Well, now, here’s a question: What’s a “beach read?” What’s a good beach read? And what are some of your favorites of the species?
Once in awhile, I find OUTLANDER on someone’s list of “great beach reads,” but usually none of the other books. (This sticks in my mind, because one of the early public appearances I did when OUTLANDER was released, was a “Great Beach Read” program done with several other authors for a public library—wherein we were supposed to talk about our own books, but also give a list of other books we thought were great beach reads. I remember the occasion, because it’s the first—and thankfully one of very few—occasion on which I forgot I was supposed to be somewhere. I was in fact shopping for bunk-beds with my husband—and my children all “turned” last month, being now 26, 24, and 22, so you know it was awhile ago—when he got a frantic call (he having one of the new-fangled car-phones) from his secretary, to the effect that the Glendale (I think) Public Library was looking for me, and why wasn’t I on their stage? We rushed there instantly, and I made it in time to be last on the program, but still, Highly Traumatic. I shudder when I hear the words “Beach Read.”)
Now, personally, I’ve always figured that “great beach read” is one of those left-handed compliments. It implies that the book is a page-turner, all right—but probably not something filled with Deep Meaning, as my husband says (“Does this have lots of Deep Meaning?” he asks, suspiciously, when I hand him a new excerpt to read. “Or does something actually happen?”). Nobody describes WAR AND PEACE as a great beach read (though in fact it is, size quite aside. It actually is a page-turner, though the translation makes a difference. I got an edition translated by someone whose first language was apparently French, resulting in male characters not infrequently threatening to give each other “a bang on the snout!” Which was mildly distracting. But I digress…).
The implication is that the book should be entertaining, but something you can easily put down in order to play volleyball, and it won’t really matter if you doze off and let it fall on your stomach where it will absorb sun-tan lotion and all the pages become transparent. And when you leave the beach, you can toss it in the trash can if you’ve finished it, and into your trunk if you haven’t, there to be ignored until next Thanksgiving, when you discover it while cramming your trunk with turkey, bags of fresh cranberries, and whatever other family-specific food you consider indispensable to the occasion (my stepmother’s family traditionally serves buttered rutabagas at Thanksgiving. I consider this perverse, but as long as I’m not personally required to eat rutabagas—and no force of nature would compel me, I assure you—more power to them).
On the other hand—a beach read has the assurance of being entertaining, and of probably being popular. A beach read is something that everybody (in a given summer) is reading. Which is of course Highly Desirable, if you are the author of said book. I mean, if it comes right down to it, do you want the New York Times to say your book is “a brilliant, if depressing, portrait of humanity, filled with insights on dependency and longing,”—or do you want it to say, “#1″ on the Bestsellers list? Yeah, me too.
(Mind, if anybody happens to want to look for Deep Meaning in my books, it’s there [g]—no, really—but I do think there ought to be a Good Story on the uppermost layer of a book.)
Now, I personally am no judge of a beach read, because a) I read all the time, regardless of location, and b) I don’t live near a beach, and c) if I did live near a beach, I wouldn’t be sitting on it, reading. I hate sitting in the sun; it makes me sweaty and dizzy, and the last thing I’d do is read a book while doing it. But tastes differ.
IF we were to define a “beach read” simply as a book that’s very entertaining, but “light” (in the literary-fiction sense of the word)—what would you pick? (Or if you define a beach read differently, how would you define it?)
The nearest equivalent of a “beach read” for me, is probably a “plane book.” I.e., what you read on a plane to distract your mind from the knowledge that there is nothing under you but 30,000 feet of thin air (though my husband, who flies planes, assures me that air is really much more substantial than it appears). That would be things like Nora Roberts romances and futuristic mysteries, Michael Connelly thrillers, Janet Evanovich’s comic romance/mysteries, Anne Perry’s Victorian mysteries, John LeCarre’ spy/intrigue novels, and the like (I gather I’m not alone in these preferences, since these are the books commonly found in airport bookstores). Not THE LOVELY BONES; I read half of that on a long flight to Sydney, left it on the plane, and never felt the urge to get another copy and read the rest of it. I know a number of folks loved it, but I thought it was hollow and mildly repellant—though I freely admit this impression may have had more to do with the effects of being on an airplane for fourteen hours, than with the book itself.
(I should note here that while I have referred to the books I read on planes as “toilet paper books,” this is not a diss. It’s because such books perform an indispensable function—but you use them only once.)
Speaking historically, though—it seems to me that many of the great “beach reads” of the last 15-20 years have indeed been “big” books: James Clavell’s SHO-GUN (one of my all-time favorite books ever!) or TAI-PAN, Judith Krantz’s SCRUPLES, PRINCESS DAISY, etc., James Michener’s monster sagas, etc. These are books that would get you through an entire vacation.
I don’t know whether it’s the current economic climate affecting publishing (paper costs keep rising, as does the cost of shipping books), or whether there’s a change in public taste, but you see fewer “big” books than you used to. (Mind, when a new “big” book appears, it gets a lot of attention—vide THE HISTORIAN, or MR. NORELL AND WHOEVER THE OTHER GUY WAS—on the sheer basis of size. The assumption being, I imagine, that if a publisher was willing to pay to print this, it must be good. Sometimes this assumption is true; sometimes not so much.) What’s the “beach read” of this summer? (I’ve been so busy lately I haven’t paid any attention to publishing news at all. I’m also neck-deep in the research for ECHO IN THE BONE, plus a “Lord John” short piece I’m doing for an anthology, that involves yet another chapter of the Seven Years War. My guess is that neither Francis Parkman’s MONTCALM AND WOLFE, nor Kenneth Webb’s THE GROWTH OF SCOTTISH NATIONALISM would be in most people’s beach-bags.)
So…what’s in your beach-bag?
I’m on a vampire/paranormal romance kick right now, and I discovered the genre while picking books for a beach trip last November. I had no idea romances were divided into so many categories, having not ventured down those aisle very often since my teen years.
I love J.R. Ward’s Black Dagger Brotherhood series – I refer to them as book crack – and have in my TBR pile by the bed her Lover Enshrined, as well as Lara Adrian’s Midnight Breed series, Twilight by Stephanie Meyer, some she-werewolf romance that was terrible (wish I wouldn’t have spent money on that one – they never got to the romance part – she just had met the object of her affection at the END of the book), and a non-vampire book – Camp Camp, a reminisce about sleep-away camps in the eighties.
2 summers ago I read the Mayfair witch series by Anne Rice and got sucked right in. Never found another series I got so involved in until I discovered Outlander.
I also love the Anita Blake series by Laurell K Hamilton..figures since I do love those vampires.
My taste for beach reading might be a bit idiosyncratic but anyway:
When I was preparing my first essay at university I read scientific articles on “Living with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease” while sitting on the beach watching the kids. Another summer I re-read all of P Cornwalls Scarpetta thrillers in chronological order. Reason for this was that I earlier had read them in totally wrong order. And it is a it confusing when characters are young children or – worst – dead in one book and than grown upp or alive in the next one you read! But if nothing else is at hand I grab a battered old copy of a Barbara Cartland romance. No worry about coffee och sunoil stain then! Also perfect for bubble-bath-reading!
Great Question! I have been wondering what your all time favorite books are. As in: “If you were stranded on a beach and could only have 10 books from now until forever, what would they be?” That would be quite literally a “Beach Read.”
I don’t mean to sound predictable here, but my favorite (and also ONLY) beach read is THE BEACH by Alex Garland. If you haven’t read it, I think you should. He is one of my absolute favorite authors even though the lazy bum has only written 2 books that I can find. Rumor has it that he spends all his time playing video games and inhaling…organic substances. I wish he’d get off his tush and find some inspiration for another work. I am not patient. . .
Obviously, I read it because to me, a beach read has to fit the surroundings. There’s no way I could read about snow storms or careers when I’m lounging. It is also physically appealing to me because there are always little grains of sand in between the pages from years past. Sort of nostalgic I guess. Anyway, that’s my book.
I highly recommend the Gemma Doyle trilogy by Libba Bray — an unusual mix of adventure and history infused with magic. A great way to pass the time on a plane or a beach! Another page turner where the ending was hard to predict: The Thirteenth Tale. I’m reading The Historian now, and while it’s a little heavier (literally and figuratively), it’s thoroughly engaging.
I’m studying to be a school librarian so my beach reads this summer are all young adult novels. There are some really great ones out there–The Book Thief by Markus Zusak, The Giver by Lois Lowry, Inkheart by Cornelia Funke (who I find absolutely brilliant and one of the few translated books that doesn’t read like a translation)and the completely mesmerizing (and I’m still not quite sure why) Twilight books by Stephenie Meyer.
So on my list this summer are Uglies, Pretties and Specials by Scott Westerfeld. Kids seem to be crazy about them. The Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan and then I will try to get in some good adult novels, which at the moment I feel kind of out of the loop as to what to read!
Thanks to all – I’ve got some great suggestions here. Strangely enough, I got my first beach bag read from my 14 year old son – The Book of Lost Things. Pretty dark stuff, but I couldn’t put it down. If I didn’t have 2 other younger kids, I could probably have read it in one day – and I probably would be at the beach, too!
Bedelia
Diana – this is obviously not the right place to leave this comment but I haven’t found a place for this per se.
I was noticing while reading the version of Lord John and the Hellfire Club (which was appended at the end of the s/c edition of LJ and the Private Matter) that that version (in the LJ and the Private Matter) had quite a bit more detail in areas than the version in the h/c LJ anthology.
Also the s/c version was more revealing in the conversation John has at the end that Harry overhears (in which the conversation is clearer that John may also be gay) and the s/c version had more detail re John being overcome by the drugs – and more detail describing the ceremony.
I actually prefer the version in the s/c with LJ and the Private Matter (and I’ve likely sent people out frantically to compare and contrast the versions)
(Yes I am complusive – and as an interesting aside – Henry James did this as well ie re-edit his works)
Also in the LJ and the Succubus – there is a line in the original version published in the sci-fi anthology about soldiers dreams being important and in the LJ anthology in that paragragh it states “soldier’s dreams about Jamie Fraser” which makes no sense – and I think those words should follow “dreams” in that paragraph where it refers to John’s dreams “about Jamie Fraser” – I would assume)
Andrea
I just read ‘Touchstone’ by Laurie R King, which was really good.
Since he has been in the news lately as the writer picked by Ian Fleming’s family to pen the next James Bond book (Devil May Care), I am reminded that Sebastian Faulks’ book “Birdsong” is one of my favorites. It is historical (set in WWI), has great passion between well-developed characters, and stays with you long after you finish it. It is one of the few books other than Diana’s that I have read multiple times. I have read one other of his works, The Girl at the Lion d’Or, but it didn’t capture me the way Birdsong did.
Ah, summer reads *sigh* It’s winter here in Oz but that doesn’t stop me reading!
Agree with nightmusic’s suggestion of Moning’s Highlander series – they are especially the types you want to see on the beach
Time Traveller’s Wife is one of my alltime favs – it was our first book club book and one for discussing from so many angles.
I’ve tried Donati’s Wilderness series, as BIG books so you don’t have to lugg too many beachside, but they are too easy to put down, then forget to pick up again.
But Outlander and Voyager are always on my nightstand for picking up at any time and starting from a random page and be lost in the story before you know it!
But now I have lots of suggestions to get me through winter!
And excuse my Aussie-ness, but what’s rutabagas?
jenq…
Yeah, wouldn’t you just die if you saw one of those Highlanders walking down the…oh, wait! You asked a question and darn, I got sidetracked…
A rutabaga is also called a Swedish Turnip and it’s a tuber in that family. And there are very few ways to cook them that taste good but, if you were lost in the wilderness and only had those to live on, you could for a long time. Very nutritious but then again, things that are…taste awful…much of the time.
I don’t consider your books beach reads at all, but then again I feel the same way about sitting on a beach as you do, and usually I’m eating Cheetos or some other salty snack laced with sand.
Now, I do bring your books (paperbacks only)on the plane for many reasons…
I hate flying, and there is something about a red headed Scotsman that makes me forget I’m going to plunge into the earth and an alarmingly high speed.
Time goes by so fast when ever I’m reading a Gabaldon book, and that’s a very good thing on a plane.
If the person beside me is a reader, I would say 75% of them have read your book, and if not, I have them buying it verra soon!
M&M
I thought I was the only one that read both Scruples and Princess Daisy. *g*
I don’t consider your books beach reads at all, but then again I feel the same way about sitting on a beach as you do, and usually I’m eating Cheetos or some other salty snack laced with sand.
Now, I do bring your books (paperbacks only)on the plane for many reasons…
I hate flying, and there is something about a red headed Scotsman that makes me forget I’m going to plunge into the earth and an alarmingly high speed.
Time goes by so fast when ever I’m reading a Gabaldon book, and that’s a very good thing on a plane.
If the person beside me is a reader, I would say 75% of them have read your book, and if not, I have them buying it verra soon!
M&M
I thought I was the only one that read both Scruples and Princess Daisy. *g*
Is anyone here familiar with GA Henty and his Bonnie Prince Charlie and Culloden? Is it a good read? Is it beach worthy?
TRIANGLE by Katharine Weber. A beautifully-crafted novel that has to do with the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire in New York. You really need to read it twice.
Sue
Hey Romi, Julia/Julie is a friend of mine. I’ll delicately pass along your comment.
Diana, I am making the assumption that you personally would not be offended by my recommendation here, although the publishing companies might be. . . If you have a problem, please let me know and I’ll happily delete.
All others, since we are all readers and this is a reading thread, a great place to swap your “toilet paper” books is paperback swap. You’ll notice Diana’s books are ALWAYS in demand there, in other words, people who own Diana’s books tend not to give them up. Anyway this is a great resource for those of us who usually spend tons on books and then don’t know what to do with them. I’m an addict for this great resource.
Disclaimer: I get swap credits if you decide you like to swap too. Swap Your Books Here
I’m about to go on a long overdue vacation/second honeymoon and will be taking about four swapped TP books with me.
Thanks for the recommendations. I’ll be adding some to my list!
-Candy
I agree that my beach reading is usually lighter than my “winter reading”, but it still needs to tell a fine story. Maeve Binchy’s books are a fine example of this.
On the other hand, you can never go wrong with re-reading a well cherished novel, no tmatter how serious it may be. Like a previous commenter,I think “Madame Bovary” is great for camping trips. And “The Grapes of Wrath” is perfect for ANY situation. (So says the lady who has read it twenty times in as many years!)
Hi Megan,
I’m also taking an adolescent literature course this summer. Books on my reading list include Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, Holes, Speak, Bronx Masquerade, Whale Talk, The Absolutely True Diary of a Part Time Indian, Crossing the Wire and Catcher in the Rye.
I’m a middle school librarian and the kiddos (and me too!) absolutely love the Uglies/Pretties series and of course the Twilight series. I recently got one of the 8th grade language arts teachers hooked on all things Bella and Edward.
I get goosebumps whenever I find a group discussing their favorite reads. I can’t stay out of the water — literally, so beach reads never work for me. Give me a screened in porch with comfy oversized wicker furniture and I’m there with an armload of books.
I saw that nightmusic mentioned Moning — oh yeah. An someone else mentioned reading Laurie King’s Touchstone. I thoroughly enjoy her stand alones, particularly Folly.
Over the years I have enjoyed a summer vacation spent reading Leon Uris — especially Exodus and Armageddon. Also Herman Wouk’s Winds of War. And of course Patricia Cornwell’s early novels, and Kathy Reich.
The Thornbirds — the year that Richard Chamberlain starred in the TV series — oh my. That was a ‘hot’ summer. And Sho-Gun.
And there have been some cool nonfiction. I adore the title (and the book)”The Island of Lost Maps” — I think it is by Miles Harvey. And Tim O’Brien’s “The Things They Carried.” And the Orchid one. Not Orchid Thief, but the nonfiction one.
“Orchid Fever: A Horticultural Tale of Love, Lust, and Lunacy” by Eric Hansen. Any book that starts with a rumination about the sound of a body dropping from a tree, has my attention.
DG