AILSA CHANG, HOST:
It's summertime. And if you're looking for a book for your summertime off, NPR has just published our staff list of our favorite books of the year so far. Andrew Limbong is here to tell us about some of the fiction picks. He's host of NPR's Book Of The Day podcast. Hey, Andrew.
ANDREW LIMBONG, BYLINE: Hey, Ailsa. What's up?
CHANG: What's up? What's up? OK. So I'm looking over this list, and we've got - what? We got historical fiction. We got some thrillers, some sci-fi. I mean, we got it all. But, you know, since it's summer, I'm going to make you start with romance. Give me something steamy.
LIMBONG: OK, well...
(LAUGHTER)
LIMBONG: ...I don't how steamy we're about to get. You know, we're on public radio. Let's go like a 2 on the spice, right? Let's start medium here. I think - a good book is "Girl Abroad." It's by Elle Kennedy. She's a pretty prolific author on the romance scene. I think if you've stepped inside a Barnes & Noble or something in the past couple years, I would bet, like, a paycheck you've seen one of her books on, like, the table at the romance section.
CHANG: Got it.
LIMBONG: Anyway, this new one follows a 19-year-old named Abbey Bly, who goes to study abroad in London for a year. She thinks she's rooming with all women. But surprise, surprise. What a twist. You know, the roommates end up to be all guys. Uh-oh. Uh-oh.
CHANG: Surprise. Uh-oh. What's going to happen?
LIMBONG: Yeah. It's a classic mix-up premise. But like I said, Kennedy's such a pro at this stuff, you know she's going to deliver something, like, enjoyable and heartfelt. Similarly, there's another book on this list called "Say You'll Be Mine." It's a debut novel from author Naina Kumar. And it's about two Indian Americans who both pretend to acquiesce to their parents' wishes, and they enter into this arranged marriage that's fake, you know?
CHANG: Oh.
LIMBONG: And guess what? Sparks fly. There's some chemistry brewing, you know?
CHANG: No way.
LIMBONG: Yeah. A lot of the reviews of this book I've read sort of note that it's similar to a lot of, like, '90s rom-com vibe. So if that's what you're looking for, you know, this would be up your alley.
CHANG: Oh, this sounds great. OK. So while we are talking about fiction, I'm seeing a book that looks like it could appeal to political wonks.
LIMBONG: Yeah, yeah, yeah.
CHANG: What do we got?
LIMBONG: I think you're talking about "Great Expectations" - right? - by Vinson Cunningham. Cunningham, he's now a staff writer at The New Yorker, but he did work on the 2008 Obama campaign. And this novel is very much based on that experience. I think it's fair to call this, like, a coming-of-age story in a way. It's about hope and change and all that, but about, like, disillusionment, too, and, like, a reality check about what American politics is really like and really about. I think it could be something to read if you're interested in the political machinations of America but you don't feel like thinking about, you know, the horse race or whatever of this year's upcoming election.
CHANG: Yeah. OK. And so what about you? Like, what is something you've totally enjoyed reading this year?
LIMBONG: All right. I got to shout out Percival Everett's "James." I think this has been the water cooler book for lit fic fans this year and for good reason. It's a retelling of the Mark Twain classic "Huck Finn" (ph) but from Jim's point of view. That's Huck's, you know, friend who escaped slavery. And it's not a straight retelling. You know, Everett is a master of irony, and he takes liberties with the story. I think anyone who saw "American Fiction" from last year, that was based on an Everett novel, and it has that same kind of rye and pointed humor. But there are moments in this book that are just straight-up harrowing. It is, you know, somehow violent and sad but also really funny. And like the best historical fiction, it's got a lot to say about America today.
CHANG: That is NPR's Andrew Limbong. Thank you so much, Andrew.
LIMBONG: Thanks, Ailsa.
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