I think you’re right, that any book is a beach read. I think I read Elena Ferrante on the beaches here in Florida and near St. Augustine. Crescent Beach is just this beautiful, flat pale white beach, which would be much better if people weren’t allowed to drive on it. But since it’s Florida, people have to drive on it.
MC: I was about to say, it’s Florida, so…
LG: With their awful music and their giant trucks and Confederate flags, pew, pew, pew. So that’s not great, but it would be great if they weren’t allowed to. But yeah, so I read all of Elena Ferrante’s Neapolitan books on the beach there and those books actually feel very beachy to me because they’re immersive and the language is just interesting enough to keep your eyes off the the ocean and to keep you sort of deep in the world that she created.
MC: I also feel like her books are hot to me. Like, so sitting on a beach just makes sense, because you are hot, the books are hot, everything is hot.
LG: I’ll say the U.S. covers with the pastels scream beach reading, which I am on record for saying that I’m not a fan of them, but I can see why they were chosen.
LA: I am forever fascinated by those covers. I’m just going to leave it there.
MC: Your book is one of many amazing books written by women that are set to come out this late summer, fall, through the end of 2021. Are there any books that you are very excited to read or have already read but are excited to finally come out this year that our listeners should check out?
LG: There’s so many, there’s so many that I’m going to forget some and I feel apologetic in advance. So the one that I am most excited about because I think she’s in my great trinity of living writers is Joy Williams’ Harrow. I think everything she writes is astonishing and weird and ecstatic and in the greatest way. So I cannot wait to read that one. Elif Shafak has a new book out that I haven’t read yet, [The Island of Missing Trees]. And I love her. Sarah Hall, who’s this British writer, has a book called Burntcoat coming out that I’m really, really, really excited about. Let me see, oh my gosh, there are so many. Vanita Blackburn has a short stray collection called How to Wrestle a Girl. And I’m going to forget everything else, please forgive me.
MC: I feel like that’s a pretty great starting point. Well, thank you so much for joining us. Lauren’s latest novel Matrix is out now, so be sure to stop by your local bookstore to pick up a copy. If people want to keep up with you on the internet and what you are up to and future books and future travel, where can they find you online?
LG: Well, I’ve only got Twitter and I have a website too called laurengroff.com, but I’m at Twitter. It’s @legroff, but please don’t take me seriously there. People make a lot of mistakes when they take me seriously, because I’m just making jokes. Really. Honestly, I’m not being serious.
MC: Amazing. You can find me @ohheytheremere.
LA: And me @lalehannah.
MC: Be sure to check out @WomenWhoTravel on Instagram and subscribe to our bi-weekly newsletter. Both of those links will be in the show notes as will links to buy Lauren’s book, check out the books that she mentioned, probably check out the Benedictine nuns. Those will all be in the show notes and be sure to check them out. And we’ll talk to you next week.
