Book #65: “Beach Read” by Emily Henry
Emily Henry
Released: October 1st, 2024
My 8th book for 2025 was Emily Henry's “Beach Read”.
This one was a bit out of my usual territory. I saw it at Walmart, Target, and Barnes and Noble and was intrigued by it.
Last year, I worked Support Living for a company on the West Coast. One of my individuals was a huge fan of Disney movies, and one of his favorites was "Teen Beach Movie". For some reason, the cover of this book made me think of that.
It's interesting getting into a sort of semi-smutty romance novel. The concept is interesting, and hits more on a family dynamic level.
January Andrews is a romance author who inherits a beach house from her late father. The house carries a dark past with it, but a neighbor author grows into someone she loves. It's interesting seeing how authors work on their crafts, and fight the dull moments of writer's block, and pass the time together.
I was expecting this to take place in California somewhere, or on some Pacific Island. Instead, it takes places at a beach house in Michigan. References to U of M and Ann Arbor here and there, good stuff (Go Big Ten!). Runs in the family.
Growing up in Pennsylvania, my father was naturally a Penn State Nittany Lions fan. I grew a habit of cheering for every team that played against them. I settled on the Michigan Wolverines as my team. (I eventually became a Penn State fan as an adult). I have an uncle who graduated from there. It's a great school. Lots of history, and excellence in athletics.
Most of my family went to Big Ten schools. Penn State, Ohio State, Michigan, Purdue, Maryland. Like I said, runs in the family. (Except me, who went to a Division II school at Shippensburg).
Anyways, back on track. The book flows nicely. I was able to read ample amounts of it at a time. Somewhere around the middle, the pace slows down a bit. It's not bad, it's just a slow rush of moments between the two neighbors as they work on their relationship.
While I was reading it, author Elizabeth Drummond (The House Sitter), mentioned it was a good read, and to enjoy. It definitely worked. I also look forward to checking out "The House Sitter" at some point to read and review. But yeah, super good stuff, and nice to have this book serve as a connection to another book.
Here's What I Learned:
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- The book was shelved for many years until the author decided it was worth publishing.
- Augustus Everett is an acclaimed author of literary fiction.
- January Andrews is an aspiring writer as well.
- She writes stories where her heroes and heroines are built up around a self-sabotaging trait.
- Her mother is diagnosed with breast cancer.
- Her father takes them dancing to lighten the mood.
- “And that was the moment I realized: when the world felt dark and scary, love could whisk you off to go dancing; laughter could take some of the pain away; beauty could punch holes in your fear.”
- “There would be purpose. There would be beauty. There would be candlelight and Fleetwood Mac playing softly in the back-ground.”
- She went from a life of perfection at 28, to broke and drifting at 29.
- Augustus drives a Kia Soul.
- She drinks Gin.
- Her father cheated on her mother, and lived a double life with another woman at a beach house.
- Her father passed away from a stroke.
- Shadi is her best friend who lives in Chicago.
- January writes for Sandy Lowe Books.
- Shadi’s real name is Ricky but is never called that.
- January moved from New York to North Bear Shores, MI.
- In New York, her neighbors once gave her gluten free cookies laced with LSD.
- “Here’s the thing about writing Happily Ever Afters: it helps if you believe in them.”
- January has a pizza print sweatshirt.
- She had her first hangover at age 24.
- Her first book was “Kiss Kiss, Wish Wish”.
- Pete’s Coffee offers no charge for first-timers on the condition they return.
- The bookstore owner used to be a roller derby champion.
- Posy, the owner of Pete’s Coffee and book store goes by the name Pete.
- The Grump is a writer.
- Augustus goes by “Gus”
- Gus is a high school dropout with a GED.
- He spent five years as a gravedigger.
- Book Club always starts with a White Russian.
- The book club is called “Red, White Russians, and Blue Book Club”. They primarily read spy novels.
- “Happy endings don’t matter if the ‘getting there’ sucks.”
- Her dad drank Starbucks Keurig cups.
- She published her first book at 25.
- January is a cold gray cold lightless time when you no longer had a major holiday to look forward to.
- It takes 10,000 hours to be an expert at something.
- Having specificity helps make the unbelievable believable.
- “I know feeling small gets to some people, but I kind of like it. Takes the pressure off when you’re just one life of six billion at any given moment. And when you’re going through something hard, it’s nice to know you’re not even close to the only one.”
- “That was one of many horrible parts about being broke: having to think about whether you could afford to share sucked.”
- January’s parents met at a carnival during their freshmen year at Ohio State.
- Gus’ first book was “Rochambeau”.
- Gus doesn’t like Meg Ryan’s face.
- January used her first book advance to buy 20 Meg Ryan movies to watch cross country with Shadi on the phone.
- Gus is not well versed in line dancing.
- January has been to New Orleans.
- According to Gus, drugs are “boredom EpiPens”.
- “Sometimes good, or at least decent, people do bad things. And sometimes they actually believe they’re doing what’s right.”
- “[One’s internal moral compass] gets shaped as you age. How are you supposed to believe right’s right and wrong’s wrong if everyone around you says the opposite?”
- “Your mother has been a lot of people in the twenty years I’ve known her, and I’ve had a chance to fall in love with every single one of them, Janie. That’s the key to marriage. You have to keep falling in love with every new version of each other, and it’s the best feeling in the whole world.”
- “It makes me sad to think of you being treated like that. It makes me mad to think you didn't have the things all kids deserve. And yeah, it makes me mad and sad that a lot of people go through the things you went through, but it's even more upsetting because it's you. And I know you and I like you and I want you to have a good life. That's not pity. That's caring about someone."
- Gus attended Gregory L. Warner high school.
- Gus’ mom passed away when he was a sophomore in high school.
- His uncle was a groundskeeper at a cemetery, and wanted to hire him full-time at age 18.
- Maggie makes a special Blue Punch.
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