Needed: Beach Read

Parent Cafe
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<p>Heading for vacation soon and I need a beach read.</p>

<p>I repeat: a BEACH read. I’m not looking for heavy, deep, philosophical. I’m looking for funny and/or romantic and/or mystery. Or maybe a biography. Nothing depressing!</p>

<p>Already read the Twilight books, and enjoyed Shadows of the Wind. Love the Stephanie Plum books but they’re becoming repetitive (I’m getting tired of Lula). Appreciated Laura Bush’s autobiography even though I disagree with her husband’s politics, also enjoyed Ted Kennedy’s autobiography. I’ve also loved almost everything I’ve ever read by Bill Bryson. </p>

<p>Suggestions?</p>

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<p>Also have already read most of the Sooky Stackhouse books that True Blood is based on.</p>

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<p>Patty Jane’s House of Curl by Lorna Landvik
Step Ball Change by Jeanne Ray
The Saving Graces by Patricia Gaffney
Malaria Dreams by Stuart Stevens</p>

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<p>My automatic suggestion is the Stieg Larsson books: Girl with the Dragon Tatoo and The Girl Who Played With Fire.</p>

<p>But on second thought, maybe they are not light and fun enough for the beach. </p>

<p>Maybe something from this:</p>

<p>[Audience</a> Picks: 100 Best Beach Books Ever : NPR](<a href=“http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=106983620]Audience”>Audience Picks: 100 Best Beach Books Ever : NPR)</p>

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<p>[A romantic, funny, mystery](<a href=“To Say Nothing of the Dog - Wikipedia”>http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/To_Say_Nothing_of_the_Dog&lt;/a&gt;)</p>

<p>I also like Lord Peter- especially with his wife Harriet Vane
<a href=“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lord_Peter_Wimsey[/url]”>http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lord_Peter_Wimsey&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

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<p>I’d like Stieg Larson at the beach. I found the books really fun, quick reads dispite the mordant subject matter.</p>

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<p>I just picked up ‘One Day’ by David Nicholls. It details the story of a not-so-couple one day a year and how they manage to be in this odd relationship while not really being in a relationship. It is very funny and romantic and a nice read and doesn’t make you think a lot.</p>

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<p>There is a series of books by a woman named Diana Gabaldon, and I cannot, right now, recall the name of the first novel, but they are popular.</p>

<p>I haven’t read them, but my 19 year old has not been able to put them down this summer and my H really loves them, too.</p>

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<p>My favorite beach reads are by Marian Keyes, Jane Green and Sophie Kinsella. Pretty light, perfect for vacation.</p>

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<p>Have you tried this series? “The No. 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency”, by Alexander McCall Smith and I also think the Stieg Larson series, all three are out now. DD could not put them down until finished with all of them. </p>

<p>Have you ever tried the Elizabeth Peters Amelia Peabody series? It starts with “Crocodile on the Sandbank”. They are a fun mystery read.</p>

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<p>The Help if you haven’t read it.</p>

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<p>Oh The Help was great! It is actually sitting on a bookshelf at my beach house.</p>

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<p>Third The Help.
Just finished Breakfast With Buddha, light, amusing, easy reading.
A friend just finished and suggested for her RL book club.</p>

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<p>Jazzymom- great link in post 4 to NPR’s top 100 Beach reads.
One of my all time favs- #22 —The Bean Trees- Barbara Kingsolver…may be dated now.</p>

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<p>Poetgrl, you are referring to the Outlander series–8 books now. The first one is called “Outlander”. These are all FABULOUS and combine the pleasure of reading a meticulously researched historical novel with a very cool time travel thread. I cannot recommend these books highly enough. I am terribly jealous of anyone who has NOT read them and therefore has that pleasure to look forward to.</p>

<p>Can you tell I liked these books a lot???</p>

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<p>Just read NPR’s list read quite a few of those books on the beach. I reccomend Cold Sassy Tree and Bel Canto!</p>

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<p>I read the Diana Gabaldan’s Outlander series twice. I love it. It’s a wonderful fantasy that follows a true historical time line. Some of the love scenes get pretty intense. I gave the first book to my assistant at work along with a bottle of wine and a package of fake cigarettes. I told her she’d need them after some of the passages.</p>

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<p>Another vote for The Help–I was surprised how much I enjoyed it (as did everyone else I know who has read it).</p>

<p>And a vote for Georgette Heyer, the mid-twentieth author of literate Regency romances. I think the paperbacks are back in print here (I know they’re readily available in England), and library usually have some of them, though my local libraries have apparently discarded many of them. (The Heyer mysteries aren’t as good.) The romances are delightful; her later ones aren’t quite as complex but virtually all of them provide light but clever entertainment.</p>

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<p>The cooking mysteries by Dianne Mott Davidson but try to read them in order</p>

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<p>I’ll second the Jane Green books. Also check out Lauren Weisberger (Devil Wears Prada, Chasing Harry Winston, Everyone Worth Knowing), Plum Sykes (Bergdorf Blonds), and the authors of The Nanny Diaries, Emma McLughlin & Nicola Kraus, also wrote Citizen Girl.</p>

<p>These are all what I would consider great beach reads. Most have been out a while, but if you are not familiar with the author, one may be new to you. Fun but not a lot of thought or emotional investment required. Guilty pleasures. :)</p>

<p>EDIT: Also add Candace Bushnell (Sex and the City), One Fifth Avenue. It wasn’t as good as SATC, but a good beach read and most likely out in pprbk. It is pretty explicit so be forewarned… I was a bit embarrassed that I’d given the hard bound to my SIL for a gift w/o knowing. Whoops!</p>