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What Is the Perfect Beach Read Anyway?
A beach read is, on the surface, a fairly easy thing to understand. It's a book you read at the beach…right? Or perhaps it's a book you'd like to read at the beach. Maybe it's just a book that takes place near an ocean?
There is no definitive answer. Like beauty, a beach read is in the eye of the beholder. We asked you on Facebook and Twitter to tell us what you think the term means. We've got your top responses below, along with some recommendations we think you'll love!
There is no definitive answer. Like beauty, a beach read is in the eye of the beholder. We asked you on Facebook and Twitter to tell us what you think the term means. We've got your top responses below, along with some recommendations we think you'll love!
"I think of a beach read as anything that deeply engrosses me—I can’t put it down. I read Gone Girl while enjoying the beach…and I am thrilled to say I did not know the big twist. I remember when I finished that part of the novel, I put it down and just stared at the ocean for several minutes because I was so stunned," says Mary.
"Something with very short chapters. Nice places to stop and easily restart when distracted," says Rebecca.
"My favorite beach reads are paperback gothic romances, the ones with the frightened young woman running away from the scary house on a cliff. I don't know why, but I have been addicted to these books since I was a kid," says Beverly.
"A plot associated with sunny weather: beach, water sports, sun, eating," says Marren.
"Something easy and funny so that you can lift your eyes here and there to look at the beauty in front of you," says Beatrix.
What's your definition of a beach read? Let's talk in the comments!
Check out more recent blogs:
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16 of the Hottest Romance Books of Summer
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Check out more recent blogs:
13 Ways of Coping with a Book Hangover
16 of the Hottest Romance Books of Summer
The 28 Most-Read New Books of 2018
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Oh, and about crime/noir/hardboiled detective books, etc. No author was considered in any way "literary" until the 1950s and only then did a crime novel get any credibility in the USA. And that book was by Ross MacDonald. Oddly, the very darkest of pulp novels were a sensation in France instantly in the 1940s, but not in the USA, hence the term "noir". Yes, we look at Hammett and Chandler today as great writers, but at the time mainstream literature paid them no mind.
Goodreads blog, could you do an article in the future where you ask us small book clubs on goodreads our favorite reads and what we are reading right now? This would be an interesting article to read. My reading for pleasure book club here on goodreads has only been around for 4 years now as we officially turn 4 on July 15th and we will be hitting 3,000 members soon but we all read many different things and we can tell you what our favorite reads we have read there are and more.
Kristen wrote: "SAWYER!"That was exactly my immediate response too! The article was good too.
Nicko wrote: "Im gonna be the odd one out here and ask who reads on the damn beach? Why would you? :/"Reading by the beach is one of the best reading settings! I wish I could go to the beach more and read, but alas I hate the interstate. Some people - including me - love reading outdoors by beautiful surroundings. Why wouldn't you??
I always took Beach Books to mean more of a general drama, romance or chic-lit novel --- usually pretty thick. It's only the recent years I've seen that perhaps I wasn't correct and everyone has their own definition. I'm starting to think it doesn't have a real meaning anymore other than a book someone wants to read during the summer.
I would recommend any Deborah Brown book and any Denise Grover Swank book you will spend hours enjoying them I still do with rereads
Susan Wilson. The Dog Who Saved Me. Another one of her excellent books where a dog is a co-hero. In this case, the dog also has a POV - and the reader definitely roots for him. And the human hero as well, of course.
Adriana Anders. Under Her Skin. Edgy, compelling, unusual. Started the book on Monday evening and finished it at 4:45 AM the next day. Couldn't stop reading! I will definitely want to read more of her books. She has 2 more books in this mini-series: By Her Touch; In Her Hands. I'm anxious to read the other two.
The Bluegrass series...Kathleen Brooks; Jana DeLeon and her Miss Fortune series
If I'm allowed to, I'll add my own book, Death in Focus, as well as anything by JD Robb. I'm going to start on the Stephanie Plum novels on holiday this year, too.
I read The Lido this summer and it totally had summer vibes. A swimming pool, water, friendship and community.
..."jaw dropping beach read..." KIRKUS REVIEWS "Evidence of Love," by bestselling author Mark Stevens. Think "Girl on the Train" and "Big Little Lies." Kirkus Reviews…“Evidence features entitlement, adultery, incest, mystery and murder,… but little evidence of love….It’s an often riveting and sometimes deeply disturbing story of the ultra-rich and youth-obsessed.” Wealthy, willowy, 25 year old Carly Irons is putting pressure on her 55 year old, moneyed lover Kirk Sarns to leave his wife. Carly doesn’t just want Kirk: she also wants a specific stunning Beaux Arts prewar Park Avenue apartment as their love nest. Carly’s parents are wealthy cardiologists to the stars but her father has a secret and her mother is seducing Carly’s former boyfriend, one August Blair III. Carly’s parents also share an appalling secret about her late sister. Self-described “bitch-and-a-half,” Carly later distances herself from her parents and uses her looks and sex to get what she thinks is due both professionally and personally..” For more information and “love life” advice from hopeless romantic, Mark Stevens, visit: TWITTER: @drlovesyk, www.drlovesyk.com; Mark Stevens LinkedIn:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/marksteve...
I love reading Christmas stories on a hot summer day...cools me off.
Somewhat atypical, but I would recommend 'Beach Music' by Pat Conroy https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1...
I call these books 'holiday' reads. I never go to the beach. Holiday reads means relaxing where ever you are, getting totally absorbed in the story. Beach reads to me, brings to mind, gritty sand, people playing ball around you, etc etc... not relaxing at all, unless you are on a luxury yacht somewhere. Nope, Holiday read means anywhere you take a vacation, even if its in your own back yard.... Relax and enjoy.
My First book A Different Kind of Life by Pamela D Holloway. Please note the D which I have had to add as I found there were 2 of us! So, GOODREADS please remove from your list the first copy of my novel and leave only the Pamela D Holloway.Everyone says it is a gripping read and they did not want it to end - but there is the next novel, which is connected- Claire's Story - also, I am told a great beach read. Sorry, I am blowing my own trumpet but as a new author what choice do I have! Next book out in November. Blood in the Snow.
Currently reading Fitzgeralds Tender is the nightSo far it seems a decent beach read because it is set on the French coast near Cannes during summer. Bonus for a summer book is that it has a light theme: its about relationship, love and maybe... cheating instead of a heavy philosophical or a saving-the-world-theme.
There have been a few instances when I contemplate what books I'd classify as 'vacation reads', 'summer reads' or 'rainy day reads'. I confess that I've never done a 'beach reads' list. Prominently because I have never been to a beach. But, from what I've read and heard about, the beach is supposed to be a place where one has fun and, more often than not, relaxes. So, if I were to create a beach reads list, I'd definitely grab these books:1) Archangel's Heart by Nalini Singh
2) Crooked Kingdom by Leigh Bardugo
3) The Score by Elle Kennedy
4) Shielding Lily"by Alexa Riley
5) The Season by Sarah MacLean
6) Ruby Dixon's Corsairs
7) Heart of Obsidian by Nalini Singh
8) Roomies by Christina Lauren
9) Royally Endowed by Emma Chase
10) Sustained by Emma Chase
11) Act Like it by Lucy Parker
Wow. Yeah, that's quite a long list alright . . .
And if I have to add a classic, I'd put:
12) Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen
I would read anything which is light , funny and sweet. (With short chapter & not a complicated plot line)Because otherwise I wouldn't know where to give my main focus , the ocean or the book😅
Agatha Christie is an author with a plethora of good summer and beach reading.
Long but easy to read sagas are my favorites. I like to reread Steinbeck's "East of Eden," Marcia Davenport's "The Valley of Decision," and Rawling's "The Sojourners." And with Covid this year I plan to revisit "Year of Wonders: A Novel of the Plague" by Geraldine Brooks. The connecting thread of all of these is their focus on perseverance in the face of ordinary, human struggle. Agatha Christie in between to lighten things up.
I'm a librarian, so I have immediate exposure to a lot of books. For some reason anything by Anne Rivers Siddons has always defined a beach read for me. Maybe because I only read her books during the summer. Off Season is probably my favorite.
Hi Wonderer, oh, what a hot topic you've raised! Of all my male friends, they are all readers (cause I like people who read) on some level, yet they don't write reviews here on goodreads. None of them. I have asked a few why not, and they say they have nothing to say about a book other than, "I liked it" or "You might like this." But among my female friends, a number of them do write reviews here, they like to share their opinions more so, it seems to me, than my male friends. I've tried to participate in a few "group reads" but they are mostly women and, just as one might think, men and women do think differently (that's a good thing!!!). Statistically, men are more likely to buy/read non-fiction and women are more likely to buy/read fiction. But since I'm usually the only guy in the group read, my opinions are usually different. I've either been asked to leave, or have left on my own. The "Big Reviewers", the ones with the most likes, do seem to be the ladies, because they are more inclined to write a review in the first place! Truth is, we are all biased (that's not a bad thing, that's how we navigate through this world) toward certain types of books. I am not inclined to read romance books at all but did read "Nightengale" and thought it okay and "Bel Canto" and liked that. I love pulp fiction, and much of it is way under-rated imo. I think Fleming's work is way under-rated. And I wouldn't be caught dead reading a Danielle Steele book. Men and women just read different books, have differing opinions, all good things.