-Hey, guys, as I mentioned earlier in the week,
tonight we are kicking off our annual "Tonight Show"
Book Club Summer Reads.
Very excited about this. Here's how it works.
I picked out six books. -Six.
-And I'm going to read one of them.
-Now?
-No, but I've -- I'm not sure which one.
They all look good. I know about them.
I've done research on all of them.
I'm going to tell you about each one,
and then you guys are going to vote on which book
should be this year's Summer Read,
and we can all read it together.
-Ah.
-So now it's time to reveal the books.
Here we go. All right.
Here's our first book right here.
"People We Meet on Vacation."
-Ooh. -I like the cover, right?
You like the cover? Now, it's by Emily Henry.
This is a "New York Times" best-selling author.
This is a fun romance.
-Ooh. Romance? -Yeah, it's romance.
So here's the deal with this one.
It's about two friends -- Poppy and her best friend, Alex.
All right? A man and woman.
They go on vacation together every year.
Except last year. There was some drama.
So they didn't go.
They didn't go on vacation. -Ooh. COVID?
-But now they want to go on vacation.
No, no, it wasn't the -- It was a different drama.
Now they want to go on vacation one last time to fix everything.
But then the question is brought up,
can men and women ever be just friends?
-Ooh. I'll have what she's having.
-It's like a -- Yeah.
It's a "Harry Met Sally" type of thing.
Emily Henry. "People We Meet on Vacation."
That's book one. -Okay. Book one.
[ Cheers and applause ]
-All right. Ready for this one?
"Razorblade Tears." -Ooh!
-By S.A. Cosby. -Sss!
-Yeah. His last novel, "Blacktop Wasteland,"
won "L.A. Times'" Book Award for Best Mystery.
-Ooh.
-A good summer read. You want a murder mystery.
Right? So this is a murder mystery.
Takes place in the South. It's about two ex-convicts.
Their sons are murdered,
but the local cops won't do anything about it.
-Ohh.
-So now they have to take matters into their own hands.
Story of retribution and redemption.
-This is Alex and Poppy? -[ Laughter ]
-No, no. Alex and Poppy --
No, this is two ex-convicts in this one.
I don't know -- Again, I have not read them.
Alex and Poppy -- they could be the ex-convicts,
but it's not in the description of the book.
-"Razorblade Tears." -"Razorblade Tears."
There you go. That's your mystery.
That's your second choice.
All right. Here's one. Ready for this one?
-I'm ready. [ Imitates whip crack ]
-"One Last Stop." -Ooh.
-Casey McQuiston. -I like that name. McQuiston.
-Any guess what this is about, by the cover?
-I think it's about someone who goes to Purpleville,
and there's a stop on the train,
but they have to stop one last time.
'Cause they have to go to the restroom.
[ Laughter ]
Close?
-Tariq, you have any guesses what this book's about,
by the cover?
-Um, I'm going to guess -- Okay.
Somebody hops on a flight.
Um, the plane is redirected because the fuel issues.
They have to land in some remote area to refuel.
-You're getting that from this cover?
-Yeah. -Yeah.
-[ Laughter ] -The subway.
-And there's something wrong with the jet fuel. Yeah.
-Potay-toe, potah-toe, man. -No, it's a subway train.
-Oh, subway. -It's a subway train.
All right. Ready for this? So, Casey --
[ Laughter ]
Casey McQuiston.
"New York Times" best-selling author.
This is another romance. -Ooh. Romance.
People -- It's the summertime. You want the murder mystery
or you want the love and the romance.
-Yeah. -So, girl gives up on love.
-On life? -No. Love.
-Oh.
I thought the convicts -- -Gives up on love.
-Love. Yes. -Gives up on love.
Moves to New York City to be alone.
So she meets a pretty girl on the subway.
-Ooh!
-Except the girl on the subway is trapped in a time warp.
[ Laughter ]
-Oh, damn. That makes it -- -No, it's like a magical book.
-Yeah. I like it.
-She's trapped in the 1970s. -Oh, a lot of people --
-She's got to get her out of the '70s.
The girl is in the '70s, but then as she's trying
to get her out of the time warp --
-Does she get sucked into the 70s?
-No. There's a little spark, a little romance.
-[ Gasps ] -Just saying.
What do you want to do? Oh, you can save me.
-Or come with me to the '70s.
-Come with me, live in the '70s.
-Yeah. -I don't know.
This could go anywhere. It's a summer read.
Sitting on the beach reading this thing.
You know how cool you'll look? -Yes. Totally --
Oh, man, you're cool. -Thanks.
-Hey, you're cool! -Mind your own business.
Mind your own business. -[ Laughs ]
-Hey, are you reading "One Last Stop"?
-Yeah, I am! -You're cool!
[ Imitates horn honking, engine departing ]
"SSSSHHHH! I've run out of jet fuel!"
-No, that's not -- That's a different book.
-'70s. -All right.
So, that's that book. "One Last Stop."
Here we go. -[ Applause ]
That one got applause. -Yeah, that did.
-This one is "Crying in H Mart"...
[ Cheers and applause ] ...by Michelle Zauner.
I love H Mart.
Shout-out to H Marts out there.
-What's H Mart? -H Mart is like --
-Like Kmart but a lower letter? No.
-No, it's like Korean -- [ Laughter ]
It's like an Asian grocery store.
-Oh, okay. -That's right.
Am I right? -Yes.
-All right. So, Michelle Zauner,
you know her as the musician Japanese Breakfast.
-Oh. -So this is a memoir.
It's funny, heartwarming.
It's about growing up Asian-American in the U.S.
and about how her mom would always teach her
about Korean culture.
And then, after her mom passed away, how the things
her mom taught her helped shape who she is today.
-Oh, that got me. That got me.
-Right? That got you right there.
-Oh, that did get me.
-Yeah, and you didn't read the book yet.
Yeah, "Crying in H Mart." That's what I'm talking about.
That's one of the choices, too. -I like that.
[ Cheers and applause ]
-Now I feel like -- that got applause, as well.
-Two of them.
-This one is called "The Final Revival of Opal & Nev,"
by Dawnie Walton.
Okay, this is her debut novel.
Okay? This about a '70s rock duo, Opal & Nev.
Opal is an afro-punk queen from Detroit.
Nev is a quirky British songwriter.
They made beautiful music together
but a little scandal with them.
-In the '70s? -That's correct.
And now people want them to reunite,
but then something gets uncovered,
a dark secret. -That she's stuck in the '70s.
[ Laughter ] -No, this is set in the '70s.
-Oh, yeah, set in he '70s. [ Laughter ]
-They uncover the dark secret at the center of their fame.
Something went down. -Ooh.
-So, maybe they shouldn't come back together.
Like, don't talk about these people.
-Some dark secret. -Yeah.
"The Final Revival of Opal & Nev."
There you go. By Dawnie Walton.
That's another one. [ Applause ]
-Number five. Okay.
That's five. This is the last one?
-This is our last one here. Usually, we do five.
-You threw another one in just for --
-Or maybe I threw one of these in.
-We don't know. -No one knows anything.
I didn't read any of these. -You didn't read any of them.
[ Laughter ] -Here's the last one.
This is called "The Plot." -Ooh.
-By Jean Hanff Korelitz.
Now, this author... -Yeah.
-... was the author of the book, they did "The Undoing," on HBO.
Nicole Kidman, Hugh Grant. Yeah, yeah.
So we're dealing with that type of caliber.
These are all high-caliber material.
-Yeah. -Okay?
But here's -- This is a suspense book.
Wait for it.
[ Laughter ]
Do you want to know the plot?
-I'd love the plot of "The Plot."
I thought it was "Pilot." I thought it said "The Pilot."
I thought it was about jet fuel. [ Laughter ]
-No, none of these books are about jet fuel
or on a plane or anything.
-Tariq said they're about jet fuel.
-No, none of these are about -- -All right.
[ Light laughter ]
-Ready for this? -Yes.
-Jake is an English teacher. -Mm-hmm.
-Teaching a class on how to write a book.
-Okay. Love it.
[ Light laughter ] [ Clears throat ]
-One student has a great story.
Doesn't really need the teacher's help.
I made that part up. -Right, right.
[ Laughter ] May or may not be --
-They have a great story.
The student dies. [ Audience "Oohs" ]
What does the teacher do?
-Oh, no. -What does the teacher do?
What did you do? What did you do?
You tell everyone what you -- tell the class what you did.
The teacher steals the plot. [ Audience "Oohs" ]
Publishes his own book, becomes famous.
-Ooh.
-Then, one day, years later... -Years.
-...he gets an anonymous e-mail.
Subject? "You are a thief."
[ Audience "Oohs" ]
-Snap. -"The Plot."
There you have it. Those are --
[ Cheers and applause ]
That's your books.
That's your books right there.
Look at that.
So, one of those -- This is -- yeah.
I'm not -- No favorites.
I'm gonna mix them up. -Okay. Yeah.
-All right?
♪♪
-Got it? Got it? -No favorites.
I can't go one in front of the other.
♪♪
-We're voting now? -No, we're not voting now.
-Oh, like "Price is Right." -"Price is Right."
"Opal & Nev."
[ Cheers and applause ]
"The Plot." [ Loud cheers and applause ]
"Razorblade Tears."
[ Cheers and applause ]
What is this one? Oh. "People We Meet on Vacation."
[ Cheers and applause ]
"Crying in H Mart."
[ Loud cheers and applause ]
Or "One Last Stop."
[ Cheers and applause ]
All right, guys. If you go to
tonightshow.com/summerreads, you can vote on
which of these books should be this year's summer read.
Voting ends this Sunday night. -Ooh.
-And we'll be revealing the winner on Monday's show,
and then we'll start reading together. Fun.