About Seven Summer Weekends: A woman inherits a beach house, along with a series of weekend guests, while butting heads with the irritable (and irritatingly handsome) man next door, in this sparkling new escape from Jane L. Rosen.

From the Surf Hotel, built in 1855 in the town now known as Kismet, to the present day, Fire Island has been a haven for artists, writers, and actors. While the list of prominent visitors drawn to its surf, sun, nightlife, and serenity is substantial, today I am homing in on a dozen or so and their connections to the various towns and villages on the thirty-two-mile spit of sand off the coast of New York’s Long Island. It is quite a list!

1. Oscar Wilde

The flamboyant Irish poet, novelist, playwright, (The Picture of Dorian Gray, The Importance of Being Earnest) visited the town of Cherry Grove in 1882 on his tour of America long before it became part of the east end’s fabulous gay enclave.

2. Truman Capote

It is believed that Capote wrote parts of the beloved classic, Breakfast at Tiffany’s, during the summer of 1957 in one of the first homes constructed in Cherry Grove, the iconic Carrington House.

3. Tennessee Williams

Legend has it that celebrated American playwright and queer icon Tennessee Williams wrote The Glass Menagerie on a stolen typewriter in a pier shack on the eastern end of the island.

4. Arthur Miller

Arthur Miller, renowned American playwright, (Death of a Salesman, The Crucible) who was famously married to Marilyn Monroe for five years, often visited the island at the Seaview home of Marilyn’s acting coach, Paula Strasberg (Lee Strasberg’s second wife).

5. Frank O’Hara

Frank O’Hara, A writer and MOMA curator whose poems include “A True Account of Talking to the Sun at Fire Island”, famously died there at just forty years old. O’Hara was hit by a beach buggy on a dark night in 1966 — a shocking event in the history of a mostly car-free island.

6. Abby Hoffman

The American social and political activist, known for his role in the 1960s counterculture movement, authored several significant books. Hoffman spent time on Fire Island in the 1970s, where he and his crew organized a defense fund for the Black Panthers out of their summer rental in Seaview.

7. Joseph Heller

“In 1962 I was sitting on the deck of a house on Fire Island….” wrote Heller in The Paris Review, going on to explain how fifteen years after he published Catch-22, inspiration finally hit. The title of his long awaited second novel, Something Happened, was aptly inspired from its Fire Island beginnings.

8. Herman Wouk

The Pulitzer-prize-winning author (The Caine Mutiny, 1951) raised his family in Seaview and held a Minyan on his back deck until becoming a founding member of the island’s first synagogue.

9. Mel Brooks & Carl Reiner

About fifteen years ago, over pastrami at the Carnegie Deli, actor Tony Roberts (Serpico, Annie Hall) told me his account of the inception of the duo’s most famous collaboration—The 2000-Year-Old Man. Roberts reported escorting a date back to her Ocean Beach home to find the two pals improvising the legendary schtick in her living room. The life-long friends went on to become two of the most famous comedy sketch writers in history. (Just ask my next entrants!)

10. Elle Key & Keegan-Michael Key

The married writing and producing comedy partners co-authored much of their 2023 best-selling book, The History of Sketch Comedy, on their Fire Island deck. Fun fact: Elle’s grandfather, Tony Pugliese, built a house on the island in the 1930’s and her father, Paul, was once the mayor of Ocean Beach!

11. Tina Fey

“You can tell how smart people are by what they laugh at.”—Tina Fey

Whether reading her 2011 memoir, Bossy Pants, or watching Mean Girls, one of the most quoted movies of all time, there is no doubt that Tina Fey crafted many a funny line from her Fair Harbor home.

12. Jane L. Rosen

It may be true that the only way I would be included in a list with these luminaries is if I had written that list myself, none the less, here I am! Jane L. Rosen, author of five novels including three set on the island, On Fire Island (2023), Seven Summer Weekends (2024) and Songs of Summer (2025). These three stand-alone novels brimming with kooky characters, a love of place, and just love itself, are all inspired by having spent thirty-something years on my beloved Fire Island.

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Heartstopper by Alice Oseman
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Many YA fans have read this graphic novel by now (and its sequels), but one can never go wrong with a contemporary romance, especially if it is as endearing as this one! This is the sweetest boy meets boy story and throughout the three volumes, we can see how Nick and Charlie’s relationship grows and deepens. Oseman also shows us the struggles of teenage love and those of the process of coming out. Ultimately, it sends a message of hope to LGBT+ people and she does so with her beautiful illustrations that are able to express feelings and emotions without the need to use words.

The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde
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Oscar Wilde’s most popular work is engaging and compelling. The story is set around three characters: Dorian Gray, Lord Henry, and Basil Hallward. The latter is an artist who paints a picture of Dorian Gray and later becomes obsessed with him because of his beauty. Then Dorian meets Lord Henry, a friend of Basil, and is fascinated by the way he sees the world and his belief that the senses should triumph over reason. Overall, this is a great story with morally grey, complex, and corrupted characters that just feel real. You will be fascinated by the cynicism and vileness towards humanity that these characters display and by Wilde’s masterful and beautiful prose and his eloquent and rich language. If you are not convinced to pick up this book yet, maybe knowing that there’s a new audiobook narrated by Ben Barnes will do the trick.

Vicious by V. E. Schwab
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Here we have another beautifully written story with morally grey characters addictive enough to read in one sitting. Schwab’s novel follows two college friends, Victor and Eli, who decide to base their thesis on how someone can develop extraordinary abilities. However, when their study moves from the academic to the experimental, things go terribly wrong. It’s the perfect “good people gone bad” novel for those who love stories about superheroes and anti-heroes. It’s dark, brilliant, and engrossing.

Norse Mythology by Neil Gaiman
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It’s no secret that Gaiman has a gift for storytelling, and these short retellings of different Norse myths feel like an absolute dream. Gaiman takes these old stories and makes them approachable to today’s readers, thanks to his modern stylish flair. He gives personality and life to these complex characters and offers a different version of them. It is a fast-paced and action-packed read but also very funny and enjoyable. It’s interesting and a compelling pageturner that will bring you closer to some familiar faces like the powerful Odin, the honourable Thor, or the mischievous Loki. But you will also discover and learn a lot more about other Norse deities and the nine worlds they live in.

To Kill A Kingdom by Alexandra Christo
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Here we have another retelling; this one is perfect for those who love YA fantasy. This is The Little Mermaid story, but reimagined in a completely different and twisted way. Christo’s debut novel is full of intrigue and so easy to read that you will devour it in no time. The story follows two different characters that are both next in line to different crowns. We have Lira, the most feared siren of all time, known as the “Prince’s Bane” and daughter of the tyrant Sea Queen. On the other hand, we have Elian: royal prince, pirate, and siren hunter. After a certain event, the Sea Queen turns Lira into a human and sends her to kill the royal prince.

Basically, this book has a little bit of everything: a strong female lead, slow-burn angsty romance, fantasy elements, great imagery, vivid action scenes, strong friendships, and witty banter. What more do you need?

Do you have any other recommendations? Tell us in the comments below!

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Now that it’s officially fall for half of the world and the weather has turned cold and crisp for half of the world, it means it’s also time to welcome the Halloween season! It’s that time of the year to get spooky, to spend your nights watching and reading horror until Halloween ends, and of course, to put up crazy decorations and wear costumes! To help you spice up your Halloween reads, we are here to suggest a few books and themes that would be perfect for a Halloween binge!

Read A Classic

There are many options you can choose for this prompt, including Frankenstein by Mary Shelley, Dracula by Bram Stoker, Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte, The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde, and Inferno by Dante.

Read A Book About Witches

What’s Halloween without a few witches? The obvious choice for this prompt would be Harry Potter, but if you want something different, you can read Beautiful Creatures by Kami Garcia, A Discovery of Witches by Deborah Harkness, How to Hang A Witch by Adriana Mather, and Truthwitch by Susan Dennard. Or you know, you can always read the book adaptation of Hocus Pocus!

Read A Book About Curses

Any kind of curse will do! You can read Anna Dressed in Blood by Kendare Blake, Compulsion by Martina Boone, The Wicked Deep by Shea Ernshaw, and Strange Grace by Tessa Gratton.

Read A Book About Foreign Myth/Folk Stories

For this prompt, you can read The Girl from the Well by Rin Chupeco, American Gods by Neil Gaiman, and obviously Rick Riordan’s books. If you want something new, you can read an East Asian stories anthology, A Thousand Beginnings and Endings.

Read A Book About Grim Reapers/Death

I really love reading death as a personification, as death/grim reapers always have such a unique voice. They can be really had to find as there are rarely books about them, but you can read The Book Thief by Markus Zusak, Scythe by Neal Shusterman, A Dirty Job by Christopher Moore, and Death or Ice Cream by Gareth P. Jones

Read A Book With An Unreliable Narrator

Unreliable narrators is defined as a narrator whose credibility has been compromised, either because they are the culprit, didn’t remember what happened, or something else. Some of the books with unreliable narrators are The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer by Michelle Hodkin, Dangerous Girls by Abigail Haas, The Girl On The Train by Paula Hawkins, and The Dead House by Dawn Kurtagich.

Read A Book With A Creepy Cover

I think we can agree the Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children series have creepy covers! Other options include Daughters unto Devil by Amy Luckavics, Say Her Name by James Dawson, and The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson.

Happy October! Let us know if you plan on reading any along with the books you will be reading this Halloween in the comments below!

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