What do you recommend?

“Summer is meant to be for travel, for exploration, for leisure, but sometimes budgets and schedules dictate otherwise. That’s one more way in which books are magic: they can offer an instant (and inexpensive) escape not just from reality but also from geography. Lindsay Hatton’s novel ‘Monterey Bay’ so beautifully evokes the landscape of the titular locale you’ll feel transported to Northern California even if you’re reading it on the bus on your morning commute. But Hatton’s book is also a gripping tale, nominally about the founding of the storied Monterey Bay Aquarium but also about fathers and daughters, ambition and the environment (plus a healthy dose of sex). Beware if you actually are reading it on the bus to work: this is the kind of book that will make you miss your stop.”

Rumaan Alam, author of ‘Rich and Pretty’

This story was originally published July 22, 2016 at 10:45 AM with the headline "What do you recommend?."