What to read next based on your favorite reality show.

Emily Nussbaum’s latest book, Cue the Sun , chronicles the rise and fall of reality television. In chipper prose, the rigorously researched history explores how certain networks have managed to seize our collective attention span with a spate of “real” programming. From Survivor to The Bachelor and beyond, what is it about this narrative model that’s so hearty? Inspired by Nussbaum’s project, I’ve assembled a reading list that treats your guilty pleasure as a springboard. If you like those fake-reals, try these real-fakes. The Great British Bake Off For fans of fine cuisine and the penetrating gaze of Paul Hollywood, Maylis de Kerangal’s The Cook is a moveable feast. This slim, engaging novel follows Mauro, a young chef on a journey of sense-based self-discovery. It shouldn’t surprise you that this ode to the epicure is filled with tantalizing food descriptions. Here, a U-Bahn station kebab is not a quick snack, but “ crunchy slices of meat, sweet grilled onions, crisp fries, soft bread, the smooth sauce soaking through all of it, and hot, hot, hot: the perfect fuel .” On the page and on the plate, we’re snacking. Also consider: Nora Ephron’s Heartburn , and Laura Esquivel’s Like Water for Chocolate . These two novels also enlist food as a love language. Bonus points for the recipes. Below Deck If your interest in this super-yacht is purely nautical, Ladee Hubbard’s The Rib King may seem an unusual recommendation. But this tightly plotted portrait of a wealthy white family and the black servants they exploit perfectly captures the upstairs/downstairs dynamic familiar to all passengers of a certain troubled ship. The novel is also built of fascinating characters. Like Mr. Sitwell, a groundskeeper turned butler with a history-sized chip on his shoulder. Also consider: For more slow-boiling class and romantic tension, look no further than Kazuo Ishiguro’s The Remains of the Day . And for an ocean-forward entry, try Samantha Hunt’s odd jewel of a coming-of-age novel, The Seas . Couples Therapy Most romantic novels lean on the marriage plot. Drama builds as two unlikely souls come together, then apart, then […]

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