Summer Reading for the Real Estate Obsessed

“Summer Rental” by Mary Kay Andrews will have you wondering if your life is going in the right direction as you contemplate whether to have gin or vodka with your orange juice.

Like a day on the beach, this is a fast and easy read although it is not all fun and games for the principal characters. Andrews writes at a steady pace, and provides a strong sense of place as she generally takes the right amount of time to build scenes as well as emotions. A vacation-read veteran, she is also the author of “Summers at the Saint,” “The Weekenders,” “The High Tide Club” and other yarns spent by the shore. Thoroughly familiar with her surroundings, Andrews knows how to make a scene percolate while building characters complete with angst, guilt and more questions than answers as they attempt to reconstruct their lives and set out on a new course before removing the sand from between their toes.

Similarly, “The Vacation Rental” by veteran writer Katie Sise combines romance and suspense in one beach read. While due to a bizarre connection the key characters are surprised to learn they have more in common than they realized, it is the author’s insight and penetration into their psyches that stand out. The characters are pleasantly flawed and are fully drawn women facing difficult decisions during what was supposed to be a cheery excursion into the countryside. While one may not find a traditional happy ending as there is enough drama and ambiguity to keep one turning the pages as the tide rolls in, ultimately it is the scene setting and pitch for peace and tranquility to which many would-be vacationers will relate.

Turning to the dark side, can a building or apartment be possessed or somehow predisposed to evil? Do not answer until you read “The New Couple in 5B,” by Lisa Unger, author of “Under My Skin,” as Unger describes what can happen when one inherits what is seemingly a dream-come-true apartment. Young New York couple Rosie and Chad are initially thrilled when they inherit their luxury apartment in Manhattan’s charming Murray Hill neighborhood from a relative. Previously, they had barely been getting by financially but what appears at first to be lovely and sublime on the surface becomes wicked, corrupt and base. While cameras are seemingly everywhere and a uniformed doorman is regularly keeping watch, their neighbors continue to die. Peppered with authentic New York characters — one can almost smell the coffee and bagels on their breath — this is a fast-paced, paranoia-inducing tale that may encourage some to go to sleep with the lights on.

Turning the page to nonfiction, do you think real estate is a complicated business? Not everyone would agree. “Real Estate Is Not Rocket Science” by veteran Steve Shull may help clear the air or start some arguments. Shull, with 30-plus years of experience as a real estate sales professional and agent-coach, has identified six basic areas known as his simple building blocks to guide one toward real estate riches. He promises to “transform your work from an exhausting, never-ending chase into a scalable, stress-free business.” We’ve heard this before. And while Shull furnishes a step-by-step “playbook,” following his system may keep one from jumping off the roof of yet another spec home. Others may find the promise too good to be true. Real estate is like nearly every other business: to succeed requires hard work, dedication and determination. While a system may provide some guidance and answer a few questions, real estate is anything but an armchair business, especially in the Hamptons. Some of us thrive by systems others would rather avoid. For those struggling for direction in a real estate career there is some hope at the end of Shull’s rainbow.

And speaking of systems, do you need a regular means to build wealth? Do you believe your money should work at least as hard as you do? Do you wonder what you’re doing wrong when you watch others’ yachts sail by? Then take a look at “Millionaire Mission” by Brian Preston. Wealth-building typically takes time plus work and sacrifice, but maybe a “system” can at least help things move more efficiently toward the positive side of your balance sheet. With 25-plus years of financial planning experience, Preston, a certified financial planner, must have some idea of what he’s writing about.

Arguing that we live in the “greatest time to build wealth in the history of the world,” the hard-charging Preston believes that “anyone can be rich.” If this is true, why are so many struggling? Preston rightly notes that the first step toward wealth creation starts with an “attitude change” before covering many of the wealth-building basics. Preston himself, however, has a refreshingly optimistic attitude that regularly jumps from the pages, even after providing sobering hard data regarding how little most Americans have saved and/or invested. His YOLO mantra — an acronym for “you only live once — can turbocharge one’s financial outlook.

“Change,” in fact, is the key word in Preston’s vocabulary as he demands that if anyone is serious about improving their finances and truly wishes to accumulate real, long-term wealth, one of the first things they need to do is change their habits and attitudes. Noting that most us procrastinate when it comes to saving and are not taught how to plan or set goals, we frequently suffer the consequences of what can be described as financial inertia and subsequently, the concept of achieving “real wealth” continues to elude most people. How to start? View your life like a business. Eliminate and/or reduce debt and manage your emotional risk. A word of warning — do not try to “get rich quick” as you will most likely fail and become further discouraged. If needed, enlist the help of an independent financial adviser.

Moving to a light read, if only they all could be California girls. Nothing like music on the beach, and if you can’t sing along you may as well read about it or at least enjoy the numerous photos and historic anecdotes of “The Beach Boys” — one of America’s most iconic bands. Genesis Publications has released an extremely limited edition (500 copies) of what it describes as the only “official” Beach Boys book. Like a nearly “endless summer,” the book features perspectives and memories from Brian Wilson, Mike Love, Al Jardine, Dennis Wilson, Carl Wilson and Bruce Johnston as well as numerous photos. With unlimited access to the Capitol Records archive, the book’s got handwritten notes, black-and-white photos of the Beach Boys growing up and a deep assortment of information, trivia and facts that often parallel the rise of America’s ongoing love affair with rock ’n’ roll as well as a smattering of the politics of the time. It’s likely going to be difficult to get a copy considering the highly limited run, but for Beach Boys lovers the pursuit will be well worth it.