June 18-19, 2022: Crowd-sourced Beach Reads

[I can’t lie, I haven’t had time to read for pleasure during this academic year, so I didn’t have a ton of new recs for this year’s Beach Reads series. So I wanted to revisit authors and books I’ve read on the beach over my life—and to ask for recommendations for this wonderfully diverse and deep crowd-sourced weekend post we can all throw in the beach bag. Add yours, please!]

On Twitter, Joyce Patterson responds to Monday’s post, sharing, “A friend turned me on to Tony Hillerman novels before my first trip to the SW about 30 years ago. I had a much deeper appreciation for the region and was completely hooked by Leaphorn and Chee!”

Laura Kitchings responds to Tuesday’s Clancy post, noting, “I’m always amazed at the tight editing of Hunt for Red October which falls apart in later books, when the author had more control.” She also adds her own Beach Read suggestion, “Really any Jenny Crusie, but the co-written Agnes and The Hitman is a regular read.”

While Cyndula counters my overall emphasis on happy childhood Beach Reads, writing, “NO…read Intensity by Dean Koontz and be all stressed for your beach read. That’s my suggestion anyway.”

Other Beach Read suggestions:

AnneMarie Donahue shares, “LOL On the Beach by Shute! Kidding aside, I love cozy mysteries and the Hamish Macbeth series is fun, super easy to tear thru, and honestly a blast. ‘Night Surf’ by King is fun as well! And since the film is coming out soon Salem's Lot.”

John Stella tweets, “Love: Defending Jacob by William Landry. Any book by William Martin. Mary and Carol Higgins Clark books (separately and co-authored).”

Catherine Patterson tweets, “So many good books to share (for me, reading is pleasure and relaxation all rolled into one). I just finished Hello Molly! by Molly Shannon.” She adds, “I’ve also loved Invisible Child by Andrea Elliott and The Final Revival of Opal & Nev by Dawnie Walton.”

Larry Hartzell tweets, “Highly recommend the Dervla McTiernan novels featuring Cormac Reilly, especially The Ruin and The Scholar.”

Dalchico tweets, “While I love serious reads for fall and British/EU mysteries for winter, I indulge in breezy and fun reads for summer! For our annual family OBX vacay I always take along Vicki Delany writing as Eva Gates, The Lighthouse Library mystery series. Fictional OBX at the real OBX!”

Savannah Paige Murray shares, “So right now I'm reading Mill Town: Reckoning with What Remains by Kerri Arsenault. Part memoir and part science writing about environmental and health costs from the paper mill where Arsenault grew up! It is soooo good. I also just finished and loved Gentrifier: A Memoir by Anne Elizabeth Moore about her (mis)adventure with winning a ‘free’ house in Detroit, MI through a nonprofit. Such strong voice and great writing throughout! Oh and Vladimir by Julia May Jonas--this novel . . . I could not put it down! Unlike anything I've ever read. Highly recommend!”

Katy Covino nominates, “I've been on a Lucy Foley kick. The Guest List, The Paris Apartment, and The Hunting Party are more thrillers. The Book of Lost and Found and The Invitation are more historical romances. The audiobooks are also really good - different actors, lots of accents - makes weeding (and reading) a lot more fun.”

Nicole Bjorklund writes, “I love light and fluffy books for the beach - ones that aren’t necessarily unputdownable, but rather that you can easily put down when your kid wants to build a sandcastle or jump in the ocean with you and you can pick it right back up without missing a beat. I read Malibu Rising by Taylor Jenkins Reid in March and my only regret was that I didn't save it for the beach. Honestly her entire catalogue would all be great beach reads, but it helps that this one is set in Malibu. Emily Henry has a romance novel CALLED Beach Read - to be perfectly honest I didn't love it but so many people do so it's worth putting it out there. I'd recommend her newest one, Book Lovers, instead. The People We Keep by Alison Larkin is really great as well. Might be my favorite book this year so far. If you're a thriller-beach-reader, I highly recommend pretty much anything by Riley Sager. The Night Shift by Alex Finlay would also be a good beach-day thriller.”

Melissa Mazzone (herself a very talented writer) seconds some of these, writing, “The perfectly named BEACH READ by Emily Henry, but I love her adult rom-com follow-up even more, PEOPLE WE MEET ON VACATION. She is by far one of my favorite contemporary writers right now! Her three adult rom-coms are filled with hilarious banter, palpable chemistry and very swoony & realistic love stories. For fast-paced thrillers, Rachel Hawkins' RECKLESS GIRLS and THE WIFE UPSTAIRS are fantastic. Short and punchy with delightful twists, slow-burn suspense and smart characters.”

Shayne Simahk highlights, “Then She Was Gone by Lisa Jewell, The Midnight Library by Matt Haig, and Sigh, Gone by Phuc Tran.”

Natalie Chase, who received her MA in English Studies from FSU this past Spring, suggests, “Just read Family of Liars and both that and We Were Liars (its sequel) are great nostalgic beach reads with a dark twist.”

Blog Guest Poster Tanya Roth tweets, “Oh, I have been on a reading TEAR lately. For starters: for YA fans, pair E. Lockhart's We Were Liars and the new prequel, Family of Liars (read We Were Liars first); The Guncle by Steven Rowley is *fantastic*, a great summer read or anytime read; I *adored* Kelly Barnhill's When Women Were Dragons; Rachel Barenbaum's Atomic Anna was captivating; Emily St. John Mandel's Sea of Tranquility is a slim, BEAUTIFUL volume that reminded me of Ray Bradbury's Martian Chronicles (a fave); Speaking of Bradbury, I always, always, always love Dandelion Wine (and Martian Chronicles); Allison Pataki's The Magnificent Lives of Marjorie Post was so good, I couldn't put it down; Natalie Jenner's Bloomsbury Girls was excellent; and finally, Sheila Williams, Things Past Telling— forget Roots. Read this, then go read Tiya Miles' All That She Carried.

Indigo Eriksen highlights “Any fiction by Peter Heller, esp The Dog Stars and The River.”

Andy Cornick shares, “Child Zero—written by an old friend, praised by Stephen King himself. Quick read, dystopian near-future thriller with Crichton-esque flare for scientific horror.”

Kelly Stowell nominates “the Terry Pratchett Discworld series.”

And to conclude on a different note, Derek Tang shares, “I love reading the faces of people walking along the beach. Especially the ones attempting to corral little kids or feisty pets.”

Next series starts Monday,

Ben

PS. Keep the Beach Read recs coming!