Every book this month got five stars, which either means I had excellent taste in August or extremely low standards! I’m going with the former. A Nantucket farewell, a Patchett masterclass, a poetry collection I hadn’t opened since Senior Speech Team, and an American Girl book that made me interrogate my entire childhood — here’s what I read:
The Lauren Letter will always be free. But if this space has become something you look forward to—a small ritual in your week, a source of inspiration, a reminder to approach life with more intention—you now have the option to support it.
Here’s to Us by Elin Hilderbrand — ★★★★★
The final Elin Nantucket read of my summer, and it closed the season exactly as it should have: classic Hilderbrand, which is to say rich people behaving badly in the most beautifully rendered way possible. A fitting goodbye to the tradition until next May!
The Queen and Her Presidents by Susan Page — ★★★★★
A U.S.-centric deep dive into Queen Elizabeth II’s relationships with the American presidents she outlasted — full of the kind of specific, delicious nuggets that make nonfiction feel like gossip you’re allowed to have!
Whistler by Ann Patchett — ★★★★★
This month’s The Lauren Letter Book Club selection, and true Patchett literary artistry from the first page. Quiet, exacting, and beautifully nostalgic.
God Went to Beauty School by Cynthia Rylant — ★★★★★
A book of poetry I built my High School Senior Speech Team program around years ago, revisited now with fresh eyes. Absolute fits of laughter and tears, sometimes within the same poem — Rylant’s prose still holds every bit of its power.
An American Girl by Amanda FitzSimmons — ★★★★★
Officially released on October 13, but I got my hands on an advance copy and could not put it down! A fair, at times critical look at the American Girl brand that never loses sight of the nostalgia and warmth that made us all love it in the first place. I finished it and immediately started texting every friend I have asking which American Girl they were! (I am a Samantha).
September Book Club: The Thoroughbreds by Elin Hilderbrand and Shelby Cunningham
September’s pick is book two in the mother-daughter duo’s Academy series, following the sixth-formers (i.e., high school seniors) of Tiffin Academy back for one more heady, secret-filled year — the It Couple on the rocks, a rift no one will explain, and a whole new crop of drama nipping at the heels of the last book’s cliffhangers!
It officially releases September 15, but you can pre-order your copy now so it’s waiting for you on day one. And — chills!!!! — I somehow got my hands on an advanced reader copy, so I am about to dig in early. How lucky am I!
P.S. I promise to always keep The Lauren Letter free as my little exercise of trying to make the world a bit more beautiful. If, in return, you could considering giving this post a “like” or share with a friend, it would just mean the world to me.
