Sign in with Facebook
Loading...
Life's a Beach
by
Claire Cook (Goodreads Author)
By the bestselling author of Must Love Dogs, the story of two grown-up sisters who fight like cats and dogsbut call each other at least twice a day
Cook returns with another sparkling romantic comedy that's reminiscent of Must Love Dogs in all the right ways, but very much its own animalabout a relationship-challenged single woman, her quirky-to-put-it-mildly extended fam
...moreHardcover, 272 pages
Published
June 5th 2007
by Voice
(first published May 30th 2007)
Friend Reviews
To see what your friends thought of this book,
please sign up.
This book is not yet featured on Listopia.
Add this book to your favorite list »
Community Reviews
(showing
1-30
of
3,000)
Ginger Walsh is the forty-something single sister living in her parents' garage apartment, while Geri is the married one, almost fifty, with three children. Ginger babysits for her sister's kids while trying to figure out how to create intriguing things from sea glass. Her on-again, off-again boyfriend Noah seems to be a true commitment phobe, but she herself is not completely sure that she wants a long term relationship. Except, perhaps, with her cat named Boyfriend.
Then suddenly something happ...more
Then suddenly something happ...more
This may come as a big surprise, but, Life's a Beach by Claire Cook makes great beach reading (if i still had the time and inclination to lie about on a beach insuring my future skin cancer). Ginger is single at forty-one (well not entirely single, she does have an artist boyfriend named Noah whose commitment issues are so extreme that he has a complete aversion to phoning her up and letting her know he might want to come over~opting instead to throw pebbles at her window); she lives at the end...more
How do chick lit heroines have so much luck starting small businesses? They turn their kitchens into gourmet cake bakeries, they become personal shoppers for old people, they walk dogs, and, in this case, they make sea glass earrings. Out here in the real world, these jobs might net spare change in exchange for long, grueling hours. But chick lit ladies always end up financially independent and personally fulfilled.
I'm not anti-happy ending. The problem is these protagonists also nab the unexpe...more
I'm not anti-happy ending. The problem is these protagonists also nab the unexpe...more
4 likes · like · see review
Claire Cook has written another summer read, a snapshot of a bright, creative woman, living in an a town quite close to where I live. I liked the main female character who knows her life isn't what she wants for herself without knowing what it is that she wants. The family members were not funny to me nor were their relationships to one another especially enlightening. Most of the plot is evident from early in the book, and the ending is just too unrealistically simple. However, I am a forgiving...more
Life’s a Beach by Claire Cook is a breezy light-hearted story about Ginger Walsh, a forty-one year old lacking direction and living over her parent’s garage, and her crazy family including tightly wound sister Geri and bickering parents. Ginger is still a kid at heart and finds living an adult life with commitments including a marriage and steady job intimidating and boring. She is, however, at a crossroads as she questions whether her completely unfettered lifestyle is what she really wants for...more
Jul 07, 2011
Michele Stefanides
rated it
4 of 5 stars
Recommends it for:
women who like to read about characters they can relate to other than 20- and 30-somethings
Life’s a Beach—Claire Cook
Books about women in their forties, fifties, and beyond are not very common, especially ones that present strong, independent, and still romantically active women. So, I was fully prepared to like this book before I started it, even if it was poorly written or just plain sucked. I’m very happy to say it did neither.
Ginger is in her early forties, and on the surface it appears that she doesn’t quite have it all together—she lives above her parents’ garage, certainly an a...more
Books about women in their forties, fifties, and beyond are not very common, especially ones that present strong, independent, and still romantically active women. So, I was fully prepared to like this book before I started it, even if it was poorly written or just plain sucked. I’m very happy to say it did neither.
Ginger is in her early forties, and on the surface it appears that she doesn’t quite have it all together—she lives above her parents’ garage, certainly an a...more
Actually 4 stars might be pushing it slightly because it was a wee bit slow to start. Once things got going, it was pretty good. I'm no editor or a regular reviewer or anything, just so you know...
I got this from B&N when they were having a free eBook promotion, so I would say the value was excellent! The characters were quirky and fun, and although the author gives us a good view into their personalities, I felt the physical descriptions were somewhat lacking. It might just be me, but I lik...more
I got this from B&N when they were having a free eBook promotion, so I would say the value was excellent! The characters were quirky and fun, and although the author gives us a good view into their personalities, I felt the physical descriptions were somewhat lacking. It might just be me, but I lik...more
Ohmigod, I have so many books to recap (it’s currently at 20) but by the time I finish this, it will be more. So I don’t just lump them all together again, I will be posting one or so a day, in separate entries, as not to overwhelm your flists and in easier to read ways! I don’t care if you read them or not. It’s easier for me to go back and read them this way also.
From the same author who wrote MUST LOVE DOG’S so you can see where this cheesy book is going already. Seriously, these needs to alm...more
From the same author who wrote MUST LOVE DOG’S so you can see where this cheesy book is going already. Seriously, these needs to alm...more
Do you need a light read for the beach? Then this is the book for you.
Ginger Walsh is a 41-year-old single woman who aspires to not much of anything. She lives in a tiny apartment above her parents' garage where she attempts to make sea-glass jewelry. She has an almost boyfriend, a cat who is a better artist than she is, an older sister with age and control issues, and two very strange parents who play tug of war with taking stuff to the dump (mother) and bringing it back (father).
Childfree, Gi...more
Ginger lives over her parent's garage and has spent her life drifting from job to job and boyfriend to boyfriend while her sister seems to have the perfect life: happily married, 3 kids, and a stable job. Ginger is looking for her passion in life at 41 and feels adrift in her current state making sea glass jewelry, living with her cat Boyfriend, and her human boyfriend Noah, who doesn't seem to know how to use a phone and isn't always quite there for her. He has his passion in his art of glassbl...more
When I got this book from Amazon, it was free so I figured why not, I'd try it. It wasn't a bad book, but it wasn't amazing either. This was definitely chick-lit at it's finest and it was definitely a pretty easy read too.
I think my biggest issue with this book was the fact that the characters kind of lacked substance. Ginger is our main character. We know that she live's at home in an above garage apartment at her parent's house because she's single, 40 and without a job while her sister Geri h...more
I think my biggest issue with this book was the fact that the characters kind of lacked substance. Ginger is our main character. We know that she live's at home in an above garage apartment at her parent's house because she's single, 40 and without a job while her sister Geri h...more
I have really come to love Claire Cook's witty style of writing, and with Life's a Beach, she doesn't disappoint her readers. From the opening chapter, the sarcastic wit leaps off the pages and had me laughing as I read about Ginger and her family. The storyline with it's set of characters will have you laughing, but I have to admit that the middle of the book (the shark movie portion) was a little bit drawn out for my taste, and Ginger's ongoing "I'm single and I don't know what I want to be wh...more
I'm not opposed to chick lit. Not at all. I'm a firm believer that good writing is good writing, regardless of genre. My mother (an exceedingly well-read, highly intelligent woman) reads lots and lots of chick lit and then passes the books on to me. This book was in a pile I got from her at some point.
I sincerely wish it hadn't been. Good grief, this book was terrible. The writing is very herky-jerky, making a scene hard to follow. The author kept referring to a couple of the characters by their...more
I sincerely wish it hadn't been. Good grief, this book was terrible. The writing is very herky-jerky, making a scene hard to follow. The author kept referring to a couple of the characters by their...more
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it,
click here.
So, not the greatest book I've ever read. But it was a) free, and b) enjoyable enough to finish. The book's narrator is Ginger Walsh, a 40-something who lives in a room over the garage to her parents' house in Marshbury, Massachusetts, with her cat named Boyfriend. Ginger thinks of her situation as "temporary" even though her sister reminds her that it's been a couple of years. She has a boyfriend, Noah, who is a glassblower, and who calls or comes over when he feels like it. Which is fine with...more
After reading Unbroken (incredible, btw) for my book club and Fever 1793 for my daughter's book club, I need a book where no one dies or suffers starvation. A book called Life's A Beach has to fit the bill, right?
Well, no one died and everyone was well-fed. I wanted something light, and this was definitely that! So light I worried my Kindle might float away when I set it down. A fast read, somewhat frustrating main character and a few too many plots. Was it about two very different sisters learn...more
Well, no one died and everyone was well-fed. I wanted something light, and this was definitely that! So light I worried my Kindle might float away when I set it down. A fast read, somewhat frustrating main character and a few too many plots. Was it about two very different sisters learn...more
Certainly not the worst book I have ever read but far from the best. Very forgettable with characters that are just not believable. I thought it would be a great light read for the beach but it was hard to stay focused on the book. It did start to pick up and get more entertaining towards the end but not enough to suggest this book to anyone. I finished it last night and I already can't recall the specifics of how it ended.
This was one of those books about two sisters who don't get along, then there's a crisis and they learn to like each other. Although I've read a bunch of books with this theme, there were enough fresh aspects in this one to keep me interested and reading. Ginger, the main character, is 41 years old and doesn't know what she wants for the rest of her life. She has a boyfriend, sort of, and she's at such loose ends that she lives above her parents' garage. They are about to sell their house, so sh...more
This is the story of Ginger, a woman in her early 40's who makes jewelry and lives in an apartment above her eccentric parents' garage. Her primary income seems to come from watching her older sister Geri's children. Geri is almost 50 and has the great house, diligent husband, super-important job, company-supplied BlackBerry and three precocious (read: annoying) children.
Ginger pushes her cat (named Boyfriend) around in a stroller and is in turn pushed around by her wacky family and emotionally...more
Ginger pushes her cat (named Boyfriend) around in a stroller and is in turn pushed around by her wacky family and emotionally...more
I feel like I'm reading the menu from the local IHOP compared to Shadow of the Wind. I wanted something light and fluffy after reading Shadow of the Wind and before reading The Road, but I think I could have written "Life's a Beach" myself. I was hoping for something more on par with Jennifer Weiner or Emily Giffin. Claire Cook seems to be trying to hard to be funny. I will finish it because I don't want it to be a total waste of $13.00, but it's mediocre at best. The storyline is fine, but the...more
A 41 year old single woman lives above her parents garage and spends her time babysitting her sisters children.
This was a fast and light read. I rated it an "okay" because at times it seemed to be just going through the motions. It is past the "chick-lit" phase and seemed geared towards the hen-lit/mommy-lit readers which is great but it often failed to hold my interest.
This was a fast and light read. I rated it an "okay" because at times it seemed to be just going through the motions. It is past the "chick-lit" phase and seemed geared towards the hen-lit/mommy-lit readers which is great but it often failed to hold my interest.
This isn't a traditional romance type book, but there's romance in it. Along with some gentle humor and interesting tidbits about jewelry making.
The heroine is 41 and a FROG - FINISHED ROOM OVER THE GARAGE - dweller. The story starts when her mother bursts in on her teensy efficiency with two real estate agents. Her mother - against her husband's wishes - is about to sell her home and our heroine's abode.
There's a sculptor boyfriend who can't quite commit, a workaholic sister whose kids are tryi...more
The heroine is 41 and a FROG - FINISHED ROOM OVER THE GARAGE - dweller. The story starts when her mother bursts in on her teensy efficiency with two real estate agents. Her mother - against her husband's wishes - is about to sell her home and our heroine's abode.
There's a sculptor boyfriend who can't quite commit, a workaholic sister whose kids are tryi...more
Boy, I totally love Claire Cook's books, but this one really bored me to tears. I couldn't like the main character, Ginger, who is jobless and living out the apartment above her parents' garage. Good Lord! 41 and no direction. She rambled non-stop, really about nothing. Nothing at all. Her boyfriend, Noah, is like a very distant relative. I felt no connection at all. I was hoping personally she would like the gaffer better.
The whole book just seemed to not have any direction whatsoever. The most...more
The whole book just seemed to not have any direction whatsoever. The most...more
Yeah. Don't read this book. Airport purchase, but not quite worth it. It's about sisters in MA, and said it was funny/touching, so I was like "ok I like sisters and I miss MA, so I will read it," and was hoping at least for something going on with her "mysterious boyfriend" or something like that, but nope.
From back cover:
"Life's a bit of a beach these days for Ginger Walsh, who finds herself single at forty-one and back home living in the family FROG (Finished Room Over Garage) in the fictional town of Marshbury, Massachusetts. She's hoping for a more fulfilling life as a sea glass artist, but mostly she's babysitting for her sister's kids and sharing overnights with Noah, her sexy glassblower boyfriend with commitment issues and a dog that Ginger's cat isn't too crazy about.
As if things aren't c...more
"Life's a bit of a beach these days for Ginger Walsh, who finds herself single at forty-one and back home living in the family FROG (Finished Room Over Garage) in the fictional town of Marshbury, Massachusetts. She's hoping for a more fulfilling life as a sea glass artist, but mostly she's babysitting for her sister's kids and sharing overnights with Noah, her sexy glassblower boyfriend with commitment issues and a dog that Ginger's cat isn't too crazy about.
As if things aren't c...more
First impressions before reading: I think I may enjoy this book, not sure though. My friend is letting me borrow it, she said it's kind of slow moving at the beginning so I think that's why I'm dreading reading this book.
Critique after reading: I finished this book and it was pretty good. It wasn't the best but it was pretty entertaining. I think the only reason I finished it so quickly was because I was camping this weekend so ya know it kills time when other people are doing stuff. Hehe. It wa...more
Critique after reading: I finished this book and it was pretty good. It wasn't the best but it was pretty entertaining. I think the only reason I finished it so quickly was because I was camping this weekend so ya know it kills time when other people are doing stuff. Hehe. It wa...more
Wa-a-a-ay too cutesy! Characters are neither particularly likable or believable and the dialogue is extremely contrived. So why did I finish it? Good question - I guess I just wanted to see where she would go with it and I also kinda liked her previous book (Must Love Dogs).
2 likes · like · see review
Ginger Walsh is in her forties, single, and living in a finished room over a garage at the family house. She's dabbling at jewelry making, has a sometimes boyfriend Noah, and babysits for her sister's kids. When nephew Riley is offered a small part in a shark movie being filmed at a nearby beach, Ginger goes to the set as his chaperone. When she meets an attractive gaffer, she accepts a date. And when her parents announce they are selling the house, she will have no where to live.
Not so much a r...more
Not so much a r...more
Fast & easy summer read exploring dynamics of two sisters and finding one's life even after 40. I have tried to read some of the "Chick-Lit" books about girls in their 20s, but really, they are girls in their 20s. I have little patience for some of that ----- ? ---naiveté? ---foolishness? ---self-absorption? Okay, so maybe what Ginger faces in Life's a Beach is not much different, but she also does it with perspective from having experienced more---having had more jobs, more boyfriends, more...more
It was very fitting that I started this book while I was at the beach even if there was very little beach in the book. This book was about two sisters, one of whom was single and in her 40s dealing with her successful older sister and growing. I enjoyed this one.
There are no discussion topics on this book yet.
Be the first to start one »
I wrote my first novel in my minivan when I was 45. At 50, I walked the red carpet at the Hollywood premiere of the adaptation of my second novel, MUST LOVE DOGS, starring Diane Lane and John Cusack. Midlife rocks! My tenth novel, TIME FLIES, will be here in June 2013, and I'd be so grateful if you'd add it to your to-read list. Thank you! And don't miss the fabulous TIME FLIES sweepstakes - detai...more
More about Claire Cook...
Share This Book
No trivia or quizzes yet. Add some now »
“It takes courage to create,' he said. 'People are afraid of embarrassing themselves by not being good enough.'
Or maybe even by showing who they really are.”
—
7 people liked it
Or maybe even by showing who they really are.”
“Your problem, my darling daughter, is that you're afraid you're going to miss something. But what you don't realize is that, by not making a decision, you're missing it all.”
—
6 people liked it
More quotes…
Jun 28, 2011 05:49am