Q&A with Karen Dukess, author of "The Last Book Party"

Yesterday was the publication day for "The Last Book Party," one of my favorite reads of the year so far since I was lucky enough to get an advanced copy.  Plus, is that a gorgeous cover for a summer book or what?

If you missed my review of this book in my post on anticipated books of July and August, I'll repeat it for you here.  The protagonist of this novel is a young woman named Eve who works in publishing and then becomes the assistant to a semi-famous writer, and it's set during one summer in 1987 in Manhattan and Cape Cod. The characters all felt like such real people, and there is a strong sense of time and place while at the same time the book feels very timeless, like the story could happen today too. There's also a lot of discussion of writing, reading, and books, which gives the book a pleasantly intellectual feel without being pretentious or heavy. So it's light enough to be a perfect summer book, while still just so smart. If you're a fan of smart insightful authors like Curtis Sittenfeld and Meg Wolitzer, I think you would like this too. 

And don't just take my word for it - it's also an Amazon Best Book of July, an Indie Next Pick and on O Magazine's Best Beach Read list for 2019, among others. 

And, I'm super-excited to bring you a Q&A with the author - no spoilers, so you can safely read this interview even if you haven't read the book yet.

Anticipated books of summer 2019 part 2 - July and August

There are so many great books coming out this summer that I had to split my anticipated books of summer into two separate posts.  If you missed it, I already covered  the books I was excited about which were coming out in May and June, so today I'll tell you about books coming out in July and August.  (And I'm happy to say that since I wrote that first post, I've read 6 of the 12 books I listed there - not too shabby!)  So if your summer reading list isn't already long enough, here are some more books for your consideration!

From the Top 10 Archives - Jen's 10 Favorite Books of 2013

Since I started this blog, I've been periodically looking back at my old top 10 lists from years past and seeing how I feel about them today and other random things about them - and I'm getting close to catching up!  If you don't remember the details, I've kept lists each year of my ten favorite books all the way back to 1999.  In the early days I only shared the list with a small group, but over the years the distribution list got larger, plus I started sharing first on Facebook and then on this blog.  The lists comprise books I read in a particular year, not necessarily books published that year.

Here's my list from 2013, in alphabetical order by author's last name:

Life After Life - Kate Atkinson
Bitterblue - Kristen Cashore
Wonder - R.J. Palacio
Night Film - Marisha Pessl
Eleanor & Park - Rainbow Rowell
The Song Remains the Same - Allison Winn Scotch
The Rosie Project - Graeme Simsion
The Lotus Eaters - Tatjana Soli
The Age of Miracles - Karen Thompson Walker
The 5th Wave - Rick Yancey

For more about these books, read on!

Light fiction/vacation reads, volume 2

Both before and since I've had a blog, people ask me for book recommendations all the time.  I'd say the category of books I'm asked to recommend most often is light fiction, often to read on vacation.  Early on I wrote posts on both what to read on vacation and on light fiction, and I've also written about summer-themed books.  Since it has been a while, and since Memorial Day weekend is about to come kick off the summer season, seemed like a good time to suggest a few more books for your light vacation reading consideration!

Here are my latest recommendations:

Eligible by Curtis Sittenfeld - This modern day re-telling of "Pride and Prejudice" was one of my top 10 books of 2018.  It combined Curtis Sittenfeld's knack for bringing flawed yet sympathetic characters to life with Jane Austen's proto-chick lit plot.  So much fun to read!  (Bonus recommendation - if this book spurs your interest in reading more "Pride and Prejudice" re-tellings, you can also check out Unmarriageable by Soniah Kamal which sets the P&P story in present day Pakistan; I started reading it on my winter vacation this year.  Not as good as "Eligible" but it was a fun read.)

The Royal We by Heather Cocks and Jessica Morgenstern - Another book from my top 10 books of 2018, and I actually read this one on my 2018 summer vacation.  This is one of those chick lit books with heart, about an American college student abroad who falls in love with the fictional prince of England.  It was a perfect vacation read, light and fun and I couldn't put it down.  And I'm super-excited that apparently a sequel to it will be coming out in 2020!

Class Mom by Laurie Gelman - This was such a funny book, kind of a comedic satire of modern mom life about a mother of two older kids who reluctantly becomes the class mother for her youngest's kindergarten class, and it includes her snarky e-mails to the class.  If you've ever been a class mom or PTA volunteer, and/or rolled your eyes at overenthusiastic e-mails from those people, you will relate to this one!  A sequel to this one, "You've Been Volunteered," comes out in July and I can't wait to read it!

Daisy Jones & the Six by Taylor Jenkins Reid - Not sure this one exactly fits the "light fiction" bill - Taylor Jenkins Reid's excellent earlier chick lit books really are lighter than this one.  But it is  definitely a book that benefits from reading it quickly and  therefore would make a good vacation book since you're more likely to have time to read it!  Plus it's my number one book so far of 2019.  It's written in the unusual format of an oral history, but of a totally fictitious 1970s band.  I absolutely adored it - you can read my 5 star review for more.

Charlotte Walsh Likes to Win by Jo Piazza - I read this novel last summer and really enjoyed it.  It's about a well-off female executive from humble beginnings who leaves her Silicon Valley life behind to move back with her husband and small kids to the small town in Pennsylvania where she grew up and run for Senate against the racist, sexist good old boy who has held that Senate seat for many years. Although it's written in a breezy, almost chick-lit style, it's actually a thought-provoking book with a lot to say about politics, marriage, and feminism. 

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That being said, I know not everyone wants to read contemporary women's fiction on vacation.  I personally like to read a mix of genres on my vacations, and I've written several posts on what I read on various of my vacations since starting this blog (see here, here, here, and here.)  You can also check out my top 10 lists both past and present, and my posts on various specific genres that interest you.  Or hit me up for a personalized book recommendation!

Must Read Authors Part 2 - Authors I'm Still Catching Up On

Last month, I wrote a post on some of my most favorite, must read authors.  Just to make the list a little shorter, since there are so darn many authors that I follow avidly, I set the condition for myself that to be included on the list, I had to have read ALL of the books published by that particular author.  But making this condition left out some authors who are really quite dear to me, so today I'll share with you another list of must read authors!  This time, it's authors who I love but I'm still working on reading all of their books.  These are authors whose new books will pretty much automatically go on my to read list - either ones I absolutely can't wait to read, or in some cases definitely plan to read sooner rather than later - but I'm still working on catching up on their back catalog.  So let's dive in!

Anticipated books of late spring/ early summer 2019 (May/June)

I know that technically summer doesn't begin until June 21st.  But just like summer movie season started last weekend with Avengers: Endgame (awesome movie!), I feel like summer reading season kind of starts early too.  As the weather starts getting warmer, it seems like the publishing world just explodes with books.  And since there are an absolutely ridiculous number of books coming out between May and August that I want to read, I thought I'd start with a post just covering the early ones - May and June - and then in a few months I'll update you on books coming out in July and August!  Some of these I already discussed in my blog post on anticipated books of 2019, others you might be hearing about here for the first time.

From the Top 10 Archives - Jen's 10 Favorite Books of 2012

Continuing my look back at my old top 10 lists, today I'm going to re-visit my ten favorite books of 2012.  If you haven't followed all of my other posts, for many years I've been making lists at the end of each year of the ten favorite books I read that year - not necessarily published that year - and sharing them with my friends.  Since I started the blog, I've been periodically looking back at my old top 10 lists and seeing what I think of them today!

Here's my list from 2012, in alphabetical order by author's last name:

The Twelve - Justin Cronin
Gone Girl - Gillian Flynn
The Fault in Our Stars - John Green
The Kitchen House - Kathleen Grissom
When She Woke - Hilary Jordan
The Night Circus - Erin Morgenstern
What Alice Forgot - Liane Moriarty
State of Wonder - Ann Patchett
The Lost Wife - Alyson Richman
Beautiful Ruins - Jess Walters


For more about these books, read on!