THE MODA GUIDE TO SUMMER
 
  
What to Read For Summer 2020 
 
    
Whether you’re lounging poolside, laid out on a beach, or curled up in a cozy corner, the long days of summer offer ample opportunity to unleash your inner bookworm. From new fiction to essential non-fiction, here are the titles to carry you through summer ‘20 and beyond. 

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MUST-READS...



 
“The Party Upstairs,” Lee Conell

(Penguin Random House, July 7)
 
  
This modern-day “upstairs/downstairs” examination of privilege and wealth told from two points of view unfolds over one day in a wealthy Upper West Side New York City building. Ruby, the daughter of the building’s superintendent, Martin, grew up in the coop’s basement apartment directly below the other affluent tenants. One of them, her childhood friend, Caroline, whose dad owns the penthouse invites Ruby to one of her glamorous rooftop house parties, Ruby and Martin have an early morning argument which reaches well-past boiling point and, by the day’s end, the building’s inner power structures are burst open for all to see...




"No Rules Rules: Netflix And The Culture of Reinvention," Reed Hastings and Erin Meyer

(Penguin Random House, September 8) 

A must-read for anyone interested in media, our rapidly evolving business culture, and—well—Netflix. Reed Hastings, the co-founder of Netflix, talks (for the first time) about the unconventional inner workings (from unlimited PTO to "never pleasing your boss") behind the multi-billion dollar company that has revolutionized how we create and consume on-screen entertainment. To think it all began as an online DVD mail-order service just before the turn of the millennium.  



"Why I'm No Longer Talking to White People About Race," Reni Eddo-Lodge

(Bloomsbury Publishing, 2017) 
 
  
While not technically new, this collection of seven essays is a vital resource for anyone looking to educate themselves on the meaning of white privilege, and its role in actively perpetuating systemic racism. It’s an extension of a blog post of the same name that the British journalist and feminist Reni Eddo-Lodge wrote in 2014, and the underlying message that permeates each essay is the indisputable need for white people to take responsibility for—and then work to unpack and dismantle—racism. For more essential reading and resources about racism, click here.
 
BEACH READS...



 
“Friends and Strangers,” J. Courtney Sullivan

(Knopf, June 30)
 
  
A captivating and funny page-turner about privilege and female friendship. A first-time mom and journalist moves with her husband and infant to Upstate New York from her Brooklyn brownstone and struggles to adjust to small-town life. Then she hires local art student Sam to babysit…




 
“The Great Offshore Grounds,” Vanessa Veselka

(Knopf, August 25) 
 
   
An epic tale of adventure, freedom, and family ties. Half sisters Livy and Cheyenne live very different lives, yet their estranged father’s wedding brings them together in a bid to find financial security. But, instead of money, a name is revealed, hinting at a long-held family secret. A search for meaning brings the sisters and their adopted brother on a harrowing cross-country journey to the Great Offshore Grounds...

 
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DIP IN, DIP OUT...



  
“One Last Lunch: A Final Meal with Those Who Meant So Much to Us,” Erica Heller

(Abrams Press, May 12)
 
  
There’s always something we wished we had said. Erica Heller (Joseph Heller’s daughter) edits a collection of raw vignettes by creatives’ imagined last moments with someone they deeply cherished. Documentary filmmaker Muffie Meyer sits down with her subject Little Edie Beale, Clarence Major lunches with longtime friend James Baldwin, Kirk Douglas asks his father what he thought about him becoming an actor, an Anglican priest dines with Jesus, and more in its fifty chapters.


“This is What I Know About Art," Kimberly Drew 

(Penguin Random House, June 2)  


Exploring the relationship between art and activism, Kimberly Drew (@museummammy on Instagram) navigates her own journey into the art world—from kindergarten in New Jersey, to an elite Rhode Island boarding school where she felt like "the beneficiary of affirmative action," then to Smith College, and her first job at The Studio Museum in Harlem. In 2011 Drew started the Tumblr blog "Black Contemporary Art," a repository to provide access to art by and about those of African descent. Ever since, she's been curating and documenting Black art and experiences, also offering profound critiques of (historically white) museum culture. The essay is a lithe 61 pages and part of a wider series called "Pocket Change Collective aimed at young adults. Consider it a precursor to Drew's next book project, "Black Futures," out in December. 


“Why We Sleep: Unlocking the Power of Sleep and Dreams,” Matthew Walker

(Penguin, 2017)  


How much sleep are you averaging, now? Since life in lockdown, sleep has become a hot topic. While some have managed to discover their natural circadian rhythms for the first time thanks to alarm-free wakeups and reduced travel, others (perhaps the majority of us) are struggling with anxiety, sleepless nights, and exhaustion. Neuroscientist and globally renowned sleep expert Matthew Walker examines the vital role sleep and dreams play in all living things, detailing myriad health benefits, the adverse effects of commonly-used sleep aids, and how modern life is designed to ensure humans—specifically those who are socio-economically disadvantaged—don’t get enough of it.