Beach Reads | Stephanie, Briana, Cate, & Shannon

What makes a perfect beach read? Is it the same for everyone or is there room for interpretation? Merriam Webster defines a beach read as, a usually light work of escapist fiction (such as a thriller or romance). While this may be true for many, on Top Shelf we've decided to dive a little deeper into the subject. In today's episode, Briana, Shannon, and Cate share their perspectives on what criteria must be met for the ultimate beach read experience. Our librarians will also explore the wide world of library museum passes here at Russell Library. Enrich your summer with one of our passes today!

Book Recommendations

Atmosphere by Taylor Jenkins Reid

The Wedding People by Alison Espach

The Secrets of a Scottish Isle by Erica Ruth Neubauer

Intro Music by nikitsan

Transcript

Beach Reads 2025

Stephanie: [00:00:00] Cheers. Welcome to Top Shelf with the librarians of Russell Library. I'm Stephanie, and today I'm joined by Brianna, Kate and Shannon. Hey. Hey. Hi. 

Shan: Hey. 

Stephanie: Thank you for joining us today. On Top Shelf, you'll hear about compelling reads from the people who know books best. Our librarians will share titles that connect to a unique theme each episode, and this show will also invite you to learn about the many services offered here at Russell Library.

Stephanie: If you're not local, no worries. Chances are high that your local library will have similar gifts to offer. The focus of today's show is Beach Reads. We've decided to cover this topic because the season for outdoor reading is upon us. Whether you're reading at the beach, the lake, the pool, the sprinkler in your backyard, we are here to break down what makes a beach read for us and what to pack in your go bagg this season.

Stephanie: Personally, I believe any book that you bring to the beach is a beach read, but I did find an article in the [00:01:00] Seattle Times that gives a brief definition. So quote, A beach read is a book that is simple in tone and su and subject yet entertaining. A reader can often finish it quickly, ideally in a day or two while poolside and can set the book aside for a time without losing the thread of a complicated plot.

Stephanie: End quote, 

Cate T: huh? 

Stephanie: Yes. I feel 

Cate T: like that's accurate. That's it. Fair. I feel like that's what most 

Stephanie: people think of when they think of a beach read. I do. However, they tend to be geared towards female readers and fall into the romance genre. Mm. 

Briana: Ah, that sounds 

Stephanie: something familiar. Uhhuh Uhhuh. We used, we've, we've heard it called Chick Lit before.

Stephanie: Uhhuh a phrase that I hate, but I feel like that fits this definition. Um, and when I looked back, I actually realized the term is really a lot older than you'd think. Does anybody have a guess when this term comes from? You know, you could say the, the 18 hundreds. 

Shan: You're cheating [00:02:00] the start of the middle class when people started going to the beach for leisure.

Shan: Okay. Okay. Rather than. Maybe boarding a ship or on a Castaway island. I don't know. 

Stephanie: Okay. Shannon is on the right track and Brianna already knows the answers. So, um, according to the 1853 Poetry Anthology, a book for the Seaside, um, that was the first beach read, although others quickly followed throughout the 18 hundreds and 19 hundreds.

Stephanie: Publishers also began terming books, summer reading, to boost slow seasonal sales. 

Shan: While 

Stephanie: some maligned these interests as frivolous and trashy publishers, critics, and readers extolled the benefits of disappearing into the pages of a book as a chance to temporarily escape, tedium and stress. 

Shan: Huh? Sounds good to me.

Shan: It's just stock. Yeah. I 

Stephanie: thought that was really fascinating. I wonder 

Shan: if it's like. America was this England? This sounds American civilization, but I don't know. Book for the 

Stephanie: sea side is, 

Shan: seaside feels it's 

Stephanie: hyphenated. It seems British. [00:03:00] It sounds, it seems British Bri lit, but either way, yeah, it came from this idea that people were spending more leisure time outside.

Stephanie: Um, but it was mostly women readers and people who are reading to escape, which I feel like is really similar to kind of what we now think of as a beach read. Yeah, I do. Oh, definitely. Um, but yeah, let's dive in. Let's see what you guys have to say about Beach Res. I'm gonna start with Brianna today.

Stephanie: Brianna, can you tell us what book you brought along with a brief description? 

Briana: I brought Atmosphere by Taylor Jenkins Reed. This novel is set against the backdrop of the 1980s space Shuttle program and shows the extraordinary links we go to live and love Beyond our limits atmosphere is Taylor Jenkins read at her best, transporting readers to iconic times and places.

Briana: With complex protagonists telling a passionate and soaring story about the transformative of power of love, this time among the stars. 

Stephanie: Ooh, I'm not gonna say much 

Briana: more. 'cause it's gonna give a lot of way that, yeah. I think people need to read if you pick this book up, but I didn't know what it was 

Stephanie: about at all.

Briana: Oh, [00:04:00] this it, oh, it's amazing. Okay. I love 

Shan: Taylor Jenkins read. She goes from like. Tennis to space. Yes. Space to like, I wanna be Fleetwood Mac Band. Like, yes, there's so much going on. She does it all. She really does it all. 

Stephanie: Well, aside from you having read this author several times before mm-hmm. What drew you to this book?

Briana: The cover. So I was on that galley and I saw the cover and I was like, I don't know what this is. But I need this. It's 

Stephanie: stunning. Then 

Briana: I saw it was by Taylor Jenkins reading and I was like, oh no, I'm getting this. I don't care what it's about. Mm-hmm. I don't need to know. I'm going to read this. And I saw it and I was like, this is probably gonna be one of the books of the summer.

Briana: Her books tend to be Yeah, they do now. And once I read it, I was like, yeah, no, 

Cate T: this is, I have to look at the cover. I didn't really pay attention. Pretty. It's beautiful. So basically 

Briana: there's like. A woman on the front, she's got her aviators on, she's got a flight suit. There's a spaceship shuttle taken off in the lenses of her sunglasses.

Briana: It's giving 

Stephanie: top gun vibes, very top gun vibes. Which makes sense for you. Much. Yes, for me. There 

Briana: are actually top gun pilots in this book that fun are [00:05:00] flying the spaceships fun. It's pretty 

Shan: cool. A maverick to your goose. Sorry. 

Stephanie: I like the way you said Goose. I just, I feel the need. I-E-P-I-E-P. Um, what was something that stuck out to you in this book?

Briana: For me, it's something that I feel like I was taught. I feel like we all kind of are taught as women is like we can do the hard things. Mm-hmm. You've, you have like for example, like the top gun pilots, like they're there, they're the ones being expected to like fly these shuttles, but the women are like, no, we can do it too.

Briana: Mm-hmm. Like, and we can probably do it better than you girl power. Oh. And there is a SIC romance in this book, and so I didn't know that going into it. Okay. I had a feeling as I started reading and then that got confirmed and I was like, okay, like the other part of this is like. It's, it's described as a love story.

Briana: Like on the cover it says atmosphere of love story, but it's so much more than your stereo, like your typical like. Romantic to say it's not a romance, it's, it's a romance, but it's also like a love [00:06:00] story to space and the stars and like women in stem. Like, you should pursue what you are doing. Mm-hmm. And like, be proud of what you wanna do, fight for it because you're just helping carve the way for the women coming after you.

Briana: So there's a whole, it's a multifaceted love story, if you will. I love that. And that really resonates with me still. And I read this. Like at the end of May and it still sticks with me. Oh wow. 

Stephanie: Okay. This might be the Taylor Jenkins read I actually pick up. Yeah. 

Briana: And I also sobbed my eyes out when I finished it Sobbed and I don't cry.

Stephanie: Okay. For me that's like I will read 

Briana: it. You sob at the end. I will read that. Yeah. I sat, I was in bed, it was five in the morning and I went, I wanna finish this book. And then I just have tears streaming down my face and I'm like, 

Stephanie: okay, okay. 

Shan: See, that is a, that is like an absolute recommendation. Yeah. Yes.

Shan: When you get the cry going, you know, it's a good one. Yeah. But honestly, I get so emotional about like, so different. Many different components that happen in a book. I'm like, why am I crying? Right. I 

Briana: feeling this way. Oh my [00:07:00] God. Yes. That you're gonna a lot of things if you read this book and you just need to feel 'em.

Shan: You know? It's kind of funny going back to Stephanie and how they classify a bee tree. Mm-hmm. Okay. Geared toward female readers and fall into the romance genre. Mm-hmm. As you kind of debunked it a little bit, it's more than a romance of like. What atypical romance might be. It's also love letter to space.

Shan: Mm-hmm. Yeah. But do you think this gardener's more than female readers? Do you think it's for more people? 

Briana: I think if you are into like the nostalgia of the eighties and like space and all of that that was going on, like read it. If you love historical fiction, like it's a vibe. Vibe. That's a good point though.

Briana: Yeah. Maybe it's probably more tailored to women. Yeah. We're following a female mean character, but. The whole cast of characters is great. Mm-hmm. So it's, it's meant for everyone. Cool. Yeah. 

Shan: Cool. That sounds good. I'm probably gonna read it. 

Briana: Mm-hmm. Yeah. Yeah. Please let me know what you think when you do, because I need more people to talk about it with do.

Stephanie: Okay. Brianna, what's a book you would not bring to the beach and why? Oh, [00:08:00]

Briana: sky Daddy, by Kate Full. Some of you may have heard me talk about this. I'm not, I am trying not to gag. Sorry. Thinking about this, no offense to anyone who loved it. Can 

Stephanie: you just give a brief synopsis of Sky Daddy without getting too graphic, just so they know what we're talking about.

Briana: Uh, so our female main character has a thing for airplanes. Her ultimate goal is to marry. One of her favorite suitors and die in a plane crash. They're united forever. What? And she does some things on these airplanes that I know. Ooh. This book is getting 

Stephanie: so much attention because it's so bonkers. It's bonkers.

Briana: Wait, this sounds like, so it's tinge, right? So that's the thing that people are saying that loved it. They're like, it's entertaining, it's wild. And I'm like, no, this is unhinged. I am not gonna get my life back. 

Shan: Wow. After reading this, like if you read the Led Zeppelin like biography that came out in the 1980s, it [00:09:00] would never be published today.

Shan: Like the things told in that, like, oh my god. 

Stephanie: Yeah. 

Shan: This is fiction 

Stephanie: though. 

Briana: This is fiction. 

Stephanie: Oh, 

Briana: contemporary. Romance fiction. 

Stephanie: I'm so glad you brought it though, because I just needed someone to talk about it. I'm, I'm someone so funny, as many 

Briana: of you at the table know who loves jets and I go to air shows and I'm like getting goosebumps watching these things go.

Briana: But this made me extremely uncomfortable. This book was like, that's good to Brianna. And then the line 

Stephanie: like this was like right outside your line. Yeah. Sounds like it was 

Cate T: even more than right outside. Yeah. It's like a mile away. Now 

Shan: I'm gonna have to read this. Please do. And then tell us what you think.

Shan: If it's like unhinged and risque, that's like the Shan. Yeah. Good luck. Okay. Yes. I'll let you know 

Briana: if you, if I see you reading this in public, I'm gonna be a little, uh. I'm worried, but also saying, good for you. For being so brave. 

Stephanie: So would you not bring it to the beach? 'cause you don't wanna read it in public.

Briana: I would never read this at all. Oh, okay. I. Okay. 

Stephanie: Okay. 

Briana: Okay. Because if people know 

Stephanie: what you're reading, 

Briana: they're gonna know. 

Stephanie: If I see someone reading a [00:10:00] Sky Daddy, that's i's like I can say, okay, I see. You may spark a conversation. See? Yes. So that is true. This unlikely might not be a 

Cate T: conversation you want. I know this true.

Stephanie: Right? Woo, all. Brianna, jumping back to atmosphere, would you recommend this book 1000%? 

Briana: So the way I phrased this, whenever I talk about it with some of my friends on books, grammar in person is like. This book's gonna devastate you and shatter your heart, but then put it all together at the end. Oh, oh. 

Stephanie: I love a book like that.

Stephanie: It 

Briana: was just, it's like I said earlier, this is perfect for the historical fiction lovers, but really anyone who just wants to read a book that has so much to it and has that, like these complex characters you're gonna love that are gonna break you, but you're gonna love, and just the setting like space, like everything is just so.

Briana: Ugh, like a chef's kiss. So would 

Cate T: you say it is very character driven? Overall? 

Briana: I would say this is more character driven. Okay. That's good for know, like, so basically there are [00:11:00] two different timelines you're gonna be following. But it's very character driven. Like you're going back and forth and basically everything's gonna lead up to a very certain thing right at the end of the book.

Briana: And you're gonna be like gripping, like whatever it is you're sitting. Like if you were on the couch, you're gripping your couch. Till's the last word. 

Stephanie: Okay, so now I have to know. So why is this a beach read to you? I know that wasn't like in the script, but I'm kind of curious why you picked this up as a beach read.

Briana: I would pick this up as a beach read. 'cause I like to read like. The popular books that are coming out. Mm-hmm. And kind of be in the loop about them. This is something I would take to beach and just binge in like mm-hmm. One sitting. Yeah. Because it's just so propulsive, like you're not gonna wanna stop reading.

Briana: You got your sunscreen on and you're in. Maybe I have son might not. Maybe your sunscreen. I said it, 

Stephanie: I said it and I was like, maybe not. You're, you're safely sitting in the sun reading your book. 

Briana: Yeah. Like for me, a beach read is typically. Something popular that I know I can just get through. Mm-hmm. And enjoy and 

Shan: Awesome.

Shan: Other than cry your eyes out. Enjoy. I will just say, make sure your sunscreen is not expired. Um, yeah. That happened to me this [00:12:00] past weekend. I, no, and I was like, oh, hello tummy. You're red. They, they do have expiration 

Stephanie: dates on them. I did learn that. Yes. I literally did not know that. I realized 

Shan: that this weekend.

Shan: I'm fine. Little public service. All right. I know. Thank you. Anytime. 

Stephanie: Alright. Alright. Shannon, can you tell us about what book you brought today and a brief description? 

Shan: Oh yeah. So I brought the Wedding People by Allison Pac. It is a beautiful day in Newport, Rhode Island when Phoebe Stone arrives at the Grand Cornwall Inn wearing just a green dress in gold heels.

Shan: She's mistaken by everybody in the lobby for being one of the wedding people. She's actually the only guest at the corn wall who isn't here for the big event. Phoebe is here because she's dreamed of coming for years. She hoped to shuck oysters and take sunset sales with her husband only. Now she's here without him at rock bottom.

Shan: And determined to have one last decadent splurge on herself. Meanwhile, the bride has accounted for every detail and every possible [00:13:00] disaster the weekend might yield except for well, Phoebe and Phoebe's plan, which makes it that much more surprising when the two women can't stop confiding in each other.

Stephanie: Mm dun. Yeah. Okay. Since it's not obvious, what drew you to this book, Shannon? 

Shan: Oh, the location. Oh, all right. It's in Newport. Yeah. But, um, actually what also drew me to this book, I was in the mood for kind of like a fun read. Mm-hmm. And I wanted something simple and Christy. Recommended this book to me. Yay.

Shan: And I also saw it was on the best seller list, um, and everybody was reading it. Yeah. And then I read it after you read it, and I recommended it to you because I, I told everyone after I read this, I'm like, mm-hmm. If you need something, just chill. Read it, however, it's actually not as chill as you think it all.

Shan: I was gonna say it not, it seems so 

Cate T: out of character for you that I had to read it. Yeah. 'cause I was like, this is not a Shannon. That's why I was like, why did you pick this up? She liked it. There's gotta be something to it. Mm-hmm. And I, I agree. And there's 

Shan: definitely [00:14:00] something to it. It's very character driven.

Shan: Yeah. But what I really liked about it is the two female characters. Mm-hmm. And they are an unlikely pair. Mm-hmm. And how they help each other out. And it is also a little bit of a love story too. It's 

Stephanie: okay. Look at this. Themes. Themes, yeah. What about this book resonated with you? 

Shan: Um, back to the characters.

Shan: Um, these two women were so vulnerable and it's at a day that it's supposed to be the best day of your life. And it's also at a person's day, that's the worst day of their life, and they come together and kind of peel back the layers of. Two complex characters that help each other out through some triggering and difficult times.

Shan: I will say this book is a little triggering in some areas. Mm-hmm. And what, why Phoebe is there and she's pretty open about it in the very like first chapter. Yeah. Yeah. You'll know right away. You'll know right away. Okay. And you'll know if that's for you or not for you. That's helpful 

Stephanie: because the cover [00:15:00] looks very.

Stephanie: Beach read like it looks really, yeah, it looks fluffy. It fluffy, it looks light. And every person I talk to says, don't let the cover fool you. It's actually a lot darker than it looks. Yeah. It's good to 

Shan: know. Oh, it's, there's so many things that go on. Yeah. Sorry, I'm just remembering certain things. So go in as like, oh, this might be a fun beach read, but you're also gonna go in and you're gonna cry.

Shan: Mm mm-hmm. And you're also gonna go in and. Look at relationships differently or between like men and women, between two friends, between a woman and herself. It's really the book that has just a lot of layers to it that mm-hmm. Isn't appeared to be so awesome. Definitely. I really liked it falsely 

Briana: marketed as something like this.

Briana: Yes. 'cause that's what I thought when I first saw the cover last summer, and then I read it and I was like. 

Stephanie: Oh wait, am I the only one in the room that hasn't read it? I think, oh my gosh. I have to read it now. 

Cate T: And I had, I had avoided it because it looked just like a fluffy Well, 

Shan: that's what I thought it was gonna be.

Shan: I'm like, you what? I just want like a little fluff, a little [00:16:00] fun. Then I was like, oh my God. It 

Cate T: tore 

Shan: me. Oh, you, but you liked it? I liked it a lot. Yeah. She did a real, really good job. Okay. Um, with character development. Awesome. And providing like real stories to characters. So sweet. 

Briana: Yeah. The Newport setting was also.

Briana: Fantastic. Yeah. Oh, wonderful. Like makes, like I brought that a book with me to Newport last summer after I read it and just did a bunch of like photo shoots. 'cause it, I was just like, oh my God. 

Shan: That's Well, and the cover's great because it's like the two, the champagne bottle, the peace sign, and like the ocean.

Shan: Yes. Mm-hmm. Yeah. It's great. I just looked at it, by the way. 

Stephanie: Yes, that's, I was trying to remember. I couldn't remember. Thank you for describing it. 'cause I couldn't remember. Yeah. So, all right, Shannon, shifting gears. Yes. What's a book you would not bring to the beach and why? 

Shan: Oh, okay. So this is a big book that came out this summer.

Shan: It's Mark Twain's, uh, biography by Ron Chernow. Oh. Um, it's 1200 pages and it's, uh, it wasted time. 

Stephanie: And you're not Lynn Momo Miranda, who brings Ron turnout books on. Beach vacations, 

Shan: honestly. Okay. I [00:17:00] read Hamilton on 

Stephanie: a beach 

Shan: vacation. Of course you did time, however, not this one. Okay. Um. Even though I did buy this book.

Shan: Why? Why not? Oh God, it's just too big. Okay. It's gonna weigh you down. You're bringing everything to the beach. You're lugging it with you. Mm-hmm. You gotta carry your chair, your bag. Yeah. Suntan lotion not expired. Yeah, but you don't need 

Stephanie: that 

Shan: book with you two. 

Stephanie: Yeah. I feel like we haven't talked about that yet, but a beach read.

Stephanie: You wanna be able to toss it in your bag. Yes. Or if you're a Kindle reader, which I'm not. Yeah. So Brianna, you can speak to this, but if you have a 1200 page book on your Kindle, that's different. Oh, so different. 

Briana: Right. And Kindles are great because there is no glare. Mm-hmm. At all. I will 

Shan: say, I can't imagine reading that book on a Kindle.

Shan: It feels like would never end. Never. Yes. Yeah. 

Briana: That's why I bought it too. I bought, yeah, but 

Stephanie: in case you did wanna bring to the beach, I guess bring it on your Kindle so no one knows. 

Briana: Yeah. 

Stephanie: And then if also if you bring your Kindles to the beach, no one can peek what you're reading. So if that, there a lot good to 

Shan: you.

Shan: So maybe I should read that. 

Stephanie: If you don't recommend 

Shan: on the Bring the sky daddy on [00:18:00] your Kindle to the beach, so nobody then nobody will know. Good. Keep it that way. 

Stephanie: Pro tip, if you don't be to see it. And ask you about it. Bring your Kindle. Yeah, but not your iPad. 'cause your iPad gets a glare. 

Briana: Literally that person that sees someone on a Kindle, I'm like, okay.

Briana: But like, what are you 

Stephanie: reading? I know. I always wanna know. I'm like, I wanna know what you're reading. I mean, you 

Briana: could ask, 

Stephanie: are you, are you ashamed? 

Briana: Are you reading Sky Daddy? Sorry, 

Stephanie: nothing against Sky Daddy, but that we're just being, I know if you love 

Briana: Sky Daddy, like all the power to you. 

Stephanie: If you love Sky Daddy, um, please comment and let us know why.

Stephanie: Yeah, I wanna know. I wanna know too. All right. And Shannon, would you recommend the word the wedding people? 

Shan: Oh, a hundred percent. This is a great book. Don't go in for fluff. If you want fluff. Do like book lovers, you know, like do beach read? That's fun Fluff. 

Stephanie: Emily Henry is a Summer Beach author. I'm reading it right now 

Shan: for fluff, but if you wanna go with, um, something with really good character development.

Shan: Two strong female characters. Yeah. And if you're in for the [00:19:00] plot and you like the location, Newport, please do it too. Cool. Yeah. But a hundred percent would recommend this book as we know. I did recommend it to to Kate, so I didn't even have to ask. It was 

Stephanie: built in, but I love it. Yeah, 

Cate T: I love it. 

Stephanie: All right, Kate, can you tell us what book you brought today and a brief description?

Cate T: Sure. So today I brought with me Secrets of a Scottish Isle by Erica Ruth Neubauer. This is a cozy mystery set in the year 1927. Oh, on the mystical aisle of Iona in Scotland. And the main character, Jane Wonder Lee is investigating an esoteric secret society called the Golden Dawn, and they're on Iona to perform a solstice ritual.

Cate T: God, this is the most Kate's, so, oh my gosh. 

Stephanie: The longer you described it, I was like, Kate, Kate, Kate. I know. Excellent. I know. Um, I mean, I wanna ask what drew to this book, but I feel like we all know, but Kate, what drew 

Cate T: you to this book? So [00:20:00] I was drawn to the book because it's set on an island, and so for me, beach reads have to take place on an island.

Cate T: Okay. That's just sort of a, it's just, it has to be. And this island specifically drew me in because I've been to the Isle of Iona. Oh. And it sort of like made its mark on my soul. Oh. Mm-hmm. So Iona. Is incredibly difficult to get to. Like you cannot happen upon it. So you really have to be drawn to it and then willing to make a very complicated trek to get there.

Cate T: So it's off the southwest coast of Mull and the inner Berties, if anybody knows. Nope. All of us. Our heads. 

Stephanie: No, please tell us 

Cate T: more. So it's only a mile and a half wide by three miles long. Oh wow. There's no cars on the islands like it's tiny. Wow. And I think, um. The population is like 170 people under 200 people.

Cate T: And so it's also considered a thin [00:21:00] place. Yes. Meaning, so like the veil between the earthly and the spiritual realm Oh, cool. Is believed to be more permeable. Nice. And so it's supposedly makes it easier to connect with the divine. 

Stephanie: Cool. That's fun. Oh, that's so cool. Yeah. I'm glad I asked, even though we already knew, but like I, well, you know.

Stephanie: Yeah. But other people would know. Leaders, might, our listeners right now know. No, those are like the most Kate things you could put in a book. Yeah, it really is. Um, what resonated with you in this 

Cate T: book? So, I suppose that what resonated for me, um, is the fact that the Secret Society is performing a solstice ritual.

Shan: Mm-hmm. 

Cate T: And that is intriguing because Iona is known as the birthplace of Celtic Christianity. Oh. So it's actually believed to be the location where the Book of Kels was written. Wow. And so if you've. Never seen the book of Kels. It's just a beautifully illustrated hand lettered Christian manuscript created by Celtic Monks in 800 ad.

Cate T: Yes. So it's like, it's insane. And so, so Iona has this [00:22:00] rich, Celtic Christian history. But it's also considered a sacred site for the Druids in pre-Christian times. Right. So when you're there, you can really feel the, the Celtic Christianity, but also the pagan roots and the geology is also incredible because the rocks date back to over 2 billion years.

Cate T: Wow. It's wild. So it's just, it's magical and I appreciated that the novel explored some of the mystery. Around the island. 

Stephanie: Cool. That sounds rad. That sounds amazing. Shannon's mouth was like popped open and just hanging. Literally said book at Cal's. I was like, yeah. For those of you who couldn't see, just popped right open.

Cate T: Yeah. 

Stephanie: Um, all right. Kate, what's a book you would not bring to the beach and why? 

Cate T: So, it's funny that Shannon brought this up 'cause the first thing I wrote was nothing physically heavy. Yeah. So heavy weight wise. Yeah. But also heavy content wise. Mm-hmm. So I don't wanna read about politics or anything that makes my brain hurt.

Cate T: Mm-hmm. Um, but I also [00:23:00] wouldn't bring a book set in winter. Because I'm a very seasonal reader. Mm-hmm. So even though summer is my least favorite, I try to lean, I know Brian Brianna's a summer queen. I try to lean into the hot weather energy for beach reads. Mm-hmm. 

Stephanie: Yeah. 

Briana: I like that. I like that too. Yeah.

Stephanie: Yeah. I know some people do like to do the opposite. They're like, I wanna read a book about snow on the beach. Which I get. I also get Get that. Yeah. But that's not, that's not, I'm like, you too, I wanna read seasonally. That's jar. You wanna go 

Shan: with the vibes, you gotta go with the feeling. And it's like, I'm not gonna say, ugh.

Shan: Yeah. I can't imagine reading like a Tolstoy in like the dead of summer. No, and for you to say that. Right. And I'll read anything anytime. I will be reading Mark Twain later this summer though. 

Stephanie: But not, not at the beach. Not at the beach. No. No, no. Um, I wanna bring up one more thing. Oh, Kate, actually, yeah. Um, before I bring up one more thing, would you recommend this book?

Cate T: Yes. But with a caveat. If you're like me and you have a connection to the aisle of Iona, or if you're a fan of cozy mysteries [00:24:00] specifically set in the uk, I think you'd find the book engaging and great for the beach. 'cause it's not super, super big. But if you're a hardcore mystery lover. You might find the storyline a little predictable.

Shan: Yeah, 

Cate T: so I only read mysteries occasionally, and I still felt pretty confident that I knew how the story would resolve and I wasn't too far off the mark. Okay, so if you're looking for a lot of twists and turns, then this mystery might not be for you. Okay. So that's important to know though, like cozy Mystery is a very specific genre.

Cate T: It is. And you know what you're getting. It is. It's there. It's not gruesome, it's not, uh, it's not bloody or graphic. Mm-hmm. So it definitely fits the cozy mystery. There's a lot of tea. Drank. Yeah. And Iona is just this super quaint kind of island, but it is, I I, there were times I was like, wait, is this really the way it's gonna go?

Cate T: Yeah. And then it, and then it, it did closely go there. Yeah. So if you're very picky about that, you might not. Okay. Love it. 

Stephanie: That's fair. All [00:25:00] right, before we go to our next segment, I wanted to touch on one more thing. We talked about heavy books physically. Mm-hmm. Um, but we didn't touch on short chapters. I didn't know if anybody came across this when you were preparing.

Stephanie: I personally love a short Chaptered book Yes. At the beach of the pool because it, you can easily get your attention drawn back and forth. Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. I feel like if there are those long chapters or books like don't have chapter breaks, yeah. It's a lot harder to kind of pause when your attention gets grabbed, and so I'm always looking for that too, as short chapters.

Cate T: I agree with that. Yeah. And 

Stephanie: this one did have short chapters. Oh, good. 

Shan: Yeah. 

Stephanie: I think a Stephen 

Shan: King. 

Stephanie: Yes. Sometimes 

Shan: like when he starts off the book, it's always short chapters. Yes. 

Stephanie: But he'll also have chapter breaks in the middle of the page and I'm like, sir, oh, I know. You're like, it's chapter two I. That's exactly what I was thinking.

Stephanie: Yeah, yeah, yeah. So, you know, short chapters, propulsive reading. Yeah. Not too, not too heavy physically. 

Shan: Mm-hmm. 

Stephanie: All right, listeners, let us know what your reading this summer. If you wanna reach out to us, let us know what you think about beach reads. Libraries are so much more than books though, so we want you to know what's [00:26:00] happening off the shelf this month at Russell Library.

Stephanie: Today, Brianna's going to tell us all about museum 

Briana: passes. Are you looking to spice up your summer with some newfound knowledge? Visit a museum. Connecticut has some pretty amazing museums to visit, and the Russell Library is here to help make it a more cost effective experience. Here at the Russell Library, we have both printable and non printable passes.

Briana: There is a limit of one pass per day. Our principal passes can be borrowed by Russell Library patrons only, and you can print them from home or we can print them at the library for you. And what's exciting about these is that you can actually reserve them up to 60 days in advance. So it's pretty helpful.

Briana: Oh, that's nice. If you're like trying to plan a group outing with some family or friends to know like, oh, I can get this passed for August when I want to go to the. Beards. Lee Zoo. Beards. Lee Zoo. Look at that. No, not the beards. Lee Zoo. No, that is a non-principal pass. You can only borrow. Good job. Darn. Oh darn.

Briana: The Mark Twain house. The Mark Twain house. So speaking of our non principal passes, you can only borrow those and use them [00:27:00] for a period of 24 hours. So let's say you knew you wanted to go to the Beardsley Zoo, you're gonna wanna get that pass either, right? Like the day before you go, or day of. And then so that you're coming to the library.

Briana: So you're coming and you're picking up coming into the library to get it? Yes. Yep. Okay. And you can call the circulation desk and they will set it aside for you and you can pick it up. It's pretty simple. And then you can just return it in our outdoor book drops that you don't even have to really come in.

Briana: 'cause we're gonna be tired at the end of the day from walking around the zoo. Mm-hmm. So we try to make it nice and easy for y'all. Mm-hmm. All of our museum passes are first come first serve. So our most popular non-principal pass by far is the kid city Pass. Mm-hmm. We're one of the two libraries that has it in the entire state, and we will have people call at 9:00 AM sharp to reserve that.

Briana: So I was one 

Cate T: of those people when my kids were little. Yeah. I, I really relied on that pass. Mm-hmm. Because it can get 

Briana: expensive to take 

Cate T: the whole family. Mm-hmm. So, 

Briana: yep. That's what's so important about museum passes is that whether you're. Saving $5 or like $30. Mm-hmm. Like savings is something. Yeah.

Briana: Especially like you said, [00:28:00] like maybe you're on a budget and you don't wanna have to shell out $35 a person to go to the Mystic Seaport, nor should you have to. Nor should you have to. So that's why your local library is so important. Like they have these passes for you, like use them because you have every right to.

Briana: And it's like 

Cate T: a, it's like a mini vacation. Yeah. Because a lot of people can't afford to take a whole family away, right? Mm-hmm. So it's a way to get out of your town, but not spend a ton of money and have money for snacks while you're there. Yeah. If you're not spending all the money on, on the cute little Beardsley 

Stephanie: zoo merchandise, you know, you're in a long beardsley zoo merch.

Stephanie: Exactly. Um, and every library's gonna have a different set of museum passes. Brianna, can you give us some more examples of what we have here at Russell? 

Briana: Yeah, so we have a lot of different passes. Um, we have a lot of art museums, various museums related to Connecticut history, the Mash Nantucket Quat Museum, which is all about the mash, Nantucket quat, uh, tribal nation.

Briana: Um, very beautiful museum. I go there, I used to go there all the time. I'm due for another visit. Um, mark Twain house, [00:29:00] Connecticut River Museum. Like there's a lot of. Really cool museums scattered throughout the state. Florence 

Stephanie: Griswold, Florence Griswold. Yeah. Which I've never been to, but people love that one.

Stephanie: Have I wanna go so bad. 

Briana: It's beautiful. 

Cate T: Well, I guess that's where they do the We Ferry Village, right? I was gonna say, they do the Ferry Village every year and everyone comes 

Stephanie: for the past for 

Shan: that, which is very cool. That's a really fun event. I've gone to the Ferry Village many times. Is it wonderful?

Shan: With my nieces and they dress up as fairies. It is wonderful and it is very magical. It's to go. The first 

Cate T: year I went. I think it was like an, it was either a steam punk theme, no fun. And then my son was super into steam punk that year and there was also a Alice in Wonderland theme. Yes. So cool. So every year it's different, and every year it's something surprising.

Cate T: So cool. 

Briana: I remember going to my local library and getting the Beardsley Zoo pass specifically with my mom, and I was so excited. 'cause I was like, oh my gosh, the library has this. Mm-hmm. This is so cool. And I still feel that way like 20 years later as like, yeah, I, I checked the pass out to somebody this morning when I was on the desk and you remember that?

Briana: And I remember that. I was like, that was my favorite thing, like flipping through the little book of [00:30:00] passes and we were like, I, yes. 

Stephanie: I love it. There's something for everybody. 

Briana: Yeah. And. Here. I'm sure a lot of other libraries have something similar, but our friends of the library are actually the reason we have all these museum passes.

Briana: They're big, they're big bookstore fundraisers. Like that is what makes these passes possible as well as other programs like Secrets of the Library or Secrets of the Russell Library. Um, so shout out to the friends because we would not have these museum passes without you. You all are amazing. Alright.

Cate T: They are a wonderful addition 

Briana: to what we, what we bring to the community. So, yep. Yeah. If you want more information about museum passes, our website, russell library.org. Uh, there is a museum passes page. All of the museums we have are listed there with the exact discounts, so please check that out when you're planning your next trip.

Stephanie: Alright, it's time to close the book on today's episode. If you like what you've heard here, please subscribe to the show. This ensures that you won't miss any episodes. And if you have a moment, kindly rate and review the podcast. [00:31:00] This helps other bookish people like yourself. Find the show. Tune in next month to find out what else is on the shelf.

Stephanie: Bye bye.