Three Summer Reads from John Glynn, author of OUT EAST
Summer is a time for books that lead us toward self-discovery. In my memoir Out East I chronicle a summer I spent in a Montauk, a beach hamlet at the eastern tip of Long Island. I was 27 at the time and searching for connection. Over the course of that summer, I fell in love with a guy for the first time, met a group of friends who became my family, and began the slow process of becoming the person I was meant to be.
For my housemates and I that summer—and there were a whopping 31 of us sharing deflated air mattresses and slices of cold pizza—Montauk came to symbolize family, freedom, and escape. Each book below embodies those hallmarks in different ways. All are perfect for the hot summer months.
HONESTLY, WE MEANT WELL by Grant Ginder
No one writes comedic family drama like Grant Ginder. This polyphonic novel about a family’s summer trip to a Greek Island had me legitimately laughing out loud one moment, and tearing up the next. Best enjoyed by the pool with a cold glass of rosé.
HOW WE DISAPPEARED by Jing-Jing Lee
Singaporean poet Jing-Jing Lee shuttles between two timelines in this forgotten story from the Pacific theater of World War II. It’s a powerful, transporting read, perfect for a slow, rainy summer day.
LIE WITH ME by Philippe Besson, translated by Molly Ringwald
This haunting coming of age novel vividly chronicles the ripple effects of a love affair between two teenage boys in the 80s. Hailed as the “French Brokeback Mountain,” Lie With Me is short and arresting, the kind of book you can tear through in one afternoon beneath a beach umbrella.
About John Glynn & Out East
John Glynn is an editor at Hanover Square Press, an imprint of HarperCollins. He grew up in Longmeadow, Massachusetts and lives in New York City. Out East is his first book.
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