After the weather this week, it is easy to believe that the long awaited summer season is right around the corner. Whether you are sitting pool side, lounging on the beach or even just enjoying the sun on your back porch, you need some easy reads to enjoy.
Reader Review: Last week I wrote about the new novels from the King of Horror, Stephen King. Read the article here. What's Up? reader Lisa Clark suggested two books about Stephen King: The Movies by Ian Nathan and On Writing by Stephen King. The Movies is about the all of the movies and television shows based on Stephen King's works while On Writing, written by Stephen King, is an introspective look at how he gets his ideas onto paper. Also, don't forget about his new book Billy Summers coming out in August 2021.
Listed below are a few of our favorite summer reads. Do you have any recommendations for me? Email mkotelchuck@whatsupmag.com with your most recent read and a quick review about it to be featured!
Stone Barrington Novels by Stuart Woods: Our Publisher and President, Veronica Tovey, has been recently reading through Stuart Woods' Stone Barrington series. This series contains 44 mystery novels about an attorney in New York City. Start the series off with New York Dead. "Everyone is always telling Stone Barrington that he's too smart to be a cop, but it's pure luck that places him on the streets in the dead of night, just in time to witness the horrifying incident that turns his life inside out. Suddenly he's on the front page of every New York newspaper, and his life is hopelessly entwined in the increasingly shocking life (and perhaps death) of Sasha Nijinsky, the country's hottest and most beautiful television anchorwoman. No matter where he turns, the case is waiting for him, haunting his nights and turning his days into a living hell. Stone finds himself caught in a perilous web of unspeakable crimes, dangerous friends, and sexual depravity that has throughout it one common thread: Sasha."
The Leaving by Tata Altebrando: "Eleven years ago, six kindergarteners went missing without a trace. After all that time, the people left behind moved on, or tried to. Until today. Today five of those kids return. They're sixteen, and they are . . . fine. Scarlett comes home and finds a mom she barely recognizes, and doesn't really recognize the person she's supposed to be, either. But she thinks she remembers Lucas. Lucas remembers Scarlett, too, except they're entirely unable to recall where they've been or what happened to them. Neither of them remember the sixth victim, Max. He doesn't come back. Everyone wants answers. Most of all Max's sister Avery, who needs to find her brother--dead or alive--and isn't buying this whole memory-loss story."
After I Do by Taylor Jenkins Reid: "When Lauren and Ryan’s marriage reaches the breaking point, they come up with an unconventional plan. They decide to take a year off in the hopes of finding a way to fall in love again. One year apart, and only one rule: they cannot contact each other. Aside from that, anything goes. Lauren embarks on a journey of self-discovery, quickly finding that her friends and family have their own ideas about the meaning of marriage. These influences, as well as her own healing process and the challenges of living apart from Ryan, begin to change Lauren’s ideas about monogamy and marriage. She starts to question: When you can have romance without loyalty and commitment without marriage, when love and lust are no longer tied together, what do you value? What are you willing to fight for?"
