MPR News' favorite summer reads
Summer is all about the classic beach read and while the season may be coming to a close, bookworms across the newsroom shared their favorite picks.
Jacob Aloi, arts repoter: ‘Imogen, Obviously’
“Imogen, Obviously” is the latest book from the mind of Becky Albertalli. Known for the success of her first book, “Simon vs the Homo Sapiens Agenda” which was adapted into “Love, Simon,” Albertalli’s work captures some of the purest moments of young queer love.
“Imogen, Obviously” focuses on an all-too-familiar experience for many young LGBTQ+ people, where thinking you’re an ally quickly becomes a queer awakening. It’s been on my shelf all summer, and I am finally going to sit down and enter Albertalli’s fabulous world of writing in the final moments of the season.
Leah Lemm, senior editor of Native news: ‘The Butcher and the Wren’
I read the novel, “The Butcher and the Wren,” by Alaina Urquhart this summer. Alaina is the sharp, ethereal co-host of the true-crime podcast Morbid and a real-life autopsy technician. She brings her technical expertise and storytelling skills to gift us this fun read.
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I devoured most of this quick thriller late at night, with one eye sleeping and the other desperately following the orbiting lives of a Medical Examiner and a prolific killer. How and when will their worlds collide? A few moments stretched reality and imagination, where coincidence seemed too far-fetched. But the entertainment factor was still there!
Lisa Ryan, evening editor: ‘Saturday Night at the Lakeside Supper Club’
A list of Minnesotans' top summer reads would be incomplete without “Saturday Night at the Lakeside Supper Club.” The author, J. Ryan Stradal, was born and raised in Minnesota, and the state is as much a character in the novel as the generations of families he brought to life.
I love books that follow compelling characters who are brought together with small details sprinkled throughout the book, and Stradal does this in a way that's as well prepared as a supper club meal.
Gretchen Brown, producer: ‘Happy Place’
When I read a book in the summer, I want to go smooth brain mode. There’s no better way to do that than with an Emily Henry book. This year's release, “Happy Place,” had a fun plot, a “friends-to-enemies” setup and a predictably happy ending. It’s like aloe for my sunburned little soul.
Angela Davis, host of the 9 a.m. show: ‘Rest is Resistance’
I am trying to relax and take a breath right now. If we think about the world that we are living in right now, a lot of people are exhausted and not really themselves. “Rest is Resistance” is about how many of us are living our lives as machines.
But we’re not machines, we’re humans, and the busier we are the more exhausted we are. At the end of the day, you have to care about how you feel and the people around you.
Emily Bright, newscaster: ‘Horse’
I am not drawn to stories of horses, in general, so the fact that this book (published last August) is my must-read pick of the summer says something about the power of this narrative. At its most reductive, this is a novel about horse racing and race from the Civil War to today.
Inspired by the life and legacy of Lexington, one of the greatest racehorses in America and sire of many more. We follow three timelines, with the main story lines set in the 1850s – 60s and in 2019, and you quickly come to care deeply about the characters.
We focus on Jarrett, an enslaved boy in Kentucky, son of a freed, highly skilled horse trainer. Jarrett cares for Lexington as a foal, and the direction of his life becomes deeply linked with that of the horse, whom a series of white plantation owners care about far more than Jarrett’s own well-being.
Meanwhile, in 2019, a Nigerian-American art history student and an Australian Smithsonian worker cross paths as they work to unravel the by-now-forgotten mysteries of Lexington’s life and those he touched. This book is simply stunning.
Sam Stroozas, digital producer: ‘The Great Believers’
“The Great Believers” by Rebecca Makkai is no feel-good summer read. The story flips between current day and the 1980s in Chicago during the AIDS epidemic. It is a beautiful story of friendship and chosen family. While it may be an emotional read, it is essential literature.
Elizabeth Shockman, education reporter: ‘Everything’s Fine’
This book about two people on opposite ends of the political spectrum — a Black woman and a white man — who fall in love. The writing was fast-paced and immersive. I got immersed in the story right away and reading it felt tense and stressful. I could not put this down — it had me all the way to the brilliant and ominous end.