Fiction is my jam, but I love true-life stories as well. So this month, instead of my customary rant, I’m helping you pull together your summer reading list with a mix of old and new creative non-fiction. I can vouch for every one of these books.

In Cold Blood by Truman Capote

I’ve read this book way too many times. The story of a random crime committed by two feral—yet pitiable—misfits that shattered a family and a community started the “true crime” genre as we know it.

Dangerous Muse: The Life of Lady Caroline Blackwood by Nancy Schoenberger

She was photographed by her husbands and lovers—who included Walker Evans. Painted by Lucian Freud. Recreated as a mermaid in a poem by Robert Lowell, who was clutching her portrait when he died. A muse, a wit, and a beauty, she was also a drunk and an heiress to the Guinness fortune. She cut a swath through 20th-century artists and intellectuals—and was herself an author, shortlisted for the Booker Prize in 1977.

Best. State. Ever.: A Florida Man Defends His Homeland by Dave Barry

An incredibly funny book about the most justly maligned state in America—written by one of the funniest essayists ever to draw breath.

A Walk in the Woods by Bill Bryson

The famous account of a guy who walks the Appalachian Trail with his very strange and out-of-shape best friend.

People We Meet on Vacation by Emily Henry

Funny, well-written, and deeply relatable—because haven’t we all met that one person while traveling?

Blue Nights by Joan Didion

A sad, beautiful book about the author’s late daughter.

When Breath Becomes Air by Paul Kalanithi

A physician’s breathtaking memoir about facing terminal illness. Gorgeous, brave, and deeply moving.

Three Women by Lisa Taddeo

A study of three unrelated, ordinary women—an intimate look at their inner lives, struggles, and dreams.

I’ll Be Gone in the Dark by Michelle McNamara

The gripping story of how a brilliant true-crime writer tracked down the Golden State Killer—where even the FBI had failed. I met Michelle once through mutual Chicago friends. She was a bright light, tragically lost to a sleeping pill addiction sparked by her obsessive research. Her husband is comedian Patton Oswalt.

The Age of Wonder by Richard Holmes

A sweeping narrative of the men and women of the 18th century whose discoveries began the “romance of science.”

Negroland by Margo Jefferson

A powerful memoir about growing up Black and upper-middle-class in 20th-century America.

One Day by Gene Weingarten

On New Year’s Day 2013, Pulitzer Prize–winner Gene Weingarten had three strangers draw a date from a hat. They chose Sunday, December 28, 1986—a seemingly ordinary day. He spent six years proving that no day is truly ordinary. I’m bewitched by this book.

Sapiens by Yuval Harari

This beguiling book is a brief history of humans and how they came to be—not for folks who don’t believe in evolution.

HOT RECIPE TIP

Easy Cool Cucumber Salad
A perfect sweet-and-sour dish for summer picnics.

• 1 cup mayonnaise

• ¼ cup white sugar

• 4 teaspoons distilled white vinegar

• ½ teaspoon dried dill weed

• ½ teaspoon seasoned salt

• 4 medium cucumbers, peeled and sliced

Stir mayonnaise, sugar, vinegar, dill, and salt together in a large bowl. Stir in cucumber slices, tossing to coat.

HOT LIFE TIP

Forgive all but the most egregious sins of even your lousiest relatives. If you don’t, they continue to control you—and you're wasting time on anger they aren’t even aware of. Remember: people with emotional intelligence wouldn’t have done those things in the first place. Be glad you’re not the one blundering through life, drawing disdain.

HOT WRITING TIP

Write scenery with emotion in mind.
NOT: The dark hills cast long shadows over the valley.
INSTEAD: The dark hills seemed to want to hide the sunlit valley in their creeping shadows.
—or something along those lines. Write with feeling.

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Celebrating #PubDay for Eliza Knight - Confessions of a Grammar Queen

The premise alone has me hooked: It’s 1960s New York, and Bernadette Swift is a whip-smart copyeditor with her sights set on the top. There are no women CEOs in publishing, but that’s not stopping her.

With the help of a feminist book club at the New York Public Library and a few bold choices of her own, Bernadette takes on sexism in the workplace, jealous colleagues, and one very charismatic editor… all while keeping her eye on the prize: equality, ambition, and maybe even love.

Eliza Knight is known for writing strong, brilliant women, (see Lessons in Chemistry) and this latest release sounds like it delivers in spades. Get your copy here.

READ A VERY INCONVENIENT SCANDAL

Order my new book and sign up for my Substack to receive a peek at the first page of the upcoming The Birdwatcher - my first sort-of foray into crime and oh-so-much punishment. Paid subscribers will have access to the first chapter. The cover of The Birdwatcher is being worked on a little bit longer - but I’ll reveal it as soon as it’s ready - I promise!

FINALLY, if you’d ever like to write to me, you can do so here.