The Official Floor Time Summer Reading List for Overachievers
the year is 2005 you're welcome!!
Floor Time
/flôr tīm/
noun
the 15-60 minute time period spent laying on the floor in the middle of the work day, typically as a relief from the soul-sucking reality of corporate America.
If you, like me, were one of those kids who loved summer reading, this Floor Time is for you. And if you weren’t, we get it you were cool!! At the very least, I hope you’ll leave with one good rec from this list to pass those lazy, hazy, crazy days of summer.
Though it’s not yet the official end of H1, I am giving you this list early as I had neglected to give you a Q1 reading roundup due to travel and other business. And, given that I am currently in the throes of three weekends of back-to-back trips (aka, key reading time), what better time than this time spent on a plane to write up my reading round-up. Hopefully, some of these will keep you company during the beach days and inevitable European summer travel I know many of you are planning. Whatever the trip may be, here are my top book recs for a handful of occasions.
What to Read on your European Getaway
The Rachel Incident by Caroline O’Donoghue
I feel like this is what Sally Rooney wants to be and simply isn’t (I loved Normal People the show but I’m an SR hater through and through—you can’t flip me!!!). The Rachel Incident also takes place in Ireland, with the protagonist graduating from uni and trying to find her way in the world. I think I’ll leave the description at that because I picked up this book not knowing what it was about at all, and that enhanced the shock factor of the story. But @fans of Rooney (or maybe more so, @haters of Rooney??) fold this one in because it is a perfect trip book.
What to Read on your Beach Day
Seven Days in June by Tia Williams
Technically I read this last year, but I feel like it warrants a bump because I often think about how awesome this book was. Seven Days in June is just a damn good rom-com you can read in a day.
Funny Story by Emily Henry
I’ll include a bonus rec in this category to provide something more recent. I’m sure anyone who is somewhat in the know of the literary world knows about Emily Henry. She is the queen of beach reads (exhibit A: her first book is literally titled Beach Read). Her latest novel, Funny Story, is no different from her other works. The conception for this story has been one of my favorites of hers—two characters find themselves in an unexpected living situation together after their respective SOs leave them for each other. I live for this.
A caveat: I have two friends who read her other books and couldn’t get through this because they didn’t feel there was enough conflict—the two characters are just really kind people. I’ll admit I was skeptical that they’d have problems at all (Emily herself said in an interview that this was the most difficult part of writing the book). That said, their loveliness just made me root for the characters more, and it helped curate that warm fuzzy feeling you want to have whilst baking in the sun and listening to waves crash.
PSA! Support your local library :) Learn more about NYPL’s summer events here.
What to Read in Transit
Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir
I remember reading Andy Weir’s big breakout book, The Martian, way back when and nerding out so hard about it. The science! The space! The quippy narration! When Artemis was released, I was eager to read it, but it didn’t quite suck me in as quickly (though now I think I might give it another go). Pivot to his latest, Project Hail Mary, that my sister read and raved about (rare)—it’s also a book about astronauts. They’re on a journey to save Earth from descending into an ice age that would wipe out the human race. This book has no good stopping point (hence, great to keep you stimulated on those flights between islands, and Eurostar journeys) because you need to know how every little problem is going to be solved. I won’t say more than that to avoid spoilers but read this.
What to Read this Pride Month
We Could Be So Good by Cat Sebastian
This is a sweet love story set in the newspaper publishing world of the 1950s. Goodreads describes it as Casey McQuiston meets The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo, so that really should be enough to entice you? Happy Pride!!
What to Read if You Want Something Different
Happiness Falls by Angie Kim
This is a book about a Korean American family dealing with the disappearance of their dad, with the only witness being the son, who has a rare genetic condition and is nonverbal. It took me a while after reading this book to decide whether or not I liked it. Then, it occurred to me that I may have been too dumb to fully enjoy it. As I approached the end of the novel, and in the days that followed, I found the story to be much more clever than I had initially given it credit for. I thought about it a lot, and read some pieces online to frankly, have more critical minds explain it to me. All that to say, this was a compelling novel and an unexpected mystery.
What to Read on a Do-Nothing Weekend
The Ministry of Time by Kaliane Bradley
Something about this book felt very autumn-y to me. But as this is a summer reading list, I would recommend reading it during a do-nothing day that resembles fall—perhaps a stormy day, or when it’s too hot to go out and you just want to be a loaf in your reading chair. This story is a great example of good things that came out of pandemic times. The author originally wrote the manuscript for her friends as a fun answer to, “What if we were locked down with a Victorian roommate?” and it has since blown up, with the rights already purchased and a TV adaptation on the way. It’s a story about time travel, duty, multicultural identity, and a hot germaphobic men who likes to cook. Sign. Me. Up.
Note: If you get through this, check out the Author’s Note at the end—really fascinating how her writing weaved reality in with fiction.
What to Read if you “Loved Summer Homework”
The Artist’s Way by Julia Cameron
By now, loyal Floor Time readers know that I have been working my way through this creative course since the start of the year. I finally reached the end of the curriculum and all I have to say is, I feel myself shaking off some cobwebs. I’ll admit, I was a nonbeliever. Self-help book? Pass. Spiritual journey? Extra pass. Yet, I have developed habits from this book that are genuinely helping me get over my creative block and steer toward new paths. While it forced me to unlock a lot of trauma (childhood and otherwise, lol), it also showed me how the biggest person in my creative way is me. And now I’m refining how to make our relationship more harmonious and conducive to living my best creative life. Yup, I read that sentence back and I know what it sounds like: fully drinking—nay GULPING—down this Julia Cameron Kool-Aid.
Something I Thought of in the Shower
How do I make enough money to buy a summer home and wildly fuel-inefficient car in the Hamptons? Is this a healthy life goal to have?
Something Pretty
Cosplaying as a Summer in the Hamptons girlie until it’s real.
Something To Laugh About
Here are this week’s gems:
This is live footage of Andrew’s POV of me. The Celsius bit is the realest of the real.
Protect Paul at all costs. This man is living his absolute best life with the vibe we all should be embracing. Also related: This new grilling series from Wishbone Kitchen. Stop gatekeeping grilling, boys, I want IN.
I didn’t know other people had dogs like this because Klaus will literally not sit on the couch with me unless I make this for him.
This man was almost too stunned to speak.
This is so me-coded I—. Fun fact, in college1 I used to drunk-clean my apartment after a house party (literally I would wash red Solo cups) and Pine Sol the floor.
Something for Clarice
Hey! This newsletter is free and I intend to keep it that way. That said, if you love it and want to show your appreciation, buy me a coffee :)
By the way…I’m reading this.
I had started reading Yulin Kuang’s How to End a Love Story, which I told you about in an old Floor Time, but then pivoted because I wasn’t in a rom-com mood. This week, I was on a flight, so this book made for the perfect companion.
And I’m watching this.
The end of School Spirits season 1 was WILD, ya’ll. But I needed something else to fill the time as I wait for Bridgerton season 3 part II, so I finished Hacks (which, WOW—what a season, what a finale), and started Dark Matter because Jennifer Connelly is probably the hottest person I’ve ever seen and I’ve thought that since the 2003 Hulk.
That’s all for this week! As you’re reading this, I am catching some waves in San Diego, preparing to watch my best childhood friend get married tomorrow. A monstrous al pastor burrito awaits me post-surf. Life is good.
Til’ next time, librocubicularists. Your friend,
Clarice
Who am I kidding, I still do.