10 'easy' and sometimes emotional page-turners
Perfect for lazing around under the sun or a cosy blanket.
Dear Reader,
Books are obviously fabulous. They stretch our minds; they take us to places and sometimes worlds we’ve never been before.
Studies have shown that the more fiction you read, the greater your empathy for your fellow human (so long as you allow yourself to be transported by the story)1. To paraphrase an adage, if you want to understand a person, walk a mile in their shoes. Books offer just this opportunity.
Yet. Sometimes, we turn to literature because we wish to turn off our brains. Not to stop thinking entirely, but just get lost in a world that doesn’t require too much of us. Especially when times are tough and things seem overwhelming, very much the theme of the world right now. Books are the perfect antidote.
The ten books I’ve selected for this week’s newsletter are essentially ‘beach reads’. Novels that are perfect to take on holiday, to relax the mind as you hopefully relax the body. I don’t really wanna be reading something like Crime & Punishment, To The Lighthouse or Ulysses while I laze around, under the sun – I want my brain to be having fun.
And as we’re coming into the cooler months in Australia, they’re also perfect for cosying up with in bed, or on a comfy chair with a warm blanket and steaming cup of tea (or not so steaming glass of wine). Perhaps besides a roaring fireplace too, if you should be so lucky (maybe invite me round for some reading time if this is you?).
So without further ado, here are some fun and in most cases, mindless books to read, that may leave you feeling only slightly emotional at times. In a good way, I promise.
A quick note: this genre, or a genre-adjacent is commonly referred to as ‘chick lit’ in a rather negatively spirited manner. I personally don’t think there’s anything wrong with chick lit – but it also ties into the outdated and rather dull notion that only men write serious literary novels, while women only want to write and read about silly, frivolous things like relationships, family, etc. All genders, including men, are able to write books that are easy, yet engaging to read. I’ve endeavoured to make this list representative of this fact.
1. Kind of, Sort of, Maybe… but Probably Not by Imbi Neeme
We’ll kick this off with a new book by an Aussie writer. Kind of, Sort of, Maybe… but Probably Not is told from the perspective of two young protagonists. Phoebe is living alone in her grandmother’s house, west of Melbourne city. She suffers from misophobia, meaning she can’t stand the sound of anyone eating, and conducts a rather lonesome existence as a result. One day, she starts receiving mysterious postcards in the mail… addressed to an ‘Elizabeth Winston’ and sent from a lovelorn ‘T’.
Suze is a broke Honours student, living in a rundown share house in Fitzroy. One day, she arrives on Phoebe’s doorstep, with more questions about the postcards than answers. With the help of cute postal clerk Monty, they go on a mission to track down Elizabeth and the mysterious ‘T’.
Both characters are Dealing With Things; Phoebe’s misophobia causes her to throw up barriers that prevent her from forming deeper relationships with people. Suze is chasing after the very irritating ‘J’, in a cringe-worthy manner that is relatable for anyone who has been 22. It’s a very heartwarming book about overcoming inhibitions, to welcome love and friendship into your life.
Plus snaps to Imbi for finding a good balance within something that many Melbourne writers struggle with – name-dropping places in the city without isolating non-local readers. Also it’s set in 1995, to the utter joy of this nineties kid.
2. Big Swiss by Jen Beagin
Before we leap in, some trigger warnings – Big Swiss deals with some big themes; suicide and graphic violence, to name a few. In it, we meet Greta, a 45 year old audio transcriber, living in a fabulously ramshackle house with the enigmatic Sabine. Greta has a gig transcribing the interviews of local sex therapist ‘Om’, who hopes to write a book someday. She finds herself drawn to one of Om’s patients, a woman who she dubs Big Swiss. Big Swiss is a 28-year-old married gynecologist who’s never had an orgasm and is dealing with a past trauma in a very matter of fact manner.
One day, Greta meets Big Swiss at the dog park, jump-starting a relationship where Greta very much has the upper-hand.
I don’t want to give too much away plot-wise, but I particularly enjoyed Big Swiss for the way it is written. It is funny, and perhaps even a little unhinged in a way so few books are any more. It’s not a novel that sets out to be everyone’s cup of tea, but if you like it, you’ll love it. Particularly if cringe-comedy is your jam. Plus, it has a great cover.
3. The Final Girl Support Group by Grady Hendrix
And now for something completely different. Shall we throw a little horror into the mix? I particularly love what Grady Hendrix is doing with the genre – who knew horror could be fun?!
Every ‘traditional’ slasher has a bit of a tired trope, where there is one girl left standing. The ‘Final Girl’. We never really see what happens to the Final Girl, unless some B-grade sequel decides to bring her back to help fight the villain, or off her in the opening scene. It’s understandable that these women have experienced the worst night of their lives, right up to when the credits roll; where ever can they go next?
Well, to therapy is a sure bet and The Final Girl Support Group is an imagining of that, taking inspiration from the Final Girls from history’s most iconic slasher films, and putting them in a room together. Lynnette Tarkington is one of these women, having survived a massacre twenty-two years ago. She and five other Final Girls have been trying to piece their lives back together with the help of a sympathetic therapist. Then, one of them goes missing. Someone is out to get the Final Girls, to finish the job once and for all.
While it certainly has its gory moments, you don’t have to be a horror-head to love Hendrix’s books. They’re fun and action-packed, plus he writes women well. And if you are a horror fan, you’ll love the references to 80s and 90s slasher films. Enjoy.
4. Romantic Comedy by Curtis Sittenfeld
There’s an interesting pattern within the comedy writing world, where talented but incredibly plain men end up in relationships with beautiful and successful women. Sketch writer Sally Milz has seen it happen again and again. And when her friend and fellow writer Danny Horst starts dating the very gorgeous actor Annabel, Sally is inspired to write a sketch called the ‘Danny Horst Rule’. The sketch pokes fun at the love lives of these men, while proclaiming that the reverse is unlikely to happen to women.
However. Delectable pop star Noah Brewster then guest stars on Sally’s sketch show. Sparks seem to fly between him and Sally, but she knows how it goes – the funny but plain woman never ends up with the hot guy. Right?
Romantic Comedy is fun in that is it indeed a great romantic comedy; it also takes us behind the scenes of late-night comedy shows, particularly Saturday Night Live. A recommended read for any TV geek who considers themselves to be a bit of a romantic.
5. The Next Girl by Pip Drysdale
Pip Drysdale’s books scratch a very particular itch for me. She publishes chick lit; novels that can also be described as entirely fun page-turners that are perfect for say, a lazy Sunday morning. The Next Girl is her most recent and probably my favourite yet.
Billie works as a paralegal in New York. She’s a bit of a vigilante, going after people who have ‘gotten away’ with a crime. Just a bit of lighthearted online and real-life stalking from this girly, as she finds ways to ruin their lives.
Her firm loses a high-profile case, and she is blamed and fired. Excellent, now she has permission to become totally unhinged. She deals with it by drinking to oblivion, waking up in bed with a man she doesn’t recognise, in Coney Island of all places. Apparently this is bad. As the last twenty-four hours returns to her in fragments, she realises her mission, if she chooses to accept it, is to take down the man who helped her lose her job, Samuel Grange. And stop him from ruining the life of another woman… by becoming… you guessed it, his ‘next girl’.
The Next Girl is a feminist revenge story that’s silly and sassy. Get into it.
6. The Switch by Beth O'Leary
Beth O’Leary is an English writer who leaped onto the scene a few years ago, and straight into reader’s hearts. Her books are warm and funny, bringing the sort of comfort you get from a hug or a warm cup of tea.
The Switch introduces us to grandmother and granddaughter, Eileen and Leena. Leena isn’t doing very well. Her sister has recently passed away and to say she isn’t coming to terms with her grief is an understatement. She flops a presentation at work and is offered/forced into a two-month sabbatical by her boss.
Eileen is trying to move on from her philandering husband, looking for love in her tiny Yorkshire village at the age of 79. Leena comes for a visit and proposes they swap residences. Eileen to London and Leena to Yorkshire. Very The Holiday.
Both women are dealing with grief and fractured families. There’s an undeniable depth to this book. Yet, O’Leary writes great characters that you can’t help adoring and rooting for. The Switch is guaranteed to leave you with a smile on your dial.
7. Dinner with the Schnabels by Toni Jordan
Toni Jordan is the kind of author who writes easily across genres. In Dinner with the Schnabels, she turns her pen to the domestic, writing from the viewpoint of Simon, a man whose world is rather falling apart. It’s Pandemic Times™ in Melbourne and Simon has lost his architectural company and the family home. He, his wife Tansy and their two kids have squeezed themselves into a two-bedroom flat, while they try to scrape their lives back together.
Tansy’s estranged father died during lockdown(s), with the family unable to attend his funeral, held in a country town. So, they decide to memorialise him at a friend’s house. Simon, sick of interference from Tansy’s mother and siblings - the Schnabels - agrees to take care of the landscaping for the event. Will he ever get off the couch and get his act together? And what other drama will unfold?
Toni must have enjoyed her time with the Schnabels, as she returned to the family for round two – publishing Prettier If She Smiled More in 2023, which centres around Tansy’s sister Kylie.
8. A Bright Ray of Darkness by Ethan Hawke
Yep, you read right. Brilliant actor Ethan Hawke also happens to be an established author, having published his first novel at the tender age of 26.
In A Bright Ray of Darkness, movie star William Harding is about to make his Broadway debut in Henry IV, right as his marriage fractures. He is, of course, dealing with it like a responsible adult – drinking too much and sleeping around, while terrified of losing his kids. His infidelity is littered across TV and social media, so he gets to suffer publicly (and considering Hawke’s history, surely some of it is autobiographical?). Will he manage to keep it together ‘til curtain call?
Yeah, it’s a book about the plight of a wealthy and successful white man, penned by a wealthy and successful white man. But it’s both low stakes and well-written, with an interesting insider perspective on the worlds of both theatre and the flicks.
I am quite keen to read Hawke’s back catalogue and lucky for me, someone dumped the entire lot in a local free library. Teehee.
9. Britt-Marie Was Here by Fredrik Backman
The author of the internationally renowned A Man Called Ove needs little introduction. I’ve read most of Fredrik Backman’s books and enjoyed them all, but Britt-Marie Was Here has a special place in my heart.
Britt-Marie is a slightly intolerable character, bristly and blunt. She’s a fastidious cleaner and judges people by the state of their cutlery-drawers. So basically, someone you’d definitely want at a party.
We meet her on the down and out. Her husband Kent is no longer on the scene, his philandering confirmed when he has a heart-attack on top of his mistress, requiring her to summon an ambulance. So, after forty years of modern servitude, Britt-Marie is after a job and a life of her own. She harasses people at the employment bureau and ends up in the tiny city of Borg, as caretaker for a soon to be demolished community centre. Borg is not exactly a thriving place to live; poverty and family violence is rife and the kids have nowhere to go and not much to do… apart from play football at the community centre. And in spite of herself, Britt-Marie finds herself getting more and more emotionally involved.
While it can be a dark read at times, it’s ultimately heartwarming. Backman and his translator know how to colour in a character and you’ll find yourself rooting for Britt-Marie and the oddballs making up the town of Borg. Nary a dry eye upon finishing.
10. Detransition, Baby by Torrey Peters
In Detransition, Baby we meet trans woman Reese, who seemingly has it all; an apartment in New York, a palatable job and a relationship with girlfriend Amy. They break up and Amy decides to detransition, becoming Ames. Ames is not quite over Reese, yet knocks up his boss Katrina and sees the pregnancy as a means for he and Reese to finally make a family… alongside Katrina. What could go wrong?
I’ve never read anything quite like this novel. It explores gender and motherhood in a way that felt quite new. It definitely helped me understand how people with different gender identities may view and experience motherhood, which in my opinion and as previously stated, is the point of reading fiction.
Hoping that one of these books ends up being your next great read. Or at least a pleasant distraction, for a time.
See you next week for the end-of-month bumper edition.
‘Til then, stay well and well-fed.
-Celine
If you liked this post, you may also enjoy:
Most links in this missive will take you to YourBookstore.io. This very handy website allows you to shop and support independent Australian bookstores. Give your local some love, or request a copy from your nearest library.
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S019188691100451X?&via%3Dihub
Great wide range of reads here!
How strict is the criteria for this genre of books, as you've defined them? Do airport thrillers make the cut or are they too basic to be appreciated on a deeper level? Does a Thursday Murder Club fit the bill??