Bestselling Philadelphia writer Jennifer Weiner shares her picks for summer

PHILADELPHIA (WPVI) -- The summer season is here, and that means many of you will be stocking up on a few good books to read at the beach.

So Action News' Tamala Edwards went to see bestselling local icon Jennifer Weiner at her Queen Village home -- where she crafts her stories in a quiet upstairs closet -- to get some recs to put on your list.

Readers first fell in love with Weiner in the early 2000s with books like "Good in Bed" and "In Her Shoes," and more fan favorites followed.

Her first pick is her own latest book, "The Griffin Sisters Greatest Hits," which is out this week.

A South Jersey teenager goes on a quest to discover why her mother and aunt -- once music superstars -- have spent decades estranged and to get the sisters from Fishtown back together.

"There's music. There's mystery, There's sex, drugs and rock and roll," promises Weiner.

In her next pick, "Enormous Wings," by Laurie Frankel, a 70-year-old woman is moved into a senior home by her adult kids. Then comes the plot twist that made Weiner scream out loud.

"She's in the home and she meets a guy, and you think it's a cute little rom-com, and then she gets pregnant...at 70!" says Weiner.

Next up, if you like a thriller, she suggests "The Au Pair," By Teddy Wayne. A Brooklyn man in midlife crisis really makes a mistake when he starts an affair with the beautiful au pair, who is really into him...or is she?

"Maybe she wants to be the wife. Maybe she wants to be him," teases Weiner. "Maybe she wants to be the next big author in Brooklyn. It goes places you don't see coming. And the writing is wonderful. I could not put it down. I raced through it."

Last up is a book with serious buzz, "The Amateur," by popular author Chris Bohjalian. Golf prodigy Mira drills a ball so hard on a practice range that it hits and kills a caddy.

"And we're off to the races because it turns out there are all kinds of secrets in this town in Connecticut that this death exposes, and it's a coming-of-age story," Weiner previews.

I asked Weiner how she comes up with her plots. She joked: Costco. She buys them in bulk along with mayonnaise!

Seriously, though, her best advice to be a good writer is to be a good reader. And these are some great choices to do that, wherever you can take a summer break.