Soap Opera Magazine’s Ten Soapy Reads for Daytime Fans Who Are Ready to Curl Up With A New Friend

ERIC BRAEDEN’S MEMOIR LEADS TEN SOAPY READS FOR THE SUMMER

TL;DR: Soap Opera Magazine is feeling out reader interest in a summer book club and we have ten soapy reads to kick things off. From Eric Braeden’s international bestseller to Carolyn Hennesy’s NYT bestselling Spinelli novel, plus memoirs from Maurice Benard, Nancy Lee Grahn, Alison Sweeney, Eileen Fulton, and Agnes Nixon, the William J. Bell biography, a thriller from Jon Lindstrom, and one scholarly classic, here are ten books every daytime fan should add to the nightstand.

Let Us Talk About Books

The summer is long. The daytime episodes are reruns half the time. And soap fans are some of the most voracious readers in entertainment. So we decided to pay homage to ten of the best soapy reads we’ve found.

To kick things off, here are ten soapy reads every daytime fan should have on the nightstand. Some are memoirs from the biggest names in daytime. Some are behind the scenes histories. Some are honest to goodness novels written by actors you already love. All of them are worth your time.

Do you know about other soapy reads? Send your favorites and anything you think we missed to [email protected] and we just might publish your list!

1. Eric Braeden, I’ll Be Damned

The Y&R legend’s memoir is an international bestseller and the runaway favorite among modern soap memoirs. Eric Braeden writes about escaping postwar Germany, building a career in Hollywood, becoming Victor Newman, and surviving daytime with his dignity intact. Honest. Funny. Sometimes prickly. Worth every page, and the obvious pick for anyone who has ever loved Victor.

2. Maurice Benard, Nothing General About It

The GH legend behind Sonny Corinthos opens up about bipolar disorder, family, addiction, and the long arc of playing one of daytime’s most iconic mobsters. Maurice Benard wrote the book that turned him into one of the loudest mental health advocates in entertainment. Raw, important, and impossible to put down.

3. Nancy Lee Grahn, All My Shadows

Alexis Davis fans, this is your assignment. Nancy Lee Grahn wrote a memoir that is funny, political, emotional, and very, very her. Recommended for anyone who has ever wanted to know what Alexis sounds like with the gloves off and the heels kicked across the room.

4. Alison Sweeney, All The Days of My Life (So Far)

The DAYS star behind Sami Brady wrote this in 2004 and it is still beloved by Sami fans. Alison Sweeney shares coming of age stories, weight struggles, set life, and an unvarnished window into what it actually meant to grow up as Sami Brady in front of America.

5. Carolyn Hennesy, The Secret Life of Damian Spinelli

The GH actress who plays Diane Miller wrote a New York Times bestseller giving Spinelli his own noir caper. Carolyn Hennesy is smart, very funny, and clearly loves her co-star Bradford Anderson. One of the few tie-in novels where the book is as fun as the show.

6. Jon Lindstrom, Hollywood Hustle

The Beyond the Gates and GH veteran is also a USA Today bestselling thriller writer. Jon Lindstrom‘s Hollywood Hustle is the first in his Winston Greene series, and the sequel Hollywood Payback just came out this March. Pulpy, twisty, and built for soap fans who love a slow burn with a body count.

7. Eileen Fulton, As My World Still Turns

The original Lisa Miller of As the World Turns wrote one of the most unguarded soap memoirs ever published. Eileen Fulton called it uncensored on the cover and delivered exactly that. A must read for any classic soap fan who wants to know what it really felt like to play television’s first great villainess.

8. Agnes Nixon, My Life to Live

The woman who created All My Children and One Life to Live wrote her own memoir with a foreword by Carol Burnett. Agnes Nixon is the foundational text. Anyone who loves daytime owes this one a read, and it pairs perfectly with the William J. Bell biography below.

9. Michael Maloney and Lee Phillip Bell, The Young and the Restless Life of William J. Bell

Co-written by the late soap creator’s widow, this biography is the definitive look at the man who built Y&R and B&B from nothing. If you love either show, the origin story is in here. Eric Braeden, John McCook, Melody Thomas Scott, and Doug Davidson all attended the original signings, which tells you exactly how respected this book is inside the industry.

10. Elana Levine, Her Stories

For the soap fan who also wants the scholarship. Her Stories is the academic deep dive nobody else had written, tracing daytime’s role in shaping American gender history and television culture. Smart, readable, and surprisingly affectionate. The book Eric Braeden’s memoir would put next to it on the shelf.

Have you read some of these favorites? Let us know what you liked best and what surprised you most! Sound off below because your opinion matters!