journalism. If you want to try one of her profiles, I’d recommend this one about Jonathan Franzen, which is just brilliant, but her work is consistently great. Side note: I am obsessed with reading interviews with Jonathan Franzen. The Akner profile is my favourite.
Book 4: Heartburn by Nora Ephron
This was a reread. Every couple of years I feel the urge to pick up Heatburn just to check it’s still funny and great. Surprise, it always is! And genuinely funny, not like how every book you pick up these days has a blurb calling it ‘laugh out loud’ and then you read it and there are literally zero jokes. One night, I couldn’t sleep because I was in pain and I asked my partner to read aloud from Heartburn and we both kept laughing despite the pretty dire circumstances. Great writing on food, having friends, being in love, almost everything. It’s quotable and gift-able and easy to read but still so smart. I’m reading back this whole paragraph and rolling my eyes like, this bitch thinks that saying Nora Ephron is funny and good is a hot take. But Heartburn is really good. Sorry!
Book 5: Home Cooking by Laurie Colwin
Another gorgeous writer who died too young, Laurie Colwin’s Home Cooking is a collection of food essays that aren’t really about food. Colwin is so wise and funny, one of those writers where you’d pay money to read her shopping lists. She has a good take on everything. And as a bonus, her fried chicken recipe is great and her bread advice is very useful, even though a lot of the other recipes are quite 80s. For some insane reason, Colwin is not as famous as Nora Ephron; Home Cooking is name-dropped by a lot of famous chefs but her actual writing is criminally underrated. If you’re a When Harry met Sally fan - and everyone is - buy Happy all the Time or if you don’t want to commit to a novel, try her essay, Feeding the Multitudes, which is not really about batch cooking, but homelessness.
Book 3: The Pursuit of Love by Nancy Mitford
As a fan of Mitford Sister’s lore (and before you ask, no Nancy is not a fascist, that’s Unity and Diana), I can’t believe it took me so long to get to this one. As expected, it was very charming and funny. This book demonstrated a sort of keep calm and carry on style of Britishness that I usually find intolerable but actually warmed to here because Nancy Mitford is a great writer and doesn’t rest on anything long enough to be tedious. Surprisingly upsetting at points and verrrrry relatable considering how posh it is and the fact that it was written in 1945. I wish I could resurrect Nancy Mitford and persuade her to write for women’s magazines. I want to hear what she thinks about dating apps.
And there you go! As I said, I read less than I normally do on holiday, but playing in the pool and getting to hear my nieces funny little opinions on things more than made up for it. I also brought my laptop along to continue writing my manuscript because I was worried that if I took a full week off I would lose the momentum with the story. Spoiler: I still lost the momentum a little bit, due to the fact that the hotel I was staying in had QR codes on the pool umbrellas so you could order cocktails to your sun lounger. Whoever is capable of working in those conditions is a better woman than I. See ya! xo
