The What List Better Beach Reads

At THE WHAT we are best known for our Book Lists. Every year, we read over a hundred fiction books and recommend our favorites—titles to satisfy most readers—a mix of propulsive pageturners, historical fiction, mysteries, family dramas, sci-fi, breakthrough debuts, and short stories. This year, for the very first time, we’ve also added Non-Fiction titles. Think we’re missing something? Email us at what [at] thewhatlist dot com and we’ll add it to our queue.

THE DEEP THINK.

The Mountain In The Sea by Ray Nayler is one of our favorite books of the year. If you’re intrigued by artificial intelligence, dystopian futures, and loved the movie My Octopus Teacher this book is for you. Beautifully written, philosophical, scientific, poetic and thought-provoking, The Mountain in the Sea is a deep dive into our place in the ecosystem.

THE FANTASTIC FIVE.

Big Swiss by Jen Beagin is the weirdest, LOL-hilarious book since Kevin Wilson’s Nothing To See Here. The story unfolds in the two horse town of Hudson and follows a 45-year old woman who works from home as a transcriptionist for a sex therapist (his anonymous patients identify themselves using initials but are recognized around town by the transcriptionist from their distinct voices). An encounter happens and complete mayhem ensues.

Birnam Wood by Booker prize-winner Eleanor Catton is a gripping literary thriller that follows a group of young gardening activists and their encounter with an American billionaire who has come to New Zealand ostensibly to build an underground bunker in the countryside. What unfolds is a book that poses political questions (without taking sides) and challenges us to rethink impact, responsibility, ownership, and exploitation.

Demon Copperhead by Barbara Kingsolver. Pulitzer Prize Winner of 2023, Demon Copperhead is a Dickensian saga loosely modeled after David Copperfield and set in the the mountains of modern-day Appalachia. The young protagonist, Damon (Demon), is beset with tragedy starting with his absent, drug-addicted teen mother who attempts to raise him in a single-wide trailer. But like a Dickens character Demon is set on a path of heartbreaking challenges. He struggles through them with courage and grit.

Fellowship Point by Alice Elliott Dark. The lifelong friendship of two women in their eighties is put to the test when they seek to be the stewards of their much-coveted family land in Maine that boasts million-dollar sea views, abundant wildlife, and bucolic landscapes. It’s a compelling story about civic responsibility, growing old, loyalties, family, and tightly held secrets that beg to be unraveled.

Signal Fires by Dani Shapiro. I recommended this book to half a dozen friends who couldn’t stop praising this meandering tale about life, memory, tragedy, childhood, and how time is merely a mix of past, present, and future all at once. If you’ve been melancholy about time passing you by, parents and kids growing older, or if you’ve lost someone and miss them terribly, Signal Fires might give you a hopeful perspective about the profound cycle of life where nothing is lost and everything is gained.

SMARTER BEACH READS.

The Guest by Emma Cline (bestselling author of The Girls) is a page-turning read about a 22-year old friendless grifter who lives off the crumbs of wealth from older men of means. When her 50-something boyfriend tires of her, she finds herself wandering penniless through the Hamptons looking for her next sponsor.

Romantic Comedy by Curtis Sittenfeld. If you’re looking for a witty, better-written romance novel, Curtis Sittenfeld’s got you covered. Romantic Comedy follows a neurotic female comedy writer who writes for an SNL-style late night show and develops a crush on an aging boy-band star.

COMING OF AGE.

My Last Innocent Year by Daisy Alpert Florin. Set on an elite college campus in New Hampshire in the 90s, this novel explores a young woman’s struggle with her sexual agency against the backdrop of the Clinton-Lewinsky trials. It’s a book that takes us back to those days when, as Britney once sang, “I’m not a girl but I’m not yet a woman,” and the dangers of playing with the edges of consent that come with lessons hard won.

The Eyes & The Impossible by Dave Eggers. It may not be your typical coming-of-age tale but this utterly charming story of a wild dog with a gentle heart is a treasure for humans of all ages. The engraved wood cover also makes it a perfect graduation gift or coffee table book.

They’re Going to Love You by Meg Howrey. A choreographer looks back at her estranged, eclectic family and their past—her Balanchine ballerina mother and dancer father, her father’s lover James who moves into their Bank Street apartment after the divorce, and the excrutiating AIDS crisis of the 80s. “They’re Going to Love You is a gripping and gorgeously written novel of heartbreaking intensity. With psychological precision and a masterfully revealed secret at its heart, it asks what it takes to be an artist in America.”

NON-FICTION

SELF DEVELOPMENT.

Atomic Habits by James Clear shifted the way we think about habit setting. In the past we set ambitious goals like ‘workout 7 days a week’—an unrealistic aim considering we were starting at zero. Plus we made no specific plan for duration or time of day to build this habit. Our biggest takeaway from Clear’s book is to create easy-to-crush micro habits (1-5 minutes) and stack, or make conditional, upon existing habits. For instance, you probably start every morning with the same routine: open eyes, check phone, pee, brush teeth, shower, etc.. But what if before you checked your phone you did a stretch sequence while still in bed? Or, while waiting for your coffee to brew you set a timer to meditate for two minutes? After reading Atomic Habits, we replaced our doom scrolling upon waking with 20 minutes of light calisthenics as a morning mood booster.

Outlive by Peter Attia, MD. Are you interested in a long, healthy life? If so, bump this book to the front of your queue. Dr. Peter Attia’s book isn’t just about prolonging life but about maximizing cognitive and physical well-being as long as we can. Too many people change their bad habits once they encounter a serious health set-back but at this point it’s often too late. While genes play a role in longevity, people fail to realize how much control they have over their healthspan. We have staggering agency over this aspect of our longevity and Outlive gives us a roadmap for how to accomplish this.

Building A Second Brain by Tiago Forte. If you are a copious note taker and list maker with thoughts spread across journals, notepads, apps, spreadsheets, and platforms you’ll relate to Building A Second Brain by Tiago Forte. Even as early adopters of publishing technology who pride ourselves on sharing information organized by project and hashtags, we learned a key habit from this book and that is: to get in the habit of distilling our prolific notes into more clear packets of information. And here’s the most important point: creating an organizational system that allows you to access information quickly. How many times have you remembered writing something down and then wasted time trying to remember where it is? After reading this book we realize that taking notes and making lists are not enough to retain, access, and share knowledge. Without a consistence process and system for note synthesis and retrieval we are just filling pages.

The Family Outing by Jessi Hempel. Jessi Hempel is a world-class journalist and podcast host. But her incisive, honest storytelling reaches new heights in her memoir about her family's transformation, with almost all of them embracing their queer identities. Publishers Weekly nails the review: "Eloquent, intricately woven ... a deeply moving portrait of generational trauma and painstaking repair. This interrogation of familial fissures and bonds radiates with empathy and grace." You'll be hooked from the first page. (Review by Dave Pell from NextDraft)

Lady Justice by Dahlia Lithwick. Dahlia Lithwick is a leading thinker and writer who has covered the Supreme Court for 22 years. She is the senior legal correspondent at Slate and host of Amicus, Slate’s award-winning, biweekly podcast about the law. Her exceptional new book Lady Justice celebrates the female lawyers and judges who have risen to meet this moment in history—fighting back against the threats to democracy and the legal architecture of this country. The law can be deployed to harm us or set us free. And, as women, we are even more vulnerable to the whims of change. If you’ve been watching the news these past years, scratching your head, and wondering, "How is this legal?" this book is for you.

Profit First by Mike Michalowicz. Profit First transformed the way we think about our finances, both personal and professional. Most people are taught that profit is what’s left over after expenses are deducted from sales (revenue minus expenses = profit). But Profit First, as the title implies, focuses on profit first and foremost. Shelling out money for ourselves first and then using what’s leftover for expenses (in a separate account) is a way to operate within real constraints, not constantly playing catch up to cover or afford your expenses. Separate accounts (Michalowicz suggests five) is also a better way to keep your eye on the ball rather than drawing down from one pile. It’s a profound mindshift and one of many lessons from the book that every small business owner should read.

The Emotional Lives of Teenagers by Dr. Lisa Damour. In 2016, when her book Untangled debuted, clinical psychologist Lisa Damour, PhD was a hallowed name among every mom in middle school and high school. Dr. Damour’s book helped parents navigate the moods and behaviors of teenage girls (if you have teen girls, you’ll understand the perplexity). Her latest book The Emotional Lives of Teenagers: Raising Connected, Capable, and Compassionate Adolescents is a book that addresses all genders and offers tools to help young people build self-esteem and express and manage their feelings. If you are a mother of dragons or parents of teens, we cannot recommend these books highly enough.

The Power of Dignity: How Transforming Justice Can Heal Our Communities by Judge Victoria Pratt. When Victoria Pratt became Newark Municipal Court’s chief judge, she knew well the inequities that Black, brown, poor, and mentally ill people faced in the criminal justice system. Judge Pratt became the judge of second chances, because she knew too few get a first one.  With a foreword from Senator Cory Booker,  The Power of Dignity shows how we can transform courtrooms, neighborhoods, and our nation to support the vulnerable and heal community rifts. That’s the power of dignity. 

The Psychology of Money by Morgan Housel. is a must-read for everyone regardless of your comfort-level or experience with finance. This book explores our complex relationship between with money from a national standpoint and more importantly encourages readers to delve deep into the past to ponder the ways we learned about money from childhood. This book is especially important, if you make financial decisions with significant others, as our money stories and habits are often different, which can cause a lot of friction. If you find yourself constantly stressed about money, this book could be an epiphany.

This Naked Mind by Annie Grace. Last year we decided alcohol no longer served us so we chose to stop drinking. A challenging part about choosing not to drink (as opposed to having to) is the peer pressure from disappointed friends who can't understand why we would ever want to give it up. Understandably. We've said the same thing to other quitters in the past. But after reading the book This Naked Mind we get that everyone is on their own journey. No judgement. No sermons. Everything in its own time.

-Gina Pell, The What Content Chief

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