contemporaryfiction

Summer reading! Beach reads! WTF does that even mean?! Escapist literature? 19th C Russian door stoppers that have been clogging the TBR for years. Is it the new Emily Henry? Or Count of Monte Cristo? Littens, I need to know! Chime in in the comments with your 10 favorite beach read/TBR beach reads On July 1st I will use the advanced science of the random number generator to select a winner & gift a $30 gift card of yr choice.
#beachreadsfindaway

CSeydel Ooh ooh for me it‘s a combination of murder mysteries (like Agatha Christie and other classic crime) and chunksters that feel like too much commitment to dig into during the “school year” (which still feels like a thing even though my kids are all in college now) 1mo

Prairiegirl_reading I definitely don‘t want to cry on the beach so nothing too emotionally heavy. Also, can‘t be too physically heavy to carry in the beach bag. And, since I live in a colder climate, I don‘t want anything to do with winter or snow. Lessons in Chemistry was a good one for summer. Something good on audio - Talk to Me by Dolen Perkins Valdez was excellent although had difficult subject matter. Currently reading the tagged book,awesome so far!

The Road to Tender Hearts: A Novel

1mo

Aims42 For me, it‘s reads that are fun & entertaining and don‘t require much brain power to read because I‘m reading them outside with birds chirping or at a pool with children screaming 😆 1mo

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AmyG One summer, when my kids were 2 (twins) and 4….I found a babysitter for 2 hours in the afternoon for the summer. While not on the beach, I spent every afternoon, locked in my bedroom, reading Ruth Rendell mysteries. Every one I could find (I was on a JAG). So beach reads to me are now mysteries. 1mo

MemoirsForMe For me, it‘s a juicy, scandalous romance novel…a light, entertaining page-turner. Who wants to read anything heavy or deep while on vacation lounging on the beach? One of my early favorites from way back when was Jackie Collins‘

Hollywood Wives

1mo

Tamra 😆 What a fun & funny post! I don‘t have any more of a clue than you do as to what is a summer or beach read. I‘ll tell you what I am going to read though

The Brothers Karamazov: A New Translation by Michael R. Katz

1mo

TEArificbooks For me it is light fluffy read that doesn‘t require too much brain power. Nothing too literary or classics. I am also a literal beach reader as in if the book has a beach/pool/body of water on the cover then I read it in the summer. No matter the genre. I mostly like rom coms and mystery thriller or some summer camp horror for my summer beach reading. 1mo

Deblovestoread For me it's something light and fluffy. Something that I don't need to finish the chapter before putting it down to go play in the waves. 1mo

sarahbarnes Love this question! I don‘t like the beach, but for me summer reads are ones I can get completely immersed in - like an Atwood, a Murakami, an Atkinson. A page turner. 1mo

Jas16 For me a beach read is something light that I can read and enjoy despite the distractions of being surrounded by other beach goers. It would also usually be a cheap mass market that I don‘t care about being damaged by water or sand. 1mo

BarbaraBB For me it‘s books I‘m pretty sure of that I will like them because I am usually in a more sunnier country when I‘m on the beach (and I can‘t bring too many). So mostly a book I‘ve been looking forward to, that‘s supposed to be a pageturner and in paperback format(because of the sand) 🏖️ 1mo

Ruthiella I had to make my own post because I had a good idea for a meme. 😂 I hope you don‘t mind! I am OK with heavier, serious books to read on the beach. I took Wolf Hall to the beach and to read in the car on the way there. 🏖️ But a good murder mystery can also be great. The main thing is that I have ENOUGH to read and having an e-reader is great for that. 👍 1mo

CSeydel @AmyG oh I love that! 1mo

willaful My favorite summer reads tend to be longer books I can really get lost in. Examples from the past are Doomsday Book by Connie Willis (used to reread it every summer) and Watership Down by Richard Adams, which might be one to reread! One I'm planning for this summer is Table for Two by Amor Towles. It's a great time for a new book by a favorite author. I also want to read the new Anne Tyler and John Scalzi books. 1mo

Bookwormjillk It‘s hard to define but I know it when I see it. For me it‘s usually a combination of a new bestseller (I do read the new Emily Henry every year), a good thriller during a thunderstorm, a chunkster like Stephen King or Lonesome Dove, or a book set in a hot climate. I also tear through mysteries and audiobooks while traveling. I tend to not read a lot of nonfiction in summer aside from travel memoirs which I love. 1mo

Bookwormjillk @AmyG love your story! 1mo

Amiable For me, a beach read is whatever book that I happen to be reading the day that I‘m going to the beach. 🤷🏻‍♀️ Except for library books. I don‘t take library books to the beach. I don‘t want to incur the wrath of the librarians by returning a sandy, salty book. 😳😬😀 This is the book that I‘m currently reading so it will likely be carted to the beach at some point:

The Emperor of All Maladies: A Biography of Cancer

(edited) 1mo

Liz_M I like episodic books or short stories. My favorite past beach reads are The Arabian Nights, Dangerous Liaisons (epistolary novel), Tenth of December, 4w

TheKidUpstairs Sometimes it's chunksters, sometimes quick and cheerful, the most important thing is story. I need something totally engaging and transporting on the beach. And, like @Amiable said, NO LIBRARY BOOKS. Favourites that I read on summer/beach trips: Fayne, Poisonwood Bible, The Night Circus, The DaVinci Code. 4w

AmyG @Bookwormjillk Yes….Stephen King on a rainy, thundery summer day…perfection. 4w

TiredLibrarian I don't find that length matters to me; it has to be a really engaging and compelling plot. For me that's often mysteries. Summer's often when I catch up with my favorite mystery authors like John Sandford, Lee Child, or John Connolly. Or I might check out whatever the "buzzy" books of the moment are. 4w

Amiable @TheKidUpstairs Oh, I have “Fayne” in my TBR pile —did you like it ? 4w

TheKidUpstairs @Amiable Loved it. One of my favourites from the last couple of years (but definitely a chunkster!) 4w

Meshell1313 Ooh interesting! For me it definitely has to be a physical book- no can do a kindle on the beach. I always think Hemingway was made to read on the beach. Nothing like a solid classic! 🌊👙☀️⛱️🐚 4w

lynneamch I like reading about places when I am physically in that place. So, for me, a beach read has to be at least partially set in or near a beach. Love anything by this author, but especially

Beach Music: A Novel

TheBookHippie I read a lot of classic literature 🤣🤷🏻‍♀️ shocker I know. I generally read a ton of gardening books and nature books too. 4w

monalyisha I‘m with @Prairiegirl_reading! If I can avoid it, I‘d rather not cry on the beach. It has very little to do with public embarrassment and everything to do with avoiding getting sunblock in my eyes! 😉 In general, I do tend to gravitate towards easier reads on the beach. I like something I can easily put down, in case I want to swim; look for shells, sea glass, or cool rocks; or just close my eyes and enjoy the feeling of *total* repose. 4w

monalyisha As requested, 10 favorite beach reads are coming right up! 4w

monalyisha 1. Cinnamon & Gunpowder by Eli Brown
2. Malibu Rising by Taylor Jenkins Reid
3. Shark Heart by Emily Habeck
4. The Spellshop by Sarah Beth Durst
5. The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches by Sangu Mandanna 4w

monalyisha 6. World of Wonders: In Praise of Fireflies, Whale Sharks, and Other Astonishments by Aimee Nezhukumatathil
7. How Far the Light Reaches: A Life in Ten Sea Creatures by Sabrina Imbler
8. Here for It: Or, How to Save Your Soul in America by R. Eric Thomas
9. Little Weirds by Jenny Slate
10. Why We Swim by Bonnie Tsui 4w

monalyisha Perfect image to accompany this post, btw. 😎📖🦖 4w

Reggie 1. Black Tide-KC Jones 2. The Great and Secret Show-Clive Barker 3. Everville Clive Barker 4. The Off Season- Jack Ketchum 5. Blue World-Robert McCammon 6. Tom Lake-Ann Patchett 7. Camp Ghoul Mountain Part VI- Jonathan Raab 8. Tim and Pete James Robert Baker 9. Black Wave by Michelle Tea 10. Our Share of Night-Marianna Enriquez 4w

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