Meg Cabot, author of more than 80 books and several New York Times bestsellers, says some of her best editing occurs in a floating deck chair in the pool at her Key West home. Her cat, Allie Cat, often sits on her, making typing “awkward,” but isn’t distracting enough to prevent Cabot from finishing her most recent books, The Boy is Back (William Morrow, 2016) and the upcoming Royal Crush (Macmillan, 2017). The avid traveler, perhaps best known for her Princess Diaries series, encourages all Floridians to stay overnight in the Dry Tortugas—and either pitch a tent or moor a boat, because the island has no sleeping accommodations. “You can see the Milky Way as well as fluorescent shrimp,” she says.

Here are Cabot’s reading recommendations for a starry night or a summer vacation, which she always hopes will be somewhere in Florida: “My very own bungalow at Little Palm Island, for instance,” she says.

1. The Dutch Girl
   by Donna Thorland
   “I never thought the American Revolution could be sexy! This is historical fiction at its finest.” (New American Library, 2016)
2. Time Travel
   by James Gleick
   “A nonfiction exploration of our cultural obsession with time and time travel by the best-selling author of Chaos. I’ll be making time for this.” (Pantheon Books, 2016)
3. Well, That Was Awkward
   by Rachel Vail
   “She writes awkward but achingly sweet teen romance better than any author I know.” (Viking, 2017)
4. The Fifth Season
   by N.K. Jemisin
   “Winner of the 2016 Hugo Award for Best Novel and raves from The New York Times, Publishers Weekly, Washington Post and NPR. I think this book about the world ending will live up to the hype.” (Orbit, 2015)
5. Alex and Eliza
   by Melissa de la Cruz
   “Can’t wait to read about the romance between young Alexander Hamilton and Elizabeth Schuyler that the musical Hamilton made famous.” (G.P. Putnam’s Sons, 2017)
6. The Leaf Reader
   by Emily Arsenault
   “A teen’s hobby of reading her friends’ tea leaves seems harmless … until it leads to romance, then murder. Vacation fun!” (Soho Teen, 2017)
7. The Trespasser
   by Tana French
   “You don’t have to have read any of the previous books in French’s excellent Dublin Murder Squad series to enjoy this one. But afterwards, you’ll want to.” (Viking, 2016)

Hey Meg, what book should all Floridians read?

“Bright Orange for the Shroud by John D. MacDonald (Random House, 1965). Like an ice-cold margarita, his novels featuring Fort Lauderdale private eye Travis McGee never go out of style.”