Look, we love a good vacay getaway, but every book lover knows you've got to pack at least a few good books to read when you're on the way to your destination, on the beach, or finding a few moments of solitude away from the fam. If you need some titles to add to your travel book bucket list, look no further than the recs below.
P.S. Staying home this summer, but wish you weren't? Don't worry, we've included some transportive stories, too.
Crying in H Mart by Michelle Zauner ($17, was $27)
Indie rockstar Michelle Zauner from Japanese Breakfast chronicles her relationship with her mother growing up Korean American, their bond over food, and her journey back to parts of Korea that bring her closer to her mother, even after illness rips her away from Michelle and she must continue to forge her own identity without her. This is a precious, unflinching memoir that tackles so many robust themes, all in Michelle's fluid lyricism just as beautiful as in her music.
The Lockhart Women by Mary Camarillo ($17)
The Lockhart women in this family drama all have their own troubles: Brenda's husband has left her for an older woman, oldest daughter Peggy is having to settle for community college instead of university, and youngest daughter Allison's dreamy fling is leaving her with bruises. Through all of this, Brenda's growing obsession with the ongoing OJ Simpson trial and her daughters' obsessions with their own lives are doing anything but bringing them together. As addicting as the OJ trials were, The Lockhart Women is the perfect entertainment for the lulls in your vacation.
The Therapist by B. A. Paris ($19, was $28)
Leo and Alice feel like they're in a dream with their newly renovated home in a lush, gated community. But when Alice starts to get to know her neighbors, she also learns of the therapist who lived in her home two years before. With a growing obsession, Alice starts to dig at who this therapist was, and what exactly happened. But her neighbors won't budge, and the more they hold onto their secrets, the more Alice starts to realize that their new home isn't as perfect as they thought.
Released on July 13, 2021.
Incense and Sensibility by Sonali Dev ($14, was $16)
Yash Raje has always known how to get exactly what he wants, including becoming California's first Indian-American gubernatorial candidate, through his privileged background and "control your feelings and you control the world" mantra. But after a hate crime injures his friend and shakes his illusion, he needs help, fast. His family hires stress management coach, India Dashwood, who's handled overachievers like him before; but Yash's intensity and the two's shared past may just get in the way.
The One You're With by Lauren K. Denton ($24, was $27)
Mac and Edie Swan are high-school sweethearts living "the good life" with great jobs, great kids, and a great home on a tree-lined street. But all of this is shaken when a young woman walks into Mac's office one day, and suddenly everything they've built is at risk. Nineteen years after one summer apart, what they thought they'd left in the past comes into their present, and together they must examine the choices they made years ago to save what they have now.
Island Queen by Vanessa Riley ($23, was $28)
An epic adventure about a true survivor of slavery, power, and greedy men, we follow Doll from her life born into slavery, to buying her and her sister and mother's freedom, to building a legacy of wealth and power in a seemingly man's world. This story defies all the rigid norms of a Black woman living in the eighteenth century; Doll will inspire the modern-day woman with her determination, her strength, and her upheaval of limitations of race and sex.
Tell Me the Truth by Matthew Farrell ($12, was $16)
If you're looking for a juicy whodunit to make your travel times fly by, Matthew Farrell's got you covered. Eighteen-year-old Jenny Moore just wants to go to college to have a fresh start - but her family just can't let her go. When Jenny is brutally attacked and left to die, it's her mother who finds her body. Investigators are on it right away, and they immediately sense that something's off. When the clues start contradicting everyone's stories, readers will join the guessing game: was it the wealthy father? The disappointed mother? The jealous best friend? Better think fast, because the killer is just getting started.
Write My Name Across the Sky by Barbara O'Neal ($15, was $25)
A tale spanning two generations of women, this one's got beach read written all over it. Gloria Rose's beautiful Upper West Side life begins to crumble when the FBI starts closing in on a crime she was involved years ago; Willow is licking her wounds from another failed album, relationship, and attempt to get out of the shadow of her singer-songwriter mother; and Sam is dangerously close to losing her video game company and man she loves to her unaccounted rage. To bring them closer to peace and to each other, they all must reconcile their entangled traumas.
Released on August 10, 2021.
Wild Women and the Blues by Denny S. Bryce ($9, was $16)
Nearly a hundred years apart, these two stories of loss, forgiveness and love connect a chorus girl and a film student in unexpected ways. In 1925, Honoree was a sharecropper's daughter willing to do whatever it took to work and dance her way to the top of the jazz capital of the world: Chicago. Now 110, she finds film student Sawyer at her bedside, who rests all his hope on Honoree as the only living link to the legendary Oscar Micheaux who can bring him back from the brink of his loss and help him complete his thesis. But Honoree fills him in on blanks he wasn't expecting.
Riding High in April by Jackie Townsend ($17)
Dreaming of travels to Asia but just couldn't make it happen this year? Jackie Townsend's got an escape planned for you. Far from Silicon Valley, a tech entrepreneur pursues his last-ditch effort to make greatness, something that Microsoft instead calls "reckless." In Seoul, Singapore, Japan, and India he works to save his reputation, his bank account, and his fifteen-year relationship with the love of his life, who meets him in Seoul to be with him - but she finds that Asia will reshape her in unexpected ways.
Released on August 14, 2021.
Anarchy in High Heels by Denise Larson ($17)
Dreaming of Golden Gate Bridge? This memoir plops you into a San Francisco porno theater, which might just be the last place you'd expect a feminist troupe to sprout from. Nevertheless, this is the story of how Denise Larson went from timid actress wannabe to the leader of Les Nickelettes, a band of like-minded women striving to unlock their brazen satire and suppressed humor through feminist skits, stunts, and musical comedy plays. Next step: make travel plans to see one of these skits.
Released on July 27, 2021.
While Justice Sleeps by Stacey Abrams ($17, was $28)
Avery is doing a killer job as a law clerk for the legendary Justice Howard Wynn while dealing with her troubled family. But her juggling act gets complicated when the Justice has fallen into a coma - and left her in charge as his power of attorney. As she starts uncovering what he's left her, including secret research on one of the most controversial cases before the court, she begins to understand the dangerously related conspiracy that Wynn suspected... that she now holds in her hands.
The Guilt Trip by Sandie Jones ($24, was $28)
Here's a destination wedding to vicariously read yourself into! Three couples, including five lifetime friends and the groom's new fiancée, arrive at a beautiful clifftop villa for what they think will be a weekend getaway to get to know the bride a bit better. But when one of the group discovers a shocking secret and the wedding weekend unravels, everything changes, and secrets begin to spill.
56 Days by Catherine Ryan Howard ($23, was $25)
A lot can happen during 56 days... especially during COVID times. Readers will be instantly pulled into a whirlwind as Ciara and Oliver's supermarket meet cute spirals into a murder mystery made even more confusing by lockdown. Will the truth be revealed, or is lockdown just the perfect setting for Oliver to hide who and what he is, and, maybe, hide a body as well?
Released on August 17, 2021.
Malibu Rising by Taylor Jenkins Reid ($17, was $28)
Let's go to the west coast with this one! Nina Riva is throwing her annual end-of-summer party, and everyone wants to party with the legendary Rivas. But while some of the Rivas can't wait for the festivities, Nina just wants to be out of the spotlight. And as the party begins to get more out of control, they each must choose what they will keep from the people who made them, and what they will leave behind.
What are your favorite books to read? Do you always bring a couple of novels when you travel? Let us know on Instagram!
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