AYESHA RASCOE, HOST:
In a few weeks, I'll be going on vacation. Now, I know where I'm going. I know who I'm going with. What I don't know is, what books should I be bringing? Thankfully, NPR's Books team has published its midyear list of staff favorite reads. Here to talk us through some of the selections is Andrew Limbong, host of NPR's Book Of The Day podcast. Hey, Andrew.
ANDREW LIMBONG, BYLINE: Hey, Ayesha. How's it going?
RASCOE: It's going good. Ready for a vacation, definitely.
(LAUGHTER)
LIMBONG: Yeah.
RASCOE: So hit us with a few beach reads.
LIMBONG: OK. All right - with the caveat that any book can be a beach read as long as, you know, you're reading and you're on a beach, right? If you're in the mood for something quick and plot-driven, there's this book called "All The Other Mothers Hate Me" by Sarah Harman, which I think you've read - right? - Ayesha?
RASCOE: I have read it. We did it for the show. And I agree. It's a great beach read. It's a lot of fun.
LIMBONG: Yeah. For folks who haven't read it, it's about a woman in her 30s who used to be in a band. And now she's, like, a single mom with a kid who goes to this, like, hoity-toity private school for boys. And one of the other boys in the school goes missing, and so our hero has to play detective. It's like a fish-out-of-water family story with the twists and turns of a thriller.
But if your idea of a beach read is something chewier - something, like, epic and sweeping - there's this book called "My Name Is Emilia Del Valle." And that's the new book by the famous Chilean American writer Isabel Allende. This book is set in the late 1800s, and in Tibet, a young female journalist covering the Chilean Civil War. And, you know, it goes into the history of the conflict and what female journalists had to go through at the time. But beneath all of that history, there's really nice romance holding it all together. So there's something in it for everyone.
RASCOE: So what if my idea of a relaxing vacation read is, like, true crime?
LIMBONG: It would be for you, right? I mean (laughter)...
RASCOE: Yes. Yes.
LIMBONG: Yeah.
(LAUGHTER)
LIMBONG: Well, you are in luck because there is literally a book on the midyear list titled "Murderland." Actually, this book was recommended by WEEKEND EDITION's own Melissa Gray. Shoutout, Melissa.
RASCOE: Yes.
LIMBONG: It's written by Caroline Fraser, who has previously won a Pulitzer for her biography of Laura Ingalls Wilder - you know, the woman who wrote "Little House On The Prairie." "Murderland" is a little different. It's about the decades-long stretch where the Pacific Northwest was actually disproportionately home to a bunch of serial killers, including Ted Bundy. And Fraser is trying to interrogate why - right? - and figured out this pattern that has to do with the environment.
RASCOE: I'm definitely sold on that. What about for younger readers? I definitely want my kids reading this summer.
LIMBONG: There is a new "Hunger Games" book out, and it's called "Sunrise On The Reaping." This is actually a prequel to the original series. It takes place about 24 years before the events of the first book. And it centers on Haymitch Abernathy, who fans will know as the, like, jaded alcoholic mentor to Katniss Everdeen in the original trilogy. This book is about how Haymitch won the 50th Hunger Games. And, you know, while we know the eventual ending to the book, that doesn't mean it's any, like, less dark and suspenseful than any other "Hunger Games" book. And the movie's actually already been announced, so now's kind of a good time to get in on the ground floor.
RASCOE: For those who are staying home for vacation, doing a little staycation, is there a book that makes you feel like you're on a road trip?
LIMBONG: Yeah. There's this book titled "Prose To The People: A Celebration Of Black Bookstores" by Katie Mitchell. It's a collection of profiles about 50 Black bookstores from across the country, and it's kind of a unique way of looking at what grounds a city, a neighborhood or a town. And it's also a kind of fun celebration of how bookstores in general operate as more than just, like, a place where you go and pay money for a book. They are something bigger, and they mean something more to a community.
RASCOE: What's been one of your favorite books so far this year?
LIMBONG: All right. Yeah. One of the books I loved this year so far was Hal Ebbott's "Among Friends." It's about these two college buddies who become lifelong friends. And the book starts when they're older, right? They've both got a wife and a kid each. And they're together, celebrating a birthday at one of those, like, oh, let's rent a house together and have dinner and drinks all weekend long. It should be fun, right? What could go wrong? You know, it's like this tinderbox of old resentments and jealousies, right? Because nobody can get on your nerves like your best friend or your spouse or your kid. As all of that is simmering - I don't want to spoil it - but something happens and everything turns upside down. It's not a thriller, per se. But the way Ebbott writes these sort of, like, domestic dramas, something as simple as, like, one character getting another a drink feels super thrilling.
RASCOE: Yeah, that sounds very intriguing.
LIMBONG: Yeah. But - all right, what about you? What are you looking forward to?
RASCOE: So there're two books that I really want to read, and they are both authors that we featured on the show. One of them is Gabino Iglesias. He also does a lot of book reviews for NPR. But I really loved his book last year, "House of Bone and Rain." And he has a new book out, "Zero Saints," and so I really want to get into that.
And then also, Daniel Kraus has a new book, "Angel Down." I really want to read that, as well. He wrote "Whalefall," which was about, you know, a man who got swallowed by a whale. But he does really great, like, horror and the horror genre - things like this. This is about, like, an angel that comes down during a war. But I was sold. I was sold.
LIMBONG: Yeah.
RASCOE: (Laughter).
LIMBONG: Your bag situation's going to be crazy. I don't know how you're going to be lifting all this (laughter).
RASCOE: I don't know. I don't know.
(LAUGHTER)
RASCOE: Well, thank you so much. That was Andrew Limbong, host of NPR's Book Of The Day podcast.
LIMBONG: Thanks, Ayesha.
(SOUNDBITE OF MUSIC) Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
NPR transcripts are created on a rush deadline by an NPR contractor. This text may not be in its final form and may be updated or revised in the future. Accuracy and availability may vary. The authoritative record of NPR’s programming is the audio record.
