Best Summer Reads

MYFOXNY.COM - Patrik Henry Bass with Essence magazine is sharing his recommendations of the best summer reads.

>ESSENCE ONLINE

1) FOR THE TRADITIONAL BEACH READ LOVER; THIS BOOK KICKS IT UP A NOTCH, DELICOUS DELIGHTFUL TAKES YOU AWAY
Trouble by Kate Christensen Fresh off her award-winning novel The Great Man, the underrated Christensen takes up the story of a middle-aged, married woman whose long-dormant libido abruptly awakens at a party, causing her to fool around with complete stranger. Shedding her dead marriage like a chrysalis, she and a friend Thelma-and-Louise it off to Mexico City, where the book's title just gets more and more apt.

2) ANYONE WHO LOVED "HE'S JUST NOT THAT INTO YOU," AUTHOR CALLED OVER 1,000 MEN TO ASK WHY THEY DIDN'T ASK WOMAN OUT ON A SECOND DATE.
Why He Didn't Call You Back (Crown, $24) by Rachel Greenwald. You get that he's just not that into you, but why? What really happened when that cute guy never called you back after your date? Rachel Greenwald did what you're too embarrassed to do yourself. As a renowned dating coach with a Harvard MBA, she applied business savvy to the dating world by conducting in-depth "Exit Interviews" with 1,000 single men, asking them why they hadn't called back after a date or online flirtation. By refusing to accept glib responses such as "There was just no chemistry," she extracted unabashedly honest and raw answers.

3) ESSENCE BOOK CLUB PICK - "SEXY SUMMER SIZZLER" / GROUP OF MIDDLE AGED AFRICAN AMERICAN WOMEN WHO OPEN A SEX SPA THAT SERVICE ONLY WOMEN. THIS IS A PARODY, VERY TONGUE IN CHEEK. IT'S A SEQUEL AND THEY EXPAND THEIR EMPIRE FROM NEVADA TO MARTHA'S VINEYARD.
"Lets Get It On" by Jill Nelson (Atria, $24.95). After the success of their Reno brothel and spa (see SEXUAL HEALING) LaShaWanda P. Marshall, Lydia Beaucoup and Acey Allen decide to duplicate their achievement off of Martha's Vineyard. Once again they offer their wealthy female clients an all-female, full-service spa without the complications. ESSENCE Book Club Summer Pick.

4) FOR HISTORY LOVERS, BUT IT'S A NOVEL. IT'S BASED IN FACT WHEN IN 1927 HENRY FORD WANTED TO START HIS OWN TOWN.
Fordlandia by Greg Grandin (Metropolitan, $27.50) In 1927, Henry Ford was the worlds richest man, with a company so strong it tried to do something only countries usually manage: It became a colonial power. Ford exacted a concession from the Brazilian government for a piece of Amazon jungle the of Connecticut and set out to build a rubber plantation. Moreover, he decreed the town of Fordlandia would be an all-American place, never mind the habits of the locals (bandstands and ice-cream shops were built; Prohibition was enforced). From page one, it's clear Fordlandia was doomed. Two things keep you reading: curiosity over how long this harebrained scheme could go on, and Ford himself.

5) PERFECT FOR TEENS (IF YOU'RE INTO GOSSIP GIRL OR THE HILLS, YOU'LL LIKE THIS BOOK)
L.A. Candy by Lauren Conrad (HarperCollins, $17.99 L.A. Candy is a deliciously entertaining novel about what it's like to come of age in Hollywood while starring in a reality TV show, written by a girl who has experienced it all firsthand: Lauren Conrad.