Books, Beach, & Beyond

This special episode of Books, Beach, & Beyond was recorded LIVE at the 15th annual Nantucket Book Festival on June 13, 2026. Tim sits Tayari Jones down to talk about one of the best-selling novels of the year so far - KIN. Tayari and Tim talk about Tayari’s origin story, choosing point of view, mothers and daughters, writing historical fiction, her tour for Kin, and much more. Thank you to Nantucket Community Television for the live audio recording of this conversation.
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This special episode of Books, Beach, & Beyond was recorded LIVE at the 15th annual Nantucket Book Festival on June 12, 2026. Elin sits Belle Burden down to talk about one of the best-selling memoirs of the year so far - “Strangers: A Memoir of Marriage.” Elin designed the conversation to be split between before the book, about the book, and after the book came out. Belle tells us of her writing and reading life, her past, her marriage, being on Oprah’s podcast, and Hollywood plans for the screen adaptation. Thank you to Nantucket Community Television for the live audio recording of this conversation.
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Carley Fortune is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of Every Summer After, One Golden Summer, This Summer Will Be Different, Meet Me at the Lake, and new on shelves this year, the #1 New York Times bestseller - Our Perfect Storm. Carley, Elin, and Tim start talking about the romance genre and its respect in the industry, Carley’s life as a journalist before turning into a novelist, and how she got her start. They chat about literary tropes, first person point of view, writing believable sex scenes, her Canadian settings, Tofino and Barry’s Bay, her newest novel Our Perfect Storm, and her screen adaptation Every Year After based on her book Every Summer After.
Thank you to our Episode Sponsors:
Nantucket Book Partners
Nantucket Looms
And a special thank you to our Season 4 Premier Sponsors:
Book of the Month
Nantucket Book Partners
Little, Brown
Carley Fortune Reading List
Every Summer After
One Golden Summer
This Summer Will Be Different 
Meet Me at the Lake
Our Perfect Storm
What else are we reading in this episode?
Anne of Green Gables by Lucy Montgomery
Tomorrow When the War Began by John Marsden
Fifty Shades of Grey E. L. James
Dolly All the Time by Annabel Monaghan
Sandwich by Catherine Newman
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And find us on Instagram at @booksbeachandbeyond

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Elin Hilderbrand and Tim Ehrenberg of Tim Talks Books are back for Season 4 of Books, Beach, & Beyond! The two co-hosts update listeners on their years so far and then introduce returning guests Ann Patchett and Emma Straub, both bookstore owners (Parnassus Books in Nashville, TN, and Books Are Magic in Brooklyn, NY), and both with new books this year. The four talk about bookstores from childhood, what it’s like owning a bookstore, and their favorite books of 2026 so far. They dive into the research for Emma’s new novel published this April,  American Fantasy and discuss the themes of Ann’s newest on shelves this week, Whistler.  The episode ends with a bunch of book recommendations for you to check out. This is an entertaining conversation between four readers and friends to kick off your summer reading. A readers’ dream!
Thank you to our Episode Sponsors:
Little, Brown
Nantucket Island Tours
And a special thank you to our Season 4 Premier Sponsors:
Book of the Month
Nantucket Book Partners
Little, Brown
Books Mentioned in this episode
The Five-Star Weekend by Elin Hilderbrand
American Fantasy by Emma Straub
Whistler by Ann Patchett
This is Not About Us by Allegra Goodman
The Heir Apparent by Rebecca Armitage
John of John by Douglas Stuart
Kin by Tayari Jones
The Reservation by Rebecca Kauffmann
The Things We Never Say by Elizabeth Strout
Lost Lambs by Madeline Cash
Sophie Standing There by Meg Mason
Hollow Bones by Jodi Picoult
Down with the Shipmans by Meg Mitchell Moore
The Shampoo Effect by Jenny Jackson
Cool Machine by Colson Whitehead
Music Against the Night by Yiyun Li
Sorrow and Bliss by Meg Mason
Ply by Hernan Diaz
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Elin and Tim end Season 3 of Books, Beach, & Beyond with two of their favorite book influencers: Katie Shober of @beachreadsandbubbly and Brady Lockerby @bradylockerby. Tim and Elin recap all seasons of the podcast by getting to know Katie and Brady as readers with a long list of reading recommendations. Then they dig into how Katie and Brady started as social media influencers, how their day works, what they do when they don’t like a book, their advice for emerging influencers, and their favorite books of the year, favorite Christmas songs and drinks, and the book they all will be gifting this year. It’s like listening to four best friends talk at a book club.
A Special Thank you to our Episode Sponsors:
Book of the Month
Serena & Lily
Reading List:
Conform by Ariel Sullivan
The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood
Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins
Divergent by Veronica Roth
The Most Fun We’ve Ever Had by Claire Lombardo
Hamnet by Maggie O’Farrell
The Vanishing Act of Esme Lennox by Maggie O’ Farrell
After You’d Gone by Maggie O’Farrell
American Fantasy by Emma Straub (April 2026)
The Great Alone by Kristin Hannah
The Nightingale by Kristin Hannah
Atmosphere by Taylor Jenkins Reid
Heart the Lover by Lily King
The Bronze Horseman by Paullina Simons
Every Last One by Anna Quindlen
King of Ashes by S.A. Cosby
Razorblade Tears by S.A. Cosby
Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen
Remarkably Bright Creatures by Shelby Van Pelt
The Ten Year Affair by Erin Somers
Sweet Valley High by Francine Pascal
Sarah Plain and Tall by Patricia MacLachlan
On the Banks of Plum Creek by Laura Ingalls Wilder
The City of Ember by Jeanne DuPrau
Daisy Jones and the Six by Taylor Jenkins Reid
11/22/63 by Stephen King
Be Ready When the Luck Happens by Ina Garten
A Court of Thorn and Roses by Sarah J Maas
Shady Hollow Series by Juneau Black
One Day in December by Josie Silver
Lonesome Dove by Larry McCurtry
Wild Dark Shore by Charlotte McConaghy
Broken Country by Clare Leslie Hall
Playworld by Adam Ross
Winter Stroll by Elin Hilderbrand
The Five-Star Weekend by Elin Hilderbrand
28 Summers by Elin Hilderbrand
What to Cook When you Don’t Feel Like Cooking by Caroline Chambers
The Correspondent by Virginia Evans
Heart the Lover by Lily King
Follow/Subscribe to the 'Books, Beach, & Beyond' podcast now to stay current on new episodes.

And find us on Instagram at @booksbeachandbeyond

Happy Reading!