Need a good beach read

Parent Cafe
1

<p>I love to read, but rarely find the time to do it. The one time a year I can guarantee I will start and finish at least one book is on vacation. I’m totally out of the loop as far as good authors so I need recommendations. Nothing too deep. I’m looking for a trashy, “summery” light book to read while I watch the waves roll in. Think Danielle Steele - but not.</p>

<p>If you have a suggestion that’s a little more serious, I’ll consider that also.</p>

<p>Ok, readers, help me out!</p>

2

<p>Books by Kristin Hannah seem to be good beach reads…Firefly Lane or Winter Garden might work for you.</p>

3

<p>Read the latest Mary Higgins Clark cover-to-cover on Sunday, including 3 hours on the beach. very light, but her writing style keeps you turning the page. </p>

<p>If you haven’t read “The Girl with the Dragon Tatoo” trilogy, it’s good beach reading. The first book takes a good 50-60 pages to get into, but then it moves along quickly. The second book it hard to put down. </p>

<p>An oldie, but goodie that I read for the first time last summer was “The Kite Runner”.</p>

4

<p>I’m very into Emily Giffin right now. Good summer “chick lit” - but with better character development - not sleazy. Second the Mary Higgins Clark - also Jodi Picoult. </p>

<p>Kite Runner was amazing - I did literally read it in one very long day - started at the pool - kept reading all evening. I literally could not put it down - maybe in the top 5 best, most riveting books I have ever read.</p>

5

<p>If you haven’t read any of these, [Janet</a> Evanovitch’s Stephanie Plum Series](<a href=“http://www.evanovich.com/novels/novel]Janet”>Novel List – Text – Janet Evanovich, #1 NYT Bestselling Author) would be great beach reading, especially if you’re at the Jersey shore. Start from “One” and work your way through.</p>

6

<p>I can’t describe either as “trashy” but enjoyed both - definitely dissimilar in content.</p>

<p>I Think I Love You - Allison Pearson </p>

<p>From Booklist:
During the 1970s, Welsh teenager Petra and her best friend, Sharon, are wild for pop singer David Cassidy, along with millions of other fans the world over. They spend huge chunks of their leisure time perusing The Essential David Cassidy Magazine for clues to David’s likes and dislikes, unaware that most of the material is being created out of whole cloth by ne’er-do-well English major William Finn, whose take on the cherubic singer is a good deal more acerbic than theirs. The novel’s second half finds the characters 25 years later as Petra is grieving the death of her mother and the end of her marriage, while Bill is now running an empire of celebrity magazines though still unlucky in love. A lost letter brings them together for a David Cassidy reunion concert, which proves to be a turning point in both of their lives. Pearson is at her best in capturing the way teenage girls use their romantic obsessions with celebrities to work out their fears about real relationships with the opposite sex. An afterword includes Pearson’s delightful 2004 interview with a 54-year-old Cassidy. --Joanne Wilkinson </p>

<p>The Informationist - Taylor Stevens</p>

<p>Publishers Weekly:

  • Starred Review * Stevens’s blazingly brilliant debut introduces a great new action heroine, Vanessa Michael Munroe, who doesn’t have to kick over a hornet’s nest to get attention, though her feral, take-no-prisoners attitude reflects the fire of Stieg Larsson’s Lisbeth Salander. Nine years have passed since Munroe, the daughter of American missionaries, escaped Cameroon at age 15 after a violent incident. She’s forged a new life in Texas as an “informationist,” a person who specializes in gathering information about developing countries for corporations. Munroe’s best friend, marketing consultant Kate Breeden, refers her to Miles Bradford, a high-stakes security pro, who believes she’s the perfect choice to help Houston oilman Richard Burbank find his adopted daughter, Emily, who vanished four years earlier at age 18 while vacationing in west central Africa. Munroe returns to Africa, where she reconnects with her ex-boyfriend, Francisco Beyard, a sexy drug- and gun-running businessman, who assists in the dangerous search for Emily. Thriller fans will eagerly await the sequel to this high-octane page-turner.</p>

<p>Another option:</p>

<p><a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/parent-cafe/1164259-secret-garden-forgotten-garden-august-cc-book-club-selection.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/parent-cafe/1164259-secret-garden-forgotten-garden-august-cc-book-club-selection.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

7

<p>LuAnn Rice books - most of them also have also have a coastal beachy setting.
Nicholas Sparks - love them all!</p>

<p>Also second the Emily Giffin books. </p>

<p>All above very simple, easy, just-entertain-me reading.</p>

8

<p>Have you read the Outlander series? </p>

<p>I recently finished One Day, which I enjoyed. and oldies but goodies are the Maeve Binchey books, Tara Road, et all.</p>

9

<p>There are tons of ideas in this thread from last summer:</p>

<p><a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/parent-cafe/950160-needed-beach-read.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/parent-cafe/950160-needed-beach-read.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

10

<p>Just finished Folly Beach by Dorothea Benton Frank and loved it. This is 10th plus book about the South Carolina Lowcountry and I think that any of them would be a great beach read!</p>

11

<p>Every year we go on a family vacation to the beach, and DW always searches for the latest Elin Hilderbrand book for her beach reading.</p>

<p>[Elin</a> Hilderbrand - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia](<a href=“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elin_Hilderbrand]Elin”>Elin Hilderbrand - Wikipedia)</p>

12

<p>I second mamom - the Outlander series is one of my all time favorite reads…I reread them every 2 years or so.</p>

13

<p>“Before I Go to Sleep” by S. J. Watson. Just finished it - its new; a perfect beach read. A mystery/thriller about an amnesiac. Check out the Amazon.com reviews.</p>

14

<p>I just read Bossypants by Tina Fey. Very quick read; and you don’t even need to follow a plot. Laughed out loud a lot.</p>

15

<p>“Garden Spells” by Sarah Addison Allen. Kind of a twist on “Practical Magic.” A great story with magic, love, fear, and cooking. :slight_smile: I couldn’t put it down. It was also the first ever “Barnes & Noble Recommends” title.</p>

16

<p>Summer Rental by Mary Kay Andrews</p>

<p>Light, summery read. I enjoyed it.</p>

17

<p>Just started Bossypants and it is a hoot so far. Anything by Dorthea Benton Frank is a great summer read, IMO.</p>

18

<p>Another vote for Bossypants. It’s not out in paperback yet (which isn’t an issue for e-reader fans) but I’d consider this a great “beach read”. However, it helps if you are a Tina Fey fan. I’m like college-query–laughed out loud alot. Still haven’t finished it, but because it doesn’t have a continuous plot line, it’s an easy one to pick up off and on.</p>

19

<p>Have you read any of the Clan of the Cave Bear/Jean Auel books? There is a new one on the best seller list.</p>

20

<p>I’d second the Elin Hilderbrand recommendation–all of her novels are set on Nantucket and revolve around character spending the summer or living on the island. If you like Hilderbrand, Nancy Thayer is another Nantucket writer whose novels are very similar to Hilderbrand. If you’ve been to Nantucket, it’s fun to read about various places that they describe in the novels. Personally, I like Hilderbrand’s earlier novels more than the most recent ones. Doesn’t seem like summer unless I buy either a Hilderbrand or Thayer novel. I pass them on to my daughters and anyone else who’s visiting me.</p>