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What makes a good summer read? For St. Louis County Library associate Tammy Albohaire, it鈥檚 a book she can really dig into. 鈥淭o me, a good summer read 鈥� some would say light and airy, I say meaty,鈥� she said. 鈥淚 like memoirs.鈥�

For Maryann Brickey, director of Central Services at St. Louis Public Library, the ideal beach read is easy to put down and pick back up again later.

鈥淚'm someone who wants to be able to put the book down and not even remember the characters' names because it's not even important 鈥� it's not about that,鈥� she said. 鈥淚t's not anything that's going to change your life or change the way you think about the world, but it's just going to be a light, fun read.鈥�

Albohaire and Brickey share this year鈥檚 best summer reads and their all-time beach read favorites in this episode of St. Louis on the Air. Listen to the conversation on , , or or by clicking the play button below.

TAMMY ALBOHAIRE鈥橲 PICKS

• 鈥淣ight, Wherever We Go鈥� by Tracey Rose Peyton (2023) 鈥淭his novel takes place in Texas during slavery. The Lucys鈥� plantation is struggling, and they have sent for six women to help their struggling plantation by bearing children. The Lucys hire a stockman, who is supposed to impregnate the women. But there is a catch: Nan, a midwife and medicine woman, gives the women cotton root to chew on, as to prevent pregnancy. In the midst of all this, the women build a bond that will never be broken.鈥�
  

  

  Emily Woodbury

• 鈥淭he Love You Save鈥� by Goldie Taylor (2023) 鈥淕oldie Taylor tells the story of her own life, growing up in St. Louis and East St. Louis. This memoir is raw and gripping! This book is one you won鈥檛 soon forget. It鈥檚 a story for the ages.鈥�
  
• 鈥淭he Perfect Ruin鈥� by Shanora Williams (2021) 鈥淚vy Hill is very angry after a family tragedy. She wants to destroy the life of Miami socialite Lola Maxwell. Ivy wants revenge and will stop at nothing to get it. If you like psychological thrillers, twists and turns, this book is for you.
• 鈥淟eave the World Behind鈥� by Rumaan Alam (2020) 鈥淐lay and Amanda set out on a family vacation with their children to a beautiful cabin just outside of New York City. While vacationing, there is a knock on the door. It鈥檚 Ruth and George, an older African American couple who claim to be the owners of the cabin. As the families meet, they realize there is a blackout in New York City 鈥� there is no internet, and there is no cell phone service. How will these families navigate living together in this cabin? Will they survive what looks to be a doomsday prophecy?鈥�
  
• 鈥淪ummer on the Bluffs鈥� by Sunny Hoskin (2020) 鈥淎ma (Amelia Vaux Tanner) is getting older, so she invites her goddaughters to Chateau Laveau, which is located in Oak Bluffs, an exclusive Black beach community. They are to embark on one last summer together as Ama is moving to the South of France. This summer will be like no other as Ama wants to give the house to one of them. Secrets will be told and discoveries will be made that will change their lives forever.鈥�
  
• 鈥淧ark Avenue Summer鈥� by Renee Rosen (2019) 鈥淚t鈥檚 1965, and Alice Weiss leaves her small Midwestern town for New York City. She lands a job as the assistant for the editor-in-chief of Cosmopolitan Magazine, Helen Gurley-Brown. With this job comes lavish parties, meeting the rich and famous 鈥� all while a scandal is brewing. I would recommend this book to anyone who likes historical fiction, glitz and glamour.鈥�
  
• 鈥淭he Seaside Caf茅鈥� by Rochelle Alers (2019) 鈥淪et off the coast of North Carolina, three women, Leah, Kayana and Cherie, meet and rewrite their own stories after joining a book club at the Seaside Cafe. Leah wants to leave a troubled marriage, Kayana meets a recluse who lives in town and Cherie is leaving her sketchy past in Atlanta. This book is light and airy, perfect for summer.鈥�

MARYANN BRICKEY鈥橲 PICKS

• 鈥淗ighly Suspicious and Unfairly Cute鈥� by Talia Hibbert (2023) 鈥淲hile considered noted romance author Hibbert鈥檚 entry into the world of young adult fiction, 鈥楬ighly Suspicious and Unfairly Cute鈥� has enough character development to be an enjoyable, if light, adult read 鈥� which of course makes it perfect for the beach! Bradley Graeme and Celine Bangura shine as the intelligent teen protagonists whose former friends-to-rivals-to-#relationshipgoals storyline takes them from their childhood bedrooms, to the school cafeteria, to the English and Scottish wilderness in the pursuit of coveted university scholarships 鈥� with plenty of witty banter along the way.鈥�
  
• 鈥淕eorgie, All Along鈥� by Kate Clayborn (2023) 鈥淲hen Georgie Mulcahy finds a journal she and her best friend wrote together in high school, she realizes that she has lost a lot of the sparkly, hopeful dreamer she used to be. By taking on her old high school bucket list, she aims to rediscover the person captured in that journal 鈥� the person she鈥檚 always been but lost along the way. Levi Fanning is the town black sheep who just happens to be crashing at her parent鈥檚 house at the exact moment when Georgie returns home to embark on this humor-filled journey of self-discovery. Georgie and Levi鈥檚 chemistry is captured through dual points of view as they make their way through the list on the path to reaching acceptance, and maybe even grown-up happiness, with each other.鈥�
  

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  Emily Woodbury

  鈥淢eet Me at the Lake鈥� by Carley Fortune (2023) 鈥淚f 鈥楧irty Dancing鈥� and the 鈥榃e鈥檙e Going to the Catskills!鈥� episode of 鈥楾he Marvelous Mrs. Maisel鈥� are on your list for models of the ideal summer vacation, then 鈥楳eet Me at the Lake鈥� is sure to please. Fortune masterfully employs skipping back and forth in time as a narrative device that keeps the story engaging and suspenseful. A second-chance love story between struggling resort owner Fern Brookbanks and Will Baxter, the consultant her mother hired to help save the resort, the story is filled with food, music, and yes, romance.鈥�
• 鈥淜illers of a Certain Age鈥� by Deanna Raybourn (2022) 鈥淲hile perhaps not a traditional beach read, this thriller takes four women 鈥� Billie, Mary Alice, Helen and Natalie 鈥� through varying time periods on a whirlwind espionage adventure that will keep readers guessing about what is going to happen next. A Buzzfeed review describes it as: 鈥楾his Golden Girls meets James Bond Thriller is a journey you want to be part of,鈥� and that kind of nails it.鈥�
  
• 鈥淭he Fortnight in September鈥� by R.C. Sherriff (1931) 鈥淗aving regained popularity during the pandemic, based on a story in the Guardian where author Kazuo Ishiguro described the 1931 novel as 鈥榣ife-affirming,鈥� 鈥榙elicate鈥� and 鈥榤agical,鈥� 鈥楾he Fortnight in September鈥� is a sun-dappled romp with lots of period-specific details that transport readers to a different time and place. Small pleasures of daily life are uplifted, and the reader is encouraged to reflect on time and its meaning 鈥� perhaps while gazing out over idyllic waters.鈥�
  
• 鈥淢y Brilliant Friend鈥� by Elena Ferrante (2012) 鈥淭he enigmatic first volume of the Neapolitan trilogy begins the story of the turbulent lives of longtime friends Lila and Elena. Both saga and melodrama, this series is a beautiful portrait of two ambitious women and their intertwined lives set against the evocative backdrop of sun-drenched post-World War II Italy.鈥�
  
• 鈥淲e Were Liars鈥� by E. Lockhart (2014) 鈥淎 young adult novel that stays with the reader long after the closing line, 鈥榃e Were Liars鈥� is the suspenseful, heartbreaking tale of the wealthy Sinclair family, who spend every summer together on their own private Beechwood Island, and the four eponymous 鈥榣iars,鈥� Cadence, Johnny, Gatwick and Mirren. Cadence is the oldest Sinclair grandchild and narrator of the book whose slowly unfolding recollections of these past summers help to explain why they haunt her still.鈥�

鈥�鈥� brings you the stories of St. Louis and the people who live, work and create in our region. The show is produced by , , , and . is our production intern. The audio engineer is . Send questions and comments about this story to talk@stlpr.org.