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This article contains spoilers for the Season 3 finale of “The Summer I Turned Pretty.”

Isabel “Belly” Conklin and Conrad Fisher had a très romantique reunion in Paris in the highly anticipated series finale of “The Summer I Turned Pretty” this week — but that’s not the end of their love story.

Hours after Prime Video dropped the series finale of the hit show on Wednesday, the streamer announced a feature film continuation to be written and directed by author, creator and co-showrunner Jenny Han.

“There is another big milestone left in Belly’s journey, and I thought only a movie could give it its proper due,” Han said in a press release. The surprise announcement was made during the red carpet finale premiere in the City of Love, with Han and the stars of the series, including Lola Tung, Christopher Briney and Gavin Casalegno, in attendance.

Story and production details for the untitled “Summer I Turned Pretty” movie are under wraps, as is the release date. But fans of Han’s bestselling book series of the same name have already guessed which major milestone a “Summer” movie is likely to reveal: Belly’s wedding to Conrad.

The wedding, an ultimate happy ending for the couple after their tumultuous three-season journey of first love and heartbreak, was originally revealed in the epilogue of Han’s third “Summer” novel, “We’ll Always Have Summer.” Curiously for the series, in which Han has shown meticulous creative control with well-curated book moments, music and visual details, Belly and Conrad’s onscreen love story comes to an open-ended conclusion when they return together to the Cousins summer house, with Belly narrating an ambiguous forward jump in time.

Additionally, a credits montage titled “Christmas in Paris” shows snapshots of them spending the holiday together and an onscreen letter from Han thanking fans that appears to open the door to more of Belly and Conrad’s story: “Maybe we’ll meet again one summer in Cousins.”

Belly and Conrad’s onscreen love story comes to an open-ended conclusion when they return together to the Cousins summer house in the series finale.

(Eddy Chen / Prime)

The final three episodes of the global hit series expand on the book’s epilogue, switching the setting from Spain to Paris, where Belly (Tung) finishes college abroad after a love confession from Conrad (Briney) upends her would-be nuptials to his brother, Jeremiah (Casalegno). The penultimate episode included the handwritten letters from the book that Conrad begins sending Belly during their time apart, leading to their eventual romantic reconnection.

In the 79-minute series finale, written by Han and co-showrunner Sarah Kucserka and directed by Jesse Peretz, Conrad arrives in Paris a year later to surprise Belly on her birthday. They clear the air and rekindle their spark during a “Before Sunrise”-esque day together. A passionate night is followed by a tearful goodbye, an emotional revelation, a dramatic dash to the train station, and the return of the infinity necklace that has symbolized their love since Season 1.

The episode also checks in on the folks back home in Cousins, including Steven (Sean Kaufman) and Taylor (Rain Spencer), who are navigating the next steps of their own relationship, and Jeremiah, now an up-and-coming chef, who has moved on from his breakup with Belly and is forging a romantic connection with former co-worker Denise (Isabella Briggs).

After watching the finale, some fans on social media felt that Belly and Conrad’s love story was incomplete, wanting to see more of the couple together, and that it missed book moments like their wedding, closure for other characters, and a reunion of the whole Cousins crew.

Avid fans had already begun poring over the episode for hints of more “Summer” to come. Eagle-eyed viewers like TikTok creator @bookbeedani noted that the numbers “12” and “14” appearing throughout the episodes and holiday hints, including a red and green dress worn by Han in a promo revealing the finale title, support speculation that a Dec. 14 Christmas special might be in the works.

Those details could hint at what’s to come in a “Summer” feature film, including what we didn’t see in the series finale, like the letter Susannah wrote to Belly before her death, a “Bonrad” wedding — and first dance to “Stay” by Maurice Williams and the Zodiacs — and a final scene with the pair on the beach that has been witness to several of their important moments together.

“I’m definitely open to doing more stories in the universe,” Han told The Times in an interview ahead of the finale. The film, which will mark Han’s feature directorial debut after making her first foray into directing with a Season 3 episode told from Conrad’s perspective, could also tie up loose ends or tee up spin-off potential for other beloved characters, including Steven and Taylor in California; Laurel, John and Adam on that singles cruise; or Jeremiah and Denise in … love?

A woman recently booked a holiday to Turkey and she can’t believe how much it cost. Suzanna was floored when she saw her bill for her recent trip away in the sun

A woman booked a holiday to Turkey, but was left floored when she realised how much it cost, and it’s not the only thing that’s left people stunned at the holiday hotspot recently. Suzanna, known as suzannatravelsolo on TikTok, recently admitted she jetted off for a few days in the sun to have a break from “rainy Liverpool“.

Even though she enjoyed her time away, she admitted she was taken aback when she realised how much it would cost her to spend the weekend in Turkey. In a candid video shared online she claimed she bagged a weekend away in Turkey for “less than £200.00”, and this included taxi fees, so it was pretty good.

The news may surprise some people as it’s been heavily documented that, in recent years, tourists think Turkey has become expensive. Just a few months ago, Brits admitted they were looking for “cheaper options”, as they claimed the hotspot has witnessed such high levels of inflation.

However, Suzanna said she had a bargain break away and she opened up about it in a few videos. However, she did warn it can be come expensive when you actually land at the destination.

In a different video, Suzanna explained whether she thinks it’s cheaper in Turkey or Hurghada, Egypt. She said she did notice it was pricey when she was out and about.

Suzanna explained: “The beach clubs in Hurghada are much better and a lot cheaper. I mean, if you drink, you’re going to spend a lot of money, because it was £12.00 for a cocktail.

“If you wanted vodka and Sprite, a vodka was just £11.00 on its own without a mixer. £11.00 for a vodka. I found local restaurants in the area I’m staying – the food has been lovely.

“You can get good value if you shop around. Tourists spots are just so, so expensive. Turkey will always be a part of my life, but Hurghada wins hands down for value and for what you get for your money.

“I mean, to just go on a boat trip here you’re talking €60.00. In Hurghada, we do it for €30,00, so there’s a big difference in the price. Turkey is still there in my heart.”

In the video, Suzanna also stated she had bed and breakfast, and people were quick to comment and share their thoughts. Some had similar views.

One said: “Love Turkey but my favourite will always be Egypt. We used to go to Luxor for two weeks and then go to Hurghada for a few days in between.”

Another added: “Definitely stay away from tourist spots, but I prefer that anyway – wherever I go.” Some people love Turkey though, as someone else wrote: “I’d personally choose Turkey – we’ve had the best holidays there, twice last year.”

One more commented: “Just came back from Hurghada and absolutely loved it – can’t wait to return. Great people – fab holiday.”

Is Turkey becoming expensive?

There are a few reasons why prices are said to have shot up in parts of Turkey. If you’re wondering about the situation, Statista has offered an explanation as to why it may be happening.

The website reads: “Domestic producer price indices have been continuously rising, which has directly resulted in a price increase in all consumer goods and services. Accordingly, the Consumer Price Index (CPI) in all commodity groups increased extremely since 2022.

“In the same year, the food and non-alcoholic beverages category had one of the highest inflation rates in the CPI. This particularly affected Turkish consumers, as these products accounted for the highest share of household expenditure in 2023.

“Since 2020, food prices have increased significantly around the world, and Turkey is no exception. Although inflation has started to slow down recently, food prices in Turkey continue to go up steadily, increasing by 48.6 percent in November 2024 compared to the same month in the previous year.

“It is not surprising that food inflation has not simmered down, as the producer price index (PPI) of agricultural products followed a constant increasing trend in the country over the past few years.”

However, it’s said Turkey is taking steps to help boost tourism, including addressing rising prices, making tourist offerings more diverse and investing in infrastructure. The Government is said to be working to reduce inflation, and some people are also promoting niche tourism areas like spas and health care.

Like all great crime writers, Lou Berney knows that a ripping story is only as good as the characters that make it rip. With his new novel “Crooks,” Berney has created a family saga about a small-time operator named Buddy Mercurio, his pickpocket wife Lillian and their five children.

As Buddy’s brood leave the nest and stake their claim in the world, his patriarchal shadow looms large, and the sins of the father are hard to kick. I chatted with Berney about his sixth novel, crime and why smartphones are his worst enemy.

(Please note: The Times may earn a commission through links to Bookshop.org, whose fees support independent bookstores.)

✍️ Author Chat

Lou Berney, author of “Crooks: A Novel About Crime and Family.”

(Lou Berney)

How did you come to crime novels?

The writers I love tend to be crime writers. I really got turned on my freshman year of college to Flannery O’Connor
and that just kind of blew my mind. To me, she’s the greatest crime writer ever. “Wise Blood,” “A Good Man is Hard to Find,” “Everything that Rises Must Converge.” Every one of her books has elements of a crime novel in them that she does really interesting things with. 


But you started as a more traditional literary writer.

My first story was in “The New Yorker” when I was in grad school. I was writing straight literary fiction. Then I started writing screenplays and learning more about plot and storytelling. I just kind of settled into this idea of crime, which to me is the one genre where you can do almost anything you want. It’s such a big tent. And so it was a great way for me to embrace the limitless, essentially.

What about traditional crime writers? Who moves you?

A big influence was Elmore Leonard. Also Jim Thompson, who was a fellow Oklahoma writer. Those are two guys that really, really affected me. But the current state of crime fiction is just awesome. I love so many contemporary crime writers right now. Sara Gran,
Kate Atkinson, Megan Abbott, S.A. Cosby. This is a golden age in some ways for weird, interesting crime fiction that takes you to different places. 
Everybody’s kind of doing their own thing, which I really love.

Are you a Walter Mosley fan?

A huge fan. I got to work with Walter this year. I wrote for a TV show called “The Lowdown” which was created by Sterlin Harjo, who created “Reservation Dogs.” Walter and I were the two novelists in the writers room, six hours a day for 20 weeks, and I just got to hear Walter Mosley talk. The guy is a genius. His thoughts on writing are just mind-blowingly good. So I got paid for an education.

I love the Mercurios. I feel like part of the appeal of a family like this is that they are everything most of us are not: They are bold risk–takers who dive into things without fear.

In writing about the Mercurios, I was getting to vicariously live these lives that were enormously appealing to me. You know, I don’t want to be a criminal and I would probably make a bad criminal, but it’s sure fun to sort of live without rules and live without fear and be reckless and do whatever you want.

“Crooks” is set in the pre-camera phone era, when life had an entirely different texture, and information traveled slowly.

I was walking through the airport yesterday, and it was so demoralizing to see every single person on their phone, with literally no exceptions. Everyone walking, sitting and standing were on their phones, and I thought, “Man, I’m glad I’m old enough to remember when none of that existed,” because that was way, way more interesting to me as a writer.

I love the chapters that are set in ’80s Los Angeles. How did you conjure all of that up?

I read a lot of old magazines. Los Angeles magazine was great. I got all the old issues on EBay. And I have a friend who grew up in the ‘80s in L.A., so I ran some stuff by him. I just love research. I wasn’t into homework as a kid at all, but now I’ve discovered that if it’s homework I need to do for a book, I’m all about it.

The novel is divided into six parts, and every section is so deftly plotted. How difficult is the plot for you?

I do extensive outlining so I can get a sense of plot. But I end up probably changing 75% of it as I go. With this book, the Jeremy chapter worked perfectly, whereas Alice took me like three times as long as any of the other chapters, because I had to keep figuring out how she was going to outsmart this guy, and nothing was working or wasn’t fitting right. It really depends on the particular kind of plotline.

📰 The Week(s) in Books

(Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times)

Julia M. Klein thinks Daniel Pollack-Pelzner’s biography of Lin-Manuel Miranda does a fine job of probing the inner artist, a “joyous, charismatic, well-meaning, occasionally imperfect man.”

Samantha Fink sat down with Elizabeth Gilbert to discuss her new memoir “All The Way to The River.”

With Oasis and Pulp on the road, Dave Rowntree makes sure his group Blur gets a hand in the Britpop Revival with a book of band photographs.

And finally, our reviewers pick 30 Fall books that everyone must read.

📖 Bookstore Faves

A book-loving cat wanders through the aisles of Small World Books located on the Venice Boardwalk.

(Adam Lipman)

Small World Books is the grandaddy of indie book stores in L.A. Established in 1969 on the Venice Boardwalk, the store has always been well-curated and loaded with a diverse array of titles. We spoke with manager Adam Lipman about what customers are snatching up.

What’s selling right now?

The new RF Kuang, “Katabasis,” is selling really well, as is the new Taylor Jenkins Reid, “Atmosphere,” and it’s been hard to keep in stock “Daughter Mother Grandmother and Whore” by Gabriela Leite.

What are some popular genres that your customers like?

Romantasy, horror and architecture are getting snatched up right quick these days.

And those that love poetry are always impressed with our poetry section. But we are selling all types of books right now! From bestsellers to books about lo-fi cassette culture, sextrology, and Charles Oakley. Anything important or interesting to us we try to get in store and keep in stock.

Why are books still necessary in a wired world?

Susan Orleans wrote in “The Orchid Thief”: “There are too many ideas and things and people, too many directions to go. I was starting to believe that the reason it matters to care passionately about something is that it whittles the world down to a more manageable size.”

Part of why we are called Small World Books is because we believe books are an excellent way to “whittle the world down to a more manageable size,” small enough to not seem so overwhelmingly exhausting, and hopefully, then making it easier to expand our circle of empathy.

JOIN Sun Club for £1.99 a month today and get two tickets to the world-famous London attraction Madame Tussauds.

There’s thousands of tickets on us, for free – plus you can unlock incredible deals and freebies throughout the year, including tickets to Alton Towers, Chessington World of Adventures and Cadbury’s World.

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Sun Club offers readers access to more of our award-winning articles from showbiz exclusives, real-life stories, and unrivalled investigations.

Along with being able to unlock extra articles and unlimited access to the Sun website and app, there are big perks including competitions and offers.

Our latest fantastic offer is your opportunity to bag two free tickets to Madame Tussauds.

To book your Madame Tussauds London  tickets join Sun Club now for just £1.99 a month for your first year. Following this, its £4.99 a month.

Or. join for £12 for an annual subscription for the first 12 months, then £49.99 a year thereafter.

Once free Madame Tussauds tickets run out, we have 34,000 tickets available from £19.

Usually, an adult ticket costs £39 on the door, or £29 if you book online, so that’s a fantastic saving.

There’s only a select amount of tickets for free and at a discounted price – once they’re gone, they’re gone, so join now to get a trip the family will love on us.

Madame Tussauds is a fun, interactive attraction for all ages.

It’s a great opportunity to get a selfie with the wax replicas of all your favourite stars – including The Beatles, Posh and Becks, Harry Styles and Dua Lipa.

There’s eight zones and over 150 lifelike figures across three floors of fun – so there’ll be stars for everyone to meet and enjoy.

You’re sure to have a truly memorable experience – so here’s how to claim.

How to claim the tickets

Head to the ‘Offers Hub,’ select the ‘Madame Tussauds London’ tile and click ‘Book’ from 11.00am on Wednesday, September 10. Remember to set an alarm!

Your unique booking code will appear, copy your unique booking code and click the book button again, this will direct you to the Sun Superdays Madame Tussauds London website where you can choose your tickets.

You will receive your tickets via email.

You must book your tickets by midnight on Wednesday, October 8.

18+ UK only (exc. IoM & CI). Online access required. Sun Savers multiple code collect 06/09/25 – 18/09/25. Digital Newspaper and Sun Club subscribers apply from 10/09/25. Redeem by 08/10/25. Non-transferable & non refundable. Subject to availability, daily allocation limits apply (40,000 total tickets available, incl. 6,000 free tickets, remaining tickets from £19-£22 per ticket). Allocation dates subject to change without notice until 15/03/2026. Full T&Cs apply, see Sun Club website.

‘I’ve saved £350 on family days out with Sun Club’

Catherine Lofthouse has saved a massive £350 on days out and holidays thanks to Sun Club deals.

She signed up in February and has claimed free theme park tickets, booked a bargain caravan break and bagged a pair of darts tickets.

She also booked a brilliant break in Norfolk for a May weekend for just £130 for six people. The same caravan booked direct from the holiday park would have cost her £200.

She reckons she’s on track to save £1,000 in her first year of being a Sun Club reader.

Catherine said: “There are huge savings to be had on days out and holidays for Sun Club members.

“We’ve already had a great day out at Alton Towers Resort on a school inset day, which would have cost £58 for two people if I’d booked online in advance instead of using my free tickets.

“I also booked Chessington World of Adventures and Thorpe Park during the summer holidays, which both would have been more than £65 for two tickets without the Sun Club offer.

“I”m certainly maxing out my Sun Club membership. Make sure you’re doing the same!”

Other fantastic Sun Club offers

There’s other fantastic Sun Club offers waiting for members in our Offers Hub.

Fancy a getaway? You can take the family away from just £9.50.

There’s over 250 holiday parks in the UK and Europe to choose from.

For those with a sweet tooth, you can get two tickets to Cadbruy World – we have thousands of tickets on us, and over 26,000 from just a tenner.

Journey through an assortment of interactive zones as you discover the history, the magic and the making of Cadbury confectionery – here’s how to book yours.

Grab your partner by the hand and win a £7,000 road-trip for two, thanks to Travel Texas.

Enter our competition by Thursday, September 18 for the chance to win a seven night action-packed road trip – yeehaw!

WE’VE all done it.

Spotting a plant you think will look amazing in your garden – rushing out to buy it – and then realising that on its own it suddenly looks, well, a bit naff.

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But happily, a new book by Jamie Butterworth could be about to banish the embarrassment of a badly put together garden for good.

‘What Grows Together’ – which comes out next weekend – offers up over 60 ‘fail safe plant combinations for every garden’ with no confusing horticultural jargon or lecturing.

You may recognise Jamie from his RHS Show Feature Dog Garden at Chelsea Flower Show this year – which he created alongside Monty Don and DJ Jo Whiley.

He’s appeared many times on Gardeners World, and cites Monty Don as the gardener who inspired him to get into horticulture.

His nursery Form Plants also supplies plants to Windsor Castle – and when he met King Charles at Chelsea Flower Show, the King said: ‘I know Jamie — you are delivering plants to me on Wednesday. Please don’t be late.’”

But it was another famous Jamie that actually inspired his book.
“I love cooking, but I never know what ingredients to put together as to what will taste nice,” he told Sun gardening.

“But when I came across Jamie Oliver’s Five Ingredients Book – where he just goes – take these ingredients and do this and this is what you’ll get, it was just brilliant. It was exactly what I needed.

“I just thought – we need to do this for gardening. We’ve even laid it out like a recipe book – in terms of making it look really crisp and simple – it’s like no other gardening book that’s ever been written.

“There’s so much synergy between cooking and gardening – people want to garden, they want to have nice gardens but they’re time poor and they don’t know what to plant that will a. Survive and b. look good, and that was the starting premise of the book.

“We’re forever learning with plants – my particular passion is growing plants, putting them together and making nice displays – it’s how I like to make people happy.

“It’s about getting rid of the old gardening rules – the ‘you must do this, you must do that, you must plant carrots at this exact time or everything will fail.

“What I wanted to do was make growing more accessible – there is no right way – but learning even just a few combinations and what will grow well together – then that gives people confidence to have a go themselves.”

“Jamie’s an idol of mine – and I want to make gardening as accessible as he did for cooking.

“You pay garden designers hundreds of pounds to tell you where to put plants – hopefully this book will negate all of that and give people the accessibility they need to go ‘oh actually this is what I need to do’ and it’s that simple.”

JAMIES’ FAVOURITE COMBINATIONS

COMBINATION ONE
Hydrangeas Limelight and Agastache Blackadder – both plants individually are brilliant and will flower for a long long time each – Hydrangeas from June to Autumn and even once they’ve finished flowering they’ll hold their seed heads and look great in the winter. Agastache Blackadder is a perennial and has dark purple liquorice flowers and if you plant the two together the darkness of the Agastache looks brilliant against the white of the hydrangea – but will also grow up through it. If you want to add to it – just add in some yellow Cosmos.

COMBINATION 2
Calycanthus ‘Aphrodite’, Japanese Forest Grass, Penstemon ‘Pensham Plum Jerkum’
Calycanthus has really rich ruby wine red flowers which look stunning in their own right. It flowers from late May through to September/October, leg it up by taking off lower branches – then you’ve got a specimen rather than just a shrub – and underplant with Hakonechloa Macra – AKA Japanese forest grass and the Penstemon with dark rich ruby colour flowers the same as the calycanthus. Individually they’re great plants – but put together that’s an incredible combination.

 What Grows Together: Fail-safe Plant Combinations for Every Garden by Jamie Butterworth (11 September, DK)

Also in Veronica’s Column this week…

News, top tips, Plant of the Week and a competition to win two hedge trimmers

NEWS! Catherine’s Rose is finally available to buy on the high street – with B&Q taking the honours as the main bricks and mortar stockist.
Named after HRH Princess Kate, and launching in store at the end of this month, funds from every sale will go to the Royal Marsden Cancer Charity.
The pink ‘Catherine’s Rose’, which is scented, was developed by Harkness Roses – and in May we ran a competition for Sun Readers to become the first in the world to own a rose.
Now everyone can get one from their local B&Q..
The RHS and Harkness joined forces with Kate after she underwent a “very spiritual and very intense emotional reconnection” with nature after undergoing treatment for cancer.
The princess announced in January she was in remission after completing a course of preventative chemotherapy.

WIN! WIn one of two Webb ECO 20V 15cm Cordless Mini Chainsaw/Pruning Saws with Telescopic Pole Reach PLUS battery – worth £124.99 each. To enter visit www.thesun.co.uk/WebbPruner or write to
Sun Webb Pruner competition, PO Box 3190, Colchester, Essex, CO2 8GP. Include your name, age, email or phone. UK residents 18+ only. Entries close 11.59pm. September 20, 2025. T&Cs apply

PLANT OF THE WEEK! Heuchera Berry Timeless is evergreen and will still be sending up sprays of pale pink flowers well into September. It’s heat resistant and hardy – and doesn’t seem fussy about soil or shade or too much sun.

JOB OF THE WEEK! You can start with your onion sets now – to overwinter and get a bountiful crop next year. Red Winter is a great one to get in the ground. Potatoes and raspberries are ready to harvest and sweetpeas can be sown under cover.

TOP TIP! IF you fancy growing your own salad leaves over Winter – now is the time to start.
Lambs Lettuce is very hardy and perfect for Winter Gardens. Get the seeds in the soil now – either in pockets you know are milder – or in a cold frame.
The best thing about sowing rocket is that you’ll get your first crop with four to six weeks – and it also thrives in cooler temperatures.
If you plant Arctic Spring butterhead lettuce now – you’ll get a crop early next year. But also keep an eye out in garden centres, as they often sell a ‘Winter Mix’. Sarah Raven currently has one that includes ‘Can Can’, ‘Salad Bowl’ and ‘Merveille de Quatre Saisons.’

NEWS! Harrogate Autumn Flower Show is taking place from September 19th to 21st. As well as the usual floral marquees – there’s an Incredible Edible pavilion showcasing the best fruit and vegetables – as well as the giant versions – including a National Onion Championship. Plus talks, live demonstrations, expert gardening advice and competitions. And there’s a plant creche so you don’t have to carry your purchases round all day.

Annabelle Chang recommends books for a living. If you were to ask which one she finds most “criminally underrated,” she’d tell you it’s Katie Henry’s “This Will Be Funny Someday.”

“It is truly one of my favorite books I’ve ever read, not just my favorite YA books, just one of my favorite books that I think will really appeal to everyone,” Annabelle, 19, told The Times. “I read it at such an important time in my life. I was 16. The protagonist is also 16.”

“Annabelle’s love for this book actually inspired our entire family to read it,” her older sister Alexandra Brown Chang, 25, added. “I think it’s absolutely fantastic. I read it when I was 23, but I still resonate with it.”

Annabelle’s knack for recommending great young adult books led her to start an Instagram and blog during the COVID-19 pandemic. After seeing the positive response from readers of all ages, she began selling titles online and at pop-up events, including the Los Angeles Times Festival of Books. At 16, she opened a brick-and-mortar store in Studio City: Annabelle’s Book Club LA, the first young adult-focused bookstore in the country.

“I actually had my heart set on this one space in West Hollywood and I was so sad when it didn’t work out. The landlord at the time said that nobody would ever come to a bookstore, which I was very sad to hear,” Annabelle said. “But it all worked out for the best and I truly could not imagine a better place for the bookstore.”

At 16, Annabelle Chang opened a brick-and-mortar store in Studio City: Annabelle’s Book Club LA, the first young adult-focused bookstore in the country.

(Annie Noelker / For The Times)

On Sept. 2, Annabelle’s Book Club, which was recently featured in a scene in the film “Freakier Friday,” will host an extra special event: a launch party for her sister’s debut novel, “By Invitation Only.” Inspired by Alexandra’s own experience as a “debutante dropout,” the coming-of-age story follows two seemingly different female protagonists, Piper and Chapin, whose worlds collide at the elite La Danse des Débutantes in Paris. Together, Annabelle and Alexandra strive to amplify young adult narratives.

“Historically, YA hasn’t been taken as seriously as it should be, but I think we are at a moment where that is changing and people are really recognizing the power of these stories,” Annabelle said. “They’re impactful for readers of all ages, and they address universal themes and are just incredibly important for everyone.”

“I’ve wanted to write a young adult novel for a very long time, and I think that coming-of-age stories have pretty much proven to be evergreen because every generation seems to be finding new ways to tell them,” added Alexandra, who graduated from Stanford in 2022. “I think that we don’t really come of age once. We keep coming of age because every single new stage of life, whether it’s going to college or experiencing your 20s, it forces you to reevaluate who you are and who you want to be.”

Annabelle and Alexandra grew up in a literary household. Their mom, Amanda Brown, wrote the 2001 book “Legally Blonde,” which was later adapted into the Reese Witherspoon-starring blockbuster and a Broadway musical. The girls recall their mom and dad, technology investor Justin Chang, reading to them every night, which helped inspire their love for books and storytelling. Among Alexandra’s favorites were “Eloise,” “Madeline” and “Sweet Dream Pie.”

“I loved ‘Pinkalicious,’ which I think makes sense as the bookstore is also very pink,” Annabelle added. “It’s always been my favorite color and one of my favorite stories to this day.”

“I’ve wanted to write a young adult novel for a very long time, and I think that coming-of-age stories have pretty much proven to be evergreen because every generation seems to be finding new ways to tell them,” said Alexandra Brown Chang.

(Annie Noelker / For The Times)

At 14, Alexandra started the fashion blog Alex and Ella with her close friend, and later launched her own site, the Zeitgeist, where she continued to write about fashion, art, travel and more. While in high school, she interned for designer Zac Posen in New York, an experience she called “life-changing.”

“It really allowed me to learn so much more about fashion, the business side of fashion, but also the design aspect,” Alexandra said. “And it really helped me see fashion in all of its amazing ways and as an art form.”

In “By Invitation Only,” fashion takes center stage as the girls prepare for their debutante debuts. Especially through Chapin’s character, Alexandra argues that fashion should be treated as a serious craft — similar to young adult literature.

“When all of the debutantes are wearing custom gowns, it makes sense that all of them would have an incredible amount of time and thought put into them,” she said.

Earlier this month, Alexandra took part in the festivities at Annabelle’s Book Club for Bookstore Romance Day — an annual celebration of romance books at independent bookstores across the country. In addition to hosting perfume making and lipstick reading — which is like tarot card reading, but with lipstick — the store gave away an advance copy of “By Invitation Only.”

While there are romantic elements throughout “By Invitation Only,” the heart of the story lies in the complicated relationship between Chapin and Piper. Unlikely friendships are one of Alexandra’s favorite tropes, she said.

“Piper and Chapin come from completely different backgrounds when their lives unexpectedly collide in Paris, and they really do change for the better,” Alexandra said. “And I think that’s a great message that everyone could use right now, and it certainly is true for myself and so many of my closest friends, and I really value those friendships.”

Alexandra spent about five years writing her novel and sent several early drafts to her sisters, including Annabelle; Audrey, Annabelle’s identical twin; and 15-year-old Ames. “I was really excited to get their input as the target age demographic as well,” she said of her younger siblings.

After the launch at Annabelle’s Book Club, Alexandra will head to bookstores across the country to promote her book, including Kepler’s Books in Menlo Park and Book Passage in San Francisco. Meanwhile, Annabelle is getting ready for her second year at Stanford, where she plans to major in product design and minor in creative writing. Still, she continues to juggle her responsibilities as a student and a business owner.

“It is certainly a balance. I feel incredibly lucky that we have such a wonderful team at our store, who can run the day-to-day when I can’t be there,” Annabelle said. “I find myself going back quite often for events and meetings.”

Even as they pursue their individual paths, Annabelle and Alexandra savor every opportunity they get to collaborate with each other.

“I love that we’re able to spend even more time together and that we have this common interest,” Alexandra said. “It’s really special.”

For over 40 years, Scott Anderson has been one of America’s most incisive foreign correspondents, filing dispatches from trouble spots around the world with a novelist’s eye and a talent for disentangling complex issues. The author of seven previous books, Anderson’s latest is “King of Kings,” an immersive history of the events that led to the 1979 downfall of the shah of Iran and the rise of Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini’s theocratic republic. Anderson traces the roots of the Iranian revolution to the U.S. government’s sponsorship of the 1953 coup that restored Mohammad Reza Pahlavi to power. A creeping co-dependency between the U.S. and Iran followed, abetted by massive military and oil contracts, at the same time that U.S. representatives in Iran turned a blind eye to the shah’s abuses of power and, later, Khomeini’s anti-Western jihadism.

I spoke with Anderson about his book, and the long tail of missteps that led to the occupation of the United States Embassy by Khomeini’s followers on Nov. 4, 1979.

(Please note: The Times may earn a commission through links to Bookshop.org, whose fees support independent bookstores.)

✍️ Author Chat

Author Scott Anderson.

(Nanette Burstein)

The overall feeling I get reading the book is fecklessness and foot–dragging on the part of the American government in the service of protecting our oil sales and military contracts with Iran. There seems to be a complete misunderstanding of, well, just about everything.

Even after the revolution when Khomeini had come in — that nine month period before the hostages were taken — the Americans pretty much replicated the mistakes they’d made with the shah. There’s this whole idea of like, well, they’re going through this revolutionary anti-American fervor right now, but they need us. They’re going to come back around because our economies are so intertwined. All their weapons are American, so they’re going to need us to service them. So there’s just this manner that everything was going to work out and, of course, that became institutionalized.

With a few exceptions, none of the U.S. officials in Iran even spoke Farsi. You talk about how they had all those cassettes of Khomeini’s speeches in the drawers at the CIA and no one bothered to translate them.

So Khomeini comes back from exile on Feb. 1, 1979, with 4 million people greeting him. He goes to the cemetery to give his inaugural speech and the Americans don’t even send an embassy worker. They don’t even send a local out to the cemetery to hear the speech. They didn’t know whether it is a pro- or anti-American speech. It was just astonishing.

Do you feel like 1972 is the turning point? This is the year that President Nixon lifted all restrictions for arms sales to Iran.

I really do. And for what I think is a pretty interesting reason. The shah was a congenitally insecure man. He could never be affirmed enough. And it doesn’t matter how many presidents said, “You’re our man,” he always needed to hear more and more. So what happened in ’72 was the shah’s dream came true. He had knelt at the feet of FDR in 1943. Kennedy was dismissive of him. He had always been trying to push in the door with the Americans. He’d been humiliated again and again. And now he’s got carte blanche from Nixon and Kissinger. This is when you saw the huge escalation in arms purchases and the catapulting of the Iranian military into the first tier of militaries around the world.

Do you think the revolution could have been prevented?

I spent a lot of time studying the revolution as it unfolded, and what struck me was how mysterious the whole thing was, how it came to be. There were so many moments where the outcome might have been different. If the shah’s confidante Asadollah Alam hadn’t died in the early days of the revolution, for example, because he was decisive and the shah was not. There were so many odd quirks that took things down a certain path.

📰 The Week(s) in Books

Justin Currie, lead singer of Scottish rock band Del Amitri, chronicles his struggle with Parkinson’s in the book “The Tremolo Diaries.”

(Colin Constance)

“Helen Oyeyemi’s books are getting weirder — and I mean that in the best way,” Ilana Masad writes about the author’s new novel, “A New New Me.” “Such whimsy … could be overwhelming, but Oyeyemi is such a confident writer … that you know you are in good hands.”

R.F. Kuang’s new novel, “Katabasis,” is “a dark academic fantasy” that is “more mature and less showy” than the author’s earlier works, according to Valorie Castellanos Clark.

David Baron has written a book called “The Martians” about the frenzy over extraterrestrial life that gripped America at the turn of the 20th century, and Chris Vognar approves. Baron “approaches his subject with clarity, style and narrative drive,” he writes.

Finally, Stuart Miller talked with Justin Currie of the band Del Amitri about his new book, “The Tremolo Diaries,” about Currie’s struggles with Parkinson’s disease.

📖 Bookstore Faves

Malibu Village Books is the only general interest bookstore in Malibu. We spoke to owner Michelle Pierce about the beachside literary hub.

(Malibu Village Books)

Malibu Village Books is the first new bookstore to arrive in the beach city in 15 years. A small yet inviting space with a well curated selection of books, the store has had its share of challenges over the past year. I spoke to the store’s owner, Michelle Pierce, about it.

This is the first new bookstore to open in Malibu in quite some time. How did you come to open it?

I also own Lido Village Books in Newport Beach, and the owners of the Malibu Village Mall came by and liked what I was doing there, so they asked me if I wanted to open a store in their mall.

What is selling right now?

“My Friends” by Fredrik Backman, “The River’s Daughter” by Bridget Crocker and a big preorder for “By Invitation Only” by Alexandra Brown Chang.

How have the fires affected business?

The fires have affected us enormously. With the Franklin fire, we lost so much of our holiday book sales, and then the Palisades fire shut down PCH for six months. So our sales are definitely down, and the summer tourism traffic has not been what it should be, so yes, we are definitely in a challenging period.

What about the locals? Are they shopping in your store?

Local residents are really excited that we’re here. We have a lot of active book clubs, and we’re working with the library on a lecture series at the Soho House, where we will bring in authors to speak. We’re still fighting, and the community is definitely supporting us. It’s true what they say — bookstores are all about community.

Malibu Village Books is located at 23359 Pacific Coast Highway #23359, Malibu, 90265.

“Asia dominated the Old World, while the West led the New World—and now we are coming to a truly global world.”– Parag Khanna, “The Future Is Asian,” Epilogue

The Future Is Asian (2019) by Parag Khanna takes us on a journey to show how political landscapes are revolving around Asia. The 21st century is not just about the story written in the halls of Washington or the skyscrapers of New York; rather, it is being drafted in the busy streets of Mumbai, Seoul’s high-tech corridors, and the skylines of Shanghai. Parag Khanna, a renowned global strategy advisor, author, and the founder of, makes him well suited to explore the nuances of Asia’s evolving role in the global arena. He gives us a picture of how global focus is shifting eastward and not just only toward China but rather toward a combination of diverse nations whose collective strength is reshaping global dynamics.

This book spans extensive areas in ten chapters covering Asian history, economics, and global relations of Asia with other continents. The book encompasses nearly all information from China’s infrastructure projects in Africa to K-pop with vast data and name-dropping events, which basically shows Khanna’s portrayal of the “Asia First” paradigm, which is not solely a story about China.

Khanna delivers his main arguments in the first chapter of the book, which is “Introduction: Asia First,” and the rest are basically data-oriented logic to support his argument.The basic premise of the book is that while everyone is focusing on China, Asia is not all about China. Khanna highlights the diversity of Asia beyond China by emphasizing that out of the almost 5 billion people living in Asia, only 1.5 billion are Chinese. Around 40 percent of global GDP is represented through this new Asian system consisting of around 5 billion people. Though China, through its BRI project, is reclaiming its historical roots of the ancient Silk Road and has even surpassed the USA in terms of PPP, it will not lead alone. As Asian countries don’t want the modern colonization of China, as they are still proud of their own nationality and history.

Khanna’s stance on U.S. concerns regarding Chinese neocolonialism in Africa and Asia is notably optimistic. His optimism is striking, but it raises questions about whether he is underestimating the risks, mainly the Sino-Russian strategic cooperation.

The fact that this book, unlike most Western history books, takes an Eastern perspective on world history to counterbalance Western narratives by integrating the lives and lessons of the Buddha and ideals of Confucius, the Mughal Empire’s legacy, China’s Ming Dynasty’s maritime explorations, and numerous other pillars of Asian history. This is the most striking factor of Chapter Two.

In the third chapter, Khanna introduces “Asianization,” pointing out that the previous centuries were basically defined by Europeanization and Americanization, but the 21st century is all about Asianization. He describes the broader Asianization of Iran, Pakistan, Central Asia, and Southeast Asia through economic partnerships and integration such as the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP), the Bangladesh-China-India-Myanmar Economic Corridor (BCIM), and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) by putting aside geopolitical tension and rivalry. As he states,

“Geopolitical rivalries will only speed the Asianization of Asia.”

–            Parag Khanna, “The Future Is Asian,” Chapter 3: “The Return of Greater Asia”

Asia-nomics, described in the fourth chapter, portrays how Asia is coming to the forefront in the field of digitization, AI, and also startups and how it is accelerating Asia’s robust economy by referring to the development in digitization sectors of countries like Bangladesh and India and also the AI domination of China.

Chapter 5 expands the influence of Asian diasporas in the Americas and their growing cultural interaction. He gives a detailed overview of how Asian diasporas are becoming important economically and culturally in the US and in Latin America.This bidirectional flow works as a bridge and facilitates trade and innovation on both sides, often through cultural exchanges.

Chapter 6 analyzes the complex and ever-evolving relationship between Asia and Europe. Khanna points out the bittersweet legacies of colonization still remain a major factor in social integration in this case despite strong economic ties. This chapter underscores the paradox of Europe’s admiration of the Asian economy and, at the same time, an everlasting ambivalence toward Asian people.

Khanna explores Asia’s growing ties with Africa in Chapter 7 by framing it as a deliberate and strategic investment in infrastructure that rejects the historical concept of European colonialism. His optimism lies in the fact that Asian states like China, India, and Japan are building a “Pan-African connectivity, ma,” and this process is more developmental than commercial. He identifies Asia’s approach to Africa as noncolonial and pragmatic, showing a clear distinction from past colonial powers. As he states,

“Asians are racing to connect Africa, not to divide it.”

–            Parag Khanna, “The Future Is Asian,” Chapter 7: “The Return of Afroeurasia”

Chapter 8 expands on Asia’s growing and often overlooked prospect of South-South cooperation. China holds a key position here as an important trading partner for Brazil, Chile, and Peru while also highlighting Japan’s and South Korea’s high-tech partnerships. This narrative extends to the spread of Asian values and cultural and educational exchange, which is a determiner of soft power.

The ninth chapter, on Asia’s Technocratic Future, is an intriguing argument of this book. Khanna makes the case against democracy in favor of pragmatist, meritocratic technocracy, clearly drawing inspiration from his residency in Singapore. According to him, Asians are more intrigued by the improved outcomes of technocracy. States throughout Asia are adopting a similar approach. Some of these traits are starting to appear in Western democracies as well.

Khanna did an impressive job in the last chapter, which focuses mostly on enhancing the shared perception among Asians of what it means to be Asian by fusing social and cultural exports of growing appeal, from Bollywood to K-pop and even the flavor of various cuisines.

In critically evaluating “The Future Is Asian,” it’s evident that Khanna’s logic is thought-provoking, yet they present some contradictions. The reader is quite impressed by the wide range of topics that this book covers without sacrificing depth. The sarcastic comments, exposition, and suitably appropriate examples are indeed praiseworthy.This book also works as a contribution to policymakers, students, and researchers who want to delve into the complex issues of Asia as a whole for comprehensive study.

While he claims that Asia is not just about China, which serves as a key source of confusion because all the data and facts he presented throughout the book do in fact support China’s ascent to power. Throughout the book, Khanna made references to Asia-nomics and Greater Asia as though the region were a single entity with a distinct global viewpoint. However, national identities remain powerful in Asia.

Khanna seemstoo enthusiastic about technocrats solving the region’s problems, oversimplifying the issues and the differences even by calling Modi a “technocrat” despite his promotion of nationalistic agendas.The future is undoubtedly Asian, but this book ignores the challenges of getting there and any potential drawbacks.

The Future Is Asian is like walking into the future as it is happening, something that people who only see the world from a Western perspective might not fully comprehend. Khanna’s positive view of Asia’s ascent provides a crucial narrative in opposition to the fear-mongering discourse prevalent in Western media. To those who are interested in global trends, realize that the future isn’t only Asian—it’s already here, being shaped in the vibrant streets and artistic places of this continent.

Note on References: All citations are based on the e-book version of Khanna, P.(2019).The Future Is Asian:Commerce,Conflict and Culture in the 21^st century(e-book edition).Simon & Schuster

DOG chew toys of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle are flying off shop shelves.

The plush likenesses of the Sussexes, being sold near Windsor Castle, promise “hours of fun for you and your pooch”.

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One customer said: “Apparently the Harry and Meghan ones are proving extremely popular, which says a lot about how they’re regarded in Windsor.

“I think that shows how far they’ve gone from heroes on their wedding day to zeroes.”

The toys, which are “100 unofficial and unendorsed parody pet toys”, have two squeakers in their heads and stomachs.

They are stocked by A Dogs Life Co in the town’s Royal Station shopping centre, and cost £17.99 each.

They are made by Pet Hate Toys and available in small and regular sizes — with squeakers in the head and belly.

It says the Meghan figure is the “picture of elegance” in a shirt, tailored trousers and watch.

Harry is described as having a realistic “bald spot and stern face”.

The blurb continues: “Harry looks so dapper in his fav- furr-ite blue suit, with dog design tie and trademark bangle.”

The shop in Windsor, Berks, also stocks “pawlitical parody” toys of Donald Trump, Vladimir Putin, Sir Keir Starmer, Nigel Farage and Elon Musk.

The customer added: “I think they’re hilarious.”

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SOCIAL media slang words skibidi, tradwife and delulu have been added to the Cambridge Dictionary.

They are among thousands of new expressions, which also include the working from home term “mouse jiggler” and toxic “forever chemicals”.

Skibidi has different meanings, such as “cool” or “bad”, and can also be used with no real meaning, for example in: “What the skibidi are you doing?”

The term was coined by the creator of a viral animated video series called Skibidi Toilet on YouTube, Cambridge Dictionary said.

Tradwife — short for traditional wife — is a married woman who cooks and cleans and stays at home to look after her children.

And delulu means somebody who chooses to believe things which are not true — as in delusional.

Colin McIntosh, of Cambridge Dictionary, said: “Internet culture is changing the English language and the effect is fascinating to observe and capture in the dictionary.

“We only add words where we think they’ll have staying power.”

The dictionary uses a database of more than two billion words in written and spoken English to observe how new words are used by different people, how often and in which context.

Remote working helped “mouse jiggler” — a device or piece of software used to make it seem as though a shirker is working — gain its place in the dictionary.

And “forever chemicals” are man-made substances which do not naturally break down and pollute the environment or the body.

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This week, we are chatting with Ada Tseng and Jon Healey about their new book, “Breaking Into New Hollywood.” We also take a look at what our critics read, and visit a bookstore that has become a social beehive in Culver City.

The entertainment industry is experiencing a massive transformation, as traditional jobs are vanishing and artificial intelligence increasingly upends the way media is created. Thankfully, former L.A. Times editors Ada Tseng and Jon Healey are here to help. The duo, with extensive experience covering show business, have written a new book for anyone who’s ever dreamed of working in Hollywood. Tseng and Healey interviewed hundreds of insiders who work in front of and behind the camera to provide a thorough look at how to break in, and what it’s like when you do find that dream job.

I sat down with authors to discuss “Breaking Into New Hollywood.”

(Please note: The Times may earn a commission through links to Bookshop.org, whose fees support independent bookstores.)

✍️ Author Chat

Tseng and Healey are here to help you pursue your Hollywood dreams with their book, “Breaking Into New Hollywood.”

(Ricardo DeAratanha; Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times)

This is the most comprehensive how-to guide for Hollywood careers I’ve ever read. Where did the impetus for the book come from?

Ada: The book started as a Hollywood careers series at the Los Angeles Times, when Jon and I were editors on a team that specialized in writing guides and explainers. As we were thinking about how to be useful to L.A. Times readers, I pitched a project to help people who were interested in getting a job in Hollywood. A lot of people come to L.A. starry-eyed with big dreams, but the film and TV industry can be pretty brutal.

As journalists, we’re Hollywood outsiders, but we had access to hundreds of professionals who were generous enough to share what they wished they knew when they were starting out. We see it like this: On behalf of the people who don’t have connections in the industry, we cold-emailed people, asked for informational interviews, picked their brains, listened to stories of what they did to build a career — and did our best to consolidate their most practical pieces of advice into an actionable guide.

Jon: A lot of folks I interviewed had similar origin stories in this respect: They knew that they wanted to work in the industry in some capacity, but they didn’t know what exactly they could do. So it made sense to do a book for that sort of person — a guide that would show an array of possible career paths to people who didn’t know what role they wanted to fill.

I feel like “How to Break into the Business” books in the past have tended to focus on positive outcomes rather than the struggle. Did you want to temper expectations, or at least make sure people think things through very thoroughly before jumping in?

Ada: We just wanted to be honest. The glamorous fantasy of Hollywood is so intoxicating. But if you’re going to work in the industry, you need to navigate the day-to-day reality of it. I don’t think we were trying to encourage or discourage anyone. I’d hope that some people would read the chapters and think, “This seems doable, and now I can make a plan,” while others would read it and think, “If I’m honest with myself, I’m someone who needs more stability in my life.” Because it’s not just a career choice. It’s a lifestyle choice.

Jon: Right, this was about expectation-setting and reality-checking. The very first interviews I did in this project were of Foley artists. An expert I interviewed said there were 40 to 50 established Foley practitioners in the U.S., and 100 to 200 folks trying to get into the field. That’s a very tough nut to crack. Then there are the Hollywood unions, which present a catch-22 to anyone trying to join their ranks — they have to do a certain number of hours in jobs covered by union contracts, but union members get first crack at all those gigs.

Your book also covers jobs above and below the line. I think many people don’t even realize how many different career opportunities exist.

Ada: There are two things we heard over and over again. People would say, “It’s incredibly important to understand what all the different departments do.” And they’d also say, “So many people — even our own colleagues in the industry — don’t understand what we do.” So we wanted to encourage newcomers to learn about all different types of jobs in Hollywood and how they work together.

Jon: Talking about the emotional components is about setting expectations too. The vast majority of people who work in Hollywood, from A-list actors to entry-level grips, are freelancers. That’s a tough life of highs and lows, and you have to prepare for that mentally as well as financially. People have to hustle for years to establish themselves, and that takes an enormous capacity for rejection. On top of that is the physical toll the work can extract, especially on the folks involved in setting up and tearing down sets. Part of the point of the book is to tell people with Hollywood dreams that they’ll need to gird themselves emotionally and physically for the work.

📰 The Week(s) in Books

Karin Slaughter’s new book series, which launches with “We Are All Guilty Here,” is not for the squeamish.

(Myung J. Chun / Los Angeles Times)

Mark Athatakis finds much to like in “Ready for My Close-Up,” David M. Lubin’s book about the classic 1950 film “Sunset Boulevard.” “Though the book has its shortcomings,” he writes, “[Lubin] rightly sees the movie as a kind of passkey into the history of the first half-century of Hollywood itself.”

Robet Allen Papinchak weighs in on Phoebe Greenwood’s Middle East satire “Vulture,” finding it “a darkly comic, searing satire grounded in historic politics.”

Emma Sloley’s novel “The Island of Last Things” envisions a future where animal life, and then entire ecosystems, are wiped out, but Ilana Masad writes that Sloley also highlights “the small moments of beauty, joy and care that emerge even during … horrible times.”

And Paula L. Woods has a chat with master thriller novelist Karin Slaughter about her new book, “We Are All Guilty Here,” and TV series.

📖 Bookstore Faves

“Books are an antidote to the constant distractions in our lives,” says the owner of Culver City’s Village Well bookstore.

(Jennifer Caspar)

Four years after it opened its doors to the public, Village Well Books & Coffee has become a community locus in its Culver City neighborhood. Owner Jennifer Caspar has created a vibrant space with a full-service cafe, allowing her customers to linger for as long as they please while perusing Caspar’s ample and well-curated selection of new books. I chatted with Caspar about her store and what’s selling right now.

Why did you open the store?

I wanted a place where people can facilitate connections with others, because I think that’s what people need. Everyone is so overwhelmed by their phones and technology, and we tend to take the easy path, which is to not get out and see people.

What’s selling right now?

“Atmosphere,” Taylor Jenkins Reid; “Martyr,” Kaveh Akbar; “The Emperor of Gladness,” Ocean Vuong; “All Fours,” Miranda July. There’s been a real increase in books about activism and the Middle East situation. We’re launching an activism book club here, starting with “Mutual Aid: Building Solidarity During This Crisis (and the Next)” by Dean Spade. It will be interesting to see who comes out for that.

Why books now? Why not the Substack, social media, etc.?

Books are an antidote to the constant distractions in our lives. People need to connect offline, and books give us a chance to settle down and focus. Studies show that what we learn from books stays with us longer. You can read a Kindle, and I do, but there is something about sitting down with words on paper. For me, it’s great physical therapy for my emotional state.

Village Well is located at 9900 Culver Blvd., Culver City.

MILLIONS of us subscribe to Amazon Prime – but is it worth it?
We take a look at what you get and how many deliveries you need to justify the fee – and how to get a discount.

You can sign up to Amazon Prime for free for 30-days or an annual membership costs £95 a year or £8.99 a month.

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Its most famous perk is free and fast deliveries and access to Prime Video – but there are lots of extra such as discounts on cinema trips.

You can pay for Prime Video-only for £5.99 a month – but this doesn’t include any of the other extras. 

Exact amount of orders you need to make Prime worth it

To justify the £95 annual fee for Prime, you need to save at least that amount on delivery costs and other benefits.

How easy that will be depends on what services you use.

For instance, Prime Video only costs £71.88 a year, so you only need to save £23.12 in delivery fees all year, to make the upgrade to Prime worth it.

But if you’re just signing up for the free delivery, then it’s harder.

For non-members, Amazon charges different rates depending on your basket value and delivery speed. 

Here’s what it really costs without Prime, and how often you’d need to order to break even.

Standard Delivery (3–5 days):

• Free if you spend £35 or more (or £10+ on books). If you spend less, charges are £4.99 for most items, but just £3.99 for book-only orders under £10.

To break even:

• 19 smaller orders per year at £4.99
• 24 book-only orders at £3.99

One-Day or Premium Delivery

• Costs £4.99 per order for non-members

To break even: 

Same-Day or Overnight Delivery

• Costs £5.99 per order for non-members. Prime members get it free on orders over £20, or pay £1.99 for smaller baskets.

To break even:

• 16 orders per year at £5.99

Pickup Location (Locker or Amazon Hub)

• Costs £2.99 per order for non-members, but free for Prime members.

To break even:

• 32 pickup deliveries per year

How to get a discount

Almost anyone can start with a 30-day free trial, which gives access to every Prime benefit.

If your last trial was over a year ago, you can usually sign up again. 

To get the freebie, click “Try Prime” and follow the steps outlined. You’ll need to add a payment method, but you won’t be charged unless you stay on past the trial period.

Each adult in your household can do this separately, meaning couples can effectively get two months free between them as long as they use separate email accounts.

If you’re a student or aged 18 to 22, you can get a six-month free trial, followed by half-price Prime for up to four years or until you turn 23.

To claim, visit amazon.co.uk/joinstudent or amazon.co.uk/18-22 and upload proof of eligibility, such as a university email or government-issued ID.

However, students that cancel during the trial and come back later, don’t get another freebie, only the discounted rate.

What benefits are included on Prime?

Amazon Prime now includes over a dozen benefits. Here’s what you get, how to access each one, and what it’s worth.

1. Free one-day and same-day delivery

Prime gives unlimited One-Day Delivery on millions of items, and Same-Day or Overnight Delivery in eligible postcodes.

Orders under £20 for same-day cost £1.99, but are free if you meet the threshold.

To use it, just make sure you’re signed in as a Prime member when placing your order.

Qualifying items will be marked with the Prime logo.

• Value: around £4.99 to £5.99 per order saved, based on the equivalent delivery charges for non-members

2. Prime Video

Watch thousands of shows and films, including Amazon Originals like Clarkson’s Farm, The Boys, and new dramas like The Girlfriend.

Ads were introduced in 2024, so if you want to watch ad-free, you’ll need to pay an extra £2.99 per month. You can also get Prime Video alone for £5.99 a month.

3. Amazon Music

This allows you to access 100 million songs and top podcasts, but it’s worth noting that most albums only play on shuffle unless they’re part of Amazon’s All-Access Playlists.

For full on-demand access, upgrade to Music Unlimited for £10.99/month, or £9.99 if you’re a Prime member.

To use it, download the Amazon Music app and sign in.

• Value: If you got rid of a separate music service and replaced it with Amazon Prime, you could save hundreds each year.

4. Prime Reading

Download and borrow thousands of rotating e-books, comics and magazines.

You can read them on Kindle devices or on the free Kindle app for iOS and Android.

To access, go to amazon.co.uk/primereading and browse the titles.

• Value: up to £100/year saved based on two to four books or magazines per month at typical Kindle or newsstand prices

5. Amazon First Reads

Choose one free pre-release Kindle book each month from a selection of new titles. Go to amazon.co.uk/firstreads to claim.

• Value: £3–£5/month saved, based on average Kindle ebook pricing

6. Prime Gaming

Get a selection of free PC games each month, plus one free Twitch channel subscription (normally £4.99), but only if you link your Amazon and Twitch accounts.

To activate, go to gaming.amazon.com and click “Link Account”.

• Value: £60+ per year based on 12 months of free Twitch subscriptions or typical game costs

7. Deliveroo Plus Silver

Get a full year of Deliveroo Plus Silver, usually £3.49/month. It gives you free delivery on restaurant orders over £15 and groceries over £25.

To activate, visit amazon.co.uk/deliveroo and log in to both accounts.

• Value: £41.88/year saved if you would otherwise subscribe directly to Deliveroo Plus Silver

8. Odeon tickets for £10

Each month, get two cinema tickets for £10 Monday to Thursday (or £15 at Odeon Luxe). Go to amazon.co.uk/odeon to redeem.

• Value: up to £10/month saved compared with standard Odeon ticket prices of around £10 each

9. Amazon Photos

Store unlimited photos securely in the cloud, plus 5GB for videos and other files.

You can share albums with up to five family members via Family Vault, and display images on Echo devices or Fire TV.

To use, download the Amazon Photos app and sign in.

• Value: £7–£10/month saved compared with similar plans from other providers

10. Amazon Fresh and grocery delivery

Order groceries from Amazon Fresh, Morrisons, Iceland and Co-op. Same-day delivery is free over £60, £2 for £40–£59.99, and £4 for smaller baskets.

Availability depends on postcode. To shop, go to amazon.co.uk/fresh and enter your postcode.

11. Amazon Day Delivery

You can choose a weekly delivery day to group your orders into fewer packages, which is a great way to reduce packaging and plan ahead.

Enable at checkout by selecting “Amazon Day” or set it as your default under “Your Account > Amazon Day”.

12. Prime-exclusive deals and early access

Get 30-minute early access to Lightning Deals, and exclusive savings during Prime Day, Black Friday and other events.

No setup needed, just make sure you’re signed in to your Prime account.

13. Amazon Family sharing

Share Prime with one other adult and up to four children. You’ll each have your own account, but share perks like Prime Video, Reading, and Photos.

To set it up, go to “Accounts & Lists > Your Amazon Family” and add adult or child members.

• Value: £95/year saved if splitting the cost of one full membership between two adults

14. Parental controls

Set up profiles for each child, limit screen time, and manage what they can access through the Amazon Kids Parent Dashboard. Works across Fire tablets and Kindle devices.

To access, go to parents.amazon.co.uk.

15. Buy Now with Prime

Use Prime benefits with the “Buy Now” button by setting your default delivery address, payment method, and delivery speed in your purchase preferences.

Useful for quick checkouts, though not available to PO Boxes or some business addresses.

HOLIDAY experts have revealed the exact time and date Brits should book their tickets ahead of the August bank holiday to save hundreds of pounds.

It’s not too late to book last-minute flight tickets for holiday trips over the August bank holiday weekend.

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Brits can still find ways to get out of the country that won’t blow the budget for the weekend of August 25.

This includes trips to classic European escapes and hotspots like Disneyland Paris.

Ticket experts have analysed pricing data and industry travel trends.

CEO of AttractionTickets, Oliver Brendon, explained: “It’s easy to assume the early bird always gets the deal.

“In reality, travel companies adjust fares repeatedly based on demand, and we see opportunities appear even in the final days before departure.

“There’s still time to save on last-minute August bank holiday travel if you know when to book.”

Brendon reveals the trick to finding value no matter how late the purchase is made.

Through review of historic pricing, as well as industry reports, Sundays have been found to regularly deliver the lowest average booking prices.

This is because airlines adjust seat availability and prices over the weekend.

Therefore, holidaymakers who plan to book on Sundays can more often find a better deal and pay significantly less than those who book on other days.

Furthermore, Fridays have been found to be time to avoid as it is the time when prices tend to spike due to increasing demand.

A clear morning advantage has also been found through analyses.

Around 6am is when the fresh fares tend to show up, so it is good to get in early before search traffic ramps up into the day.

So those looking to book a getaway from the bank holiday this month should set their alarms for Sunday morning.

Oliver adds 6am on Sunday, August 17 “both sit within the sweet spot before the long weekend and will give you a chance at potentially unlocking better pricing.”

This timing tip comes from expert insights and data-driven research from travel and ticketing platforms.

It also focused on last-minute booking trends by travellers in the UK.

The advise follows suggestions from CEO of Ryanair, Michael O’Leary, who said flights could also be booked cheaper in the first two months of the year.

Winter months are believed to be the best time of the year to find cheap air fares, as well as just before the peak of school holidays.

Another study looked in to the best time to book flights for certain destinations.

For Faro in Portugal, the cheapest flights for the summer holidays were found to be just five weeks before travelling.

And for long-haul flights like to New York, the best time was found to be June to book for an August vacation.

MEGHAN Markle’s heavily criticised Netflix show has been renewed for a second season as a new trailer dropped.

Footage showed the Duchess of Sussex alongside a host of famous guests ahead of the release of the second series of With Love, Meghan on August 26.

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The first season of Meghan’s eight-part Netflix show saw her bee-keeping, making homemade candles and cooking with celeb pals, including Mindy Kaling and make-up artist Daniel Martin.

Now, the show’s second series promises to be “fun and heartwarming” as a plethora of celebrity guests are due to make their appearance.

This includes stars Chrissy Teigen, Christina Tosi, Jamie Kern Lima, and Tan France.

Describing the new season, Netflix said: “Meghan returns with a fun and heartwarming new season, welcoming celebrity chefs, talented artists, and beloved friends for hands-on adventures filled with laughter and discovery.

“From playful cooking challenges to DIY projects, Meghan and her guests explore bold flavors, experiment with new techniques, and discover simple ways to add beauty to everyday life.

“It’s all about embracing playfulness over perfection and finding joy in creating together.”

Meghan can be seen laughing alongside guests at her Montecito home in the trailer, even joking at the end about Prince Harry’s lack of love for lobster.

Speaking to Chef Andrés, she says: “You know who doesn’t like lobster? My husband.”

In response, the chef light-heartedly retorts: “And you married him anyway?”

This comes after Harry and Meghan announced yesterday they had signed a new “multi-year, first look deal” with the American streaming giant to produce “film and television projects”.

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex have previously released a number of shows on the platform, including a 2022 documentary on their lives and lifestyle show With Love, Meghan this year.

They had secured a lucrative five-year contract – thought to be worth more than $100 million (£74 million) – with Netflix after quitting as senior working royals in 2020.

However, this new deal has been signed for “much less”, an insider told Page Six.

Meghan said in a statement: “We’re proud to extend our partnership with Netflix and expand our work together to include the As Ever brand.

“My husband and I feel inspired by our partners who work closely with us and our Archewell Productions team to create thoughtful content across genres that resonates globally, and celebrates our shared vision.”

Netflix will only pay for projects they want to screen, rather than pay in a single multi-million pound agreement like the one signed in 2020, The Sun understands.

The Sun can also reveal, however, that the streaming giants will cover Archewell Productions’s overheads, including all costs for its offices and staff.

The new deal was also described as a “downgrade” by PR expert Mark Borkowski.

He told the Mail: “I think Netflix has done a very neat job of pivoting away from two very expensive people who didn’t deliver, and they’ve taken that deal off the table, and they’ve given them a modest one. 

“It’s not like they’re gradually uncoupling – it’s a downgrade. Netflix are not going to expose themselves to those budgets again. It’s Netflix saying, ‘Let’s have a look at your content, but we’ll pick and choose, mate’.”

On top of Season 2 of With Love, Meghan – which will drop later this month – the couple will also film a “Holiday Celebration” Christmas special.

“Join Meghan in Montecito for a magical holiday celebration,” the announcement read.

“Together, friends and family deck the halls, create holiday feasts, craft heartfelt gifts, and share lots of laughs – with simple how-tos to follow at home. It’s a holiday wonder with warmth, tradition, and a generous dose of joy.”

The couple will also release a short film called “Masaka Kids, A Rhythm Within” which will look at Uganda’s Masaka region and the HIV/AIDS crisis there.

This has echoes of Harry’s mum Diana’s work, who pioneered social change on perceptions of HIV/AIDS.

She famously shook the hand of a man suffering with the illness without gloves, publicly challenging the idea that HIV/Aids was passed from person to person by touch.

There is also “active development” on other projects with Netflix which “span a variety of content genres”, including a feature adaptation of the bestselling romantic novel by Carley Fortune, Meet Me At The Lake.

Bela Bajaria, Netflix’s Chief Content Officer, said: “Harry and Meghan are influential voices whose stories resonate with audiences everywhere.

“The response to their work speaks for itself — Harry & Meghan gave viewers an intimate look into their lives and quickly became one of our most-watched documentary series.

“More recently, fans have been inspired by With Love, Meghan, with products from the new As Ever line consistently selling out in record time.

“We’re excited to continue our partnership with Archewell Productions and to entertain our members together.”

It was previously thought that the Sussexes’ £74million deal with the streamer was not going to be renewed.

Harry’s vanity project, Polo, about the sport, was watched by just 500,000 people.

But it was also understood that bosses were mildly infuriated by Meghan making her As Ever brand a priority.

The With Love, Meghan viewing figures have reportedly been “dismal”.

Lifestyle and cookery show With Love, Meghan only ranked at number 383 in Netflix’s six-monthly engagement report this year, with just 5.3million viewers across the globe.

Described by one critic as an “exercise in narcissism”, it was beaten by reruns of the first four seasons of legal drama Suits, which also starred the Duchess in her pre-royal days.

Once judged by some as Britain’s greatest soft power asset since Princess Diana, Meghan was filmed for her show making ladybird-shaped canapes from cherry tomatoes and mozzarella balls.

In truth, the show is a smash hit compared to her husband’s vanity docuseries Polo, blasted as “a dull indulgence about a rich person’s pursuit”.

In the first six months of the year the programme attracted a disastrous 500,000 views globally, ranking it at number 3,442 out of around 7,000 shows.

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Contrary to some recent media chatter, the novel isn’t dead: A glance at this month’s choices, which include quirky robot sci-fi, an artist’s tale set in 1950s Mexico and a dysfunctional family’s reckoning with addiction, proves that imaginative storytelling has a strong heartbeat. Meanwhile, whether you’re looking for history or current events, check out an oral history of the atomic bomb, an expert’s thoughts on climate change and a thorough tribute to the writer James Baldwin. Happy reading!

FICTION

Automatic Noodle: A Novel
By Annalee Newitz
Tordotcom: 176 pages, $25
(Aug. 5)

Late 21st-century San Francisco: California has seceded from the United States, and robots serve humans like crypto money launderer Fritz Co, whose Burgers N More is a front. He absconds and leaves four robots adrift, but with aid from unhoused human “robles,” they reconfigure the joint as a ramen shop — until robophobes launch a campaign to shut them down. Robots Staybehind, Sweetie, Cayenne and Hands will capture readers’ hearts.

People Like Us: A Novel
By Jason Mott
Dutton: 288 pages, $30
(Aug. 5)

Soot, one of the protagonists of Mott’s funny and affecting new book, also appeared in 2021’s “Hell of a Book.” Like the (at first) unnamed narrator, Soot is now a middle-aged writer from North Carolina (Mott originally intended this story to be in memoir form), and both men’s paths illustrate the difficulty of reconciling being Black with being American. While the theme of gun violence plays an important role, Mott is ultimately concerned with how and where his characters find safety.

Fonseca: A Novel
By Jessica Francis Kane
Penguin Press: 272 pages, $28
(Aug. 12)

In this fictionalized version of British novelist Penelope Fitzgerald’s real-life trip to Saltillo, Mexico, in 1952, she arrives pregnant with her son Valpy in tow, hoping eccentric, elderly sisters might keep their promise to leave Valpy their silver mine. “Fonseca” (“dry well” in Latin) is how Fitzgerald always referred to Saltillo, but Kane’s remarkable excavation of this interlude, including real letters from Valpy, drips with juicy conflict and detail.

The Frequency of Living Things: A Novel
By Nick Fuller Googins
Atria: 336 pages, $29
(Aug. 12)

Three sisters make up the band name “Jojo and the Twins” — but Jojo, younger sister to identical twins Emma and Araminta (Ara), isn’t in the band. Instead, she’s the caretaker for her siblings, who made a fortune with their blockbuster hit “American Mosh,” then lost that fortune, in part due to Ara’s substance addictions. Chapters alternate between Jojo, Emma, Ara and their absentee mother Bertie, who all discover that big love has big costs.

Katabasis: A Novel
By R. F. Kuang
Harper Voyager: 560 pages, $32
(Aug. 26)

Alice Law and Peter Murdoch, Cambridge University doctoral fellows in Magick, wind up in Hell looking for their adviser in a dark academia thriller whose title is the Greek word for “downward journey.” This version of Hell closely resembles Dante’s “Inferno,” with many circles leading toward the very worst human actions. There’s a great deal of doubling back and a lot of incantatory action, both of which sci-fi/fantasy stans will appreciate.

NONFICTION

The Devil Reached Toward the Sky: An Oral History of the Making and Unleashing of the Atomic Bomb
By Garrett M. Graff
Avid Reader Press: 608 pages, $35
(Aug. 5)

Many accounts of the unusual and unholy circumstances that led to the atomic bombs dropped on Japan at the end of World War II center on scientific discovery, neglecting the enormous human and environmental toll involved. Not so with journalist Graff’s (“When the Sea Came Alive”) approach, in which everyone from theoreticians to site managers on to survivors of all ages share first-person stories of what they did, saw and understood.

Putting Myself Together: Writing 1974–
By Jamaica Kincaid
Farrar, Straus and Giroux: 336 pages, $30
(Aug. 5)

Since her 1985 debut novel, “Annie John,” the Antiguan-born Kincaid has been impossible to ignore, and this collection of essays and journalism shows why: Even as some critics have found her prose too personal or political, Kincaid knows she meant it to be so. Ranging from her famed “Biography of a Dress” to pieces for the New Yorker on to essays on gardening, the works speak of a person who has refused to be defined by any kind of constraints.

Greyhound: A Memoir
By Joanna Pocock
Soft Skull: 400 pages, $19
(Aug. 12)

The Great American Road Trip, that idealized trek heading west, might be different now, according to author Pocock, who first made that journey in 2006 from Detroit to Los Angeles in the wake of grief after several miscarriages. In 2023, retracing her steps via Greyhound bus like French writer Simone de Beauvoir (“America Day by Day,” 1948), she discovers fewer humans, more dirt and less safety — but the same magical “sense of no longer existing.”

Baldwin: A Love Story
By Nicholas Boggs
Farrar, Straus and Giroux: 720 pages, $36
(Aug. 19)

James Baldwin’s four great affairs (intellectual, romantic, platonic and artistic) provide a beautiful structure for this biography, which includes careful research into the writer/activist’s upbringing and political formation as well as his widespread influence. Beauford Delaney’s creative guidance, Lucien Happersberger’s intimacy, Engin Cezzar’s call to activism and French painter Yoran Cazac’s artistic collaboration — each forms a polished facet of Baldwin’s gem-like dazzle.

Here Comes the Sun: A Last Chance for the Climate and a Fresh Chance for Civilization
By Bill McKibben
W. W. Norton: 224 pages, $30
(Aug. 19)

Since McKibben’s 1989 “The End of Nature,” the world’s temperature has risen by at least 1 degree Fahrenheit. Now the author and environmental activist wants to wake everyone up to the fact that we can’t stop global warming, but we can stave off reaching the next degrees if we enact the kind of political change necessary to use new technologies (like photovoltaic devices) that, instead of draining our planet’s resources, harness those beaming down daily.

Emily Hunt Kivel’s book is unlike any novel you will read this year, a story about millennial angst that is also a bewitching fable. Evie Cavallo, Kivel’s protagonist, is a 20-something mid-level graphic designer at a New York ad agency who loses her rented apartment and finds herself cast adrift. Landing in a fictional backwater town in rural Texas called Gulluck, Evie discovers a hidden gift for shoemaking and finds herself welcomed into an eccentric community of fellow cobblers. “Dwelling” is social commentary wrapped into a delightful allegory about identity, work, ritual and tradecraft.

I chatted with Kivel about her debut novel, and how, despite its fantastical elements, “Dwelling” nails our present cultural moment.

(Please note: The Times may earn a commission through links to Bookshop.org, whose fees support independent bookstores.)

✍️ Author Chat

Emily Hunt Kivel’s “Dwelling” is “unlike any novel you will read this year,” writes Marc Weingarten.

(Julia Hole)

I started reading your book thinking, “Ugh, a polemic about the housing crisis,” and by the end of the book I was deeply moved by Evie’s journey.

That’s what I wanted. I wanted readers to think they were reading one thing and to end up at the end thinking, “Where the f— was I?” I wanted to write a book that changed shape and form while in the reader’s hands.

Was that the original intention going in?

I don’t know if I started out with the intention of writing the book I did, but I certainly didn’t want to write a maudlin dystopian commentary on the housing crisis. I did want to touch on this feeling of complete instability that millennials in particular are feeling, but also I think everyone is feeling it to some extent — this incredible lack of stability, and alienation.

Evie, maybe, kind of wants to be a creative, but instead she blossoms by learning a craft that involves using her hands and her head, not a computer.

I think there’s a parallel between finding a craft and coming into your own, and in that way, I think it’s a fairly earnest description of what it feels like to discover yourself through something that you’re passionate about. Evie goes from being an insular character who’s living a self-absorbed life, because that’s what society wants us to do, to living a life that’s actually very generous.

The book takes on the contours of a fable. Did you read fables in preparation?

I read a lot of fables just to keep myself motivated and interested during the writing process. One of the primary texts that I found very helpful was Italo Calvino’s translation of Italian folk tales. It brought me back to this kind of irreverent but weirdly earnest and enchanted quality that I wanted to create in the book.

Unmoored from her prior life, Evie finds her identity in Texas. I think this is something a lot of people are struggling with, not just Millennials. We are asking: Who are we? What is our purpose in life?

I think we’re meant to feel relatively valueless in our society right now. The economy wants us to feel that way, and so I think what Evie is doing is finding value in herself and giving the middle finger to the version of society that she was living in.

The key element of Evie’s new life is this robust community that welcomes her.

I wanted another world to open up to Evie, a world that’s oriented towards life rather than the self. The book is really the story of how to find a home, and what makes a home. Community is the only actual way to resist the forces that we have in our society that are alienating us from our work, friends and family.

In the acknowledgments, you thank the UCLA Writing Extension program. What was that experience like for you?

One of the most formative experiences of my life was the UCLA Extension. I went to UC Santa Barbara and was absolutely miserable. and so I graduated early and moved to L.A. I was finding community and portals into another world at the Extension, which is available to everyone. I was writing alongside such a diverse array of people. I finally started to feel like a writer there. I took classes with Lou Matthews, who I think is the heart of the program in many ways.

📰 The Week(s) in Books

“Jeopardy!” host and “The Complete Kennections” author Ken Jennings says he was “a sponge for weird information” as a kid.

(Faith Jennings)

Nathan Smith thinks “There’s No Going Back: The Life and Work of Jonathan Demme,” Davd M. Stewart’s biography of the late film director Jonathan Demme, contains “inconsistent, often abridged, treatments of Demme’s films and what messages to glean from a long view of the director.”

Hamilton Cain weighs in on Ed Park’s new collection of stories “An Oral History of Atlantis,” submitting that “We’re complicit in his fiction … the act of reading a jumble of synapses in our brains, spinning in all directions like a spray of bullets.”

Chuck Hogan’s “The Carpool Detectives,” about four moms who solved a murder, is a “true crime mystery that reads like a novel,” according to Diane Garrett.

And finally, Stuart Miller has a chat with “Jeopardy” host Ken Jennings about his new book, “The Complete Kennections.”

📖 Bookstore Faves

“Books aren’t just sources of information — they’re vessels for reflection, joy, and escape,” says Jeff Resnik, general manager of Pages, A Bookstore in Manhattan Beach.

(Pages, A Bookstore)

Located just steps away from the ocean, Manhattan Beach literary mainstay Pages, A Bookstore is one of L.A.’s best indie shops. We chatted with general manager Jeff Resnik about what his customers are buying right now.

What’s flying off the shelves at the moment?

Some of our recent top sellers include “The Ghostwriter” by Julie Clark, “Run for the Hills” by Kevin Wilson, “The Names” by Florence Knapp, “It’s Only Drowning” by David Litt and “Tilt” by Emma Pattee.

Do you find that, because you are near the ocean, people tend to look for beach reads during this time of year?

Definitely. Being so close to the ocean, we get a steady stream of readers looking for something light and enjoyable to bring to the beach. Whether it’s a breezy romance, fast-paced thriller, or witty novel, “beach reads” are in high demand during the summer, and we make a point to stay well-stocked on them.

Given the infinite text we can find on the internet, why are books still important?

There’s a tactile, immersive experience to reading a physical book — turning pages, marking favorite passages, setting it down on a nightstand. There’s a different kind of focus and connection that comes with holding a book. In our fast-paced, distraction-heavy world, reading invites us to slow down. Books aren’t just sources of information — they’re vessels for reflection, joy, and escape. One of the best parts of my job is helping people reconnect with that experience, or discover it for the first time.

Pages, A Bookstore is at 904 Manhattan Ave., Manhattan Beach, 90266.

A BELOVED children’s author who wrote over 150 books has died aged 87.

Allan Ahlberg produced a host of bestselling nursery classics during a stellar career as an author.

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Some of his most famous work includes lasting favourites Peepo!, The Baby’s Catalogue and Each Peach Pear Plum.

He came to writing in his late thirties, when his wife Janet grew tired of illustrating non-fiction and asked him to write a story for her to illustrate.

Allan later recalled the moment was “as if she turned a key in my back and I was off”.

The Ahlbergs went on to produce 37 books together, and Allan also wrote more than 100 others, some in Janet’s lifetime, and some since her death from breast cancer in 1994.

Following Janet’s death, Allan worked with illustrators such as Raymond Briggs and Bruce Ingman.

His career came full circle in a series of collaborations with his daughter Jessica including Half a Pig and a pop-up set of anarchic variations on the tale of Goldilocks.

Belinda Ioni Rasmussen, CEO of Walker Books Group, which published some of his books, said: “He was enormously playful in spirit and language and had the ability to make you smile in one sentence.

“Allan inspired generations of children’s writers, inspired all of us who worked with him, and inspired artists to make some of their very best work.”