Tell Me Your Favorite "Beach Reads"
or the books you want to curl up with under the sun this summer
It’s been a while since I’ve talked about books. In all honesty, it’s because I haven’t read as much. And I’m trying not to guilt trip myself about that. I know I could read more books, but the last year has been slow (side note: these are great tips for making more time for reading). Sometimes I think reading (for me) has an ebb and flow. I get in a groove where I devour books, and then I go months without picking one up (aside from the children’s books at bedtime, do they count?). However, whenever, and whatever you read is your prerogative, but I’m finding myself getting into a flow again, and I want ALL the book recommendations.
Despite thinking summer will be a time to slow down, it always tends to feel sped up. So many plans and activities, trying to fit as much as possible into these few short months. I absolutely love summer, and this season I am hoping to lean into a slower pace, savor the moments a little more, and remind myself there’s no need to rush.
On that note, I’d LOVE to know your favorite beach reads or whatever books you plan to dive into this summer. Here’s a few that I think make great summer reads.
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The Wedding People by Alison Espach
I shared this book in Click. Read. Love. and all I can say is I really loved it. Yes it has a fairly predictable ending, but sometimes that’s exactly what I want. It’s funny and heartfelt, but I particularly enjoyed Newport and many of the familiar places in town as part of the storyline. Trigger warning it does contain discussions of suicide.
Just for the Summer by Abby Jimenez
Two people have the same problem, everyone they date finds the love of their love immediately after breaking it off with them. So they hatch a plan to date each other and break the curse. It doesn’t quite go according to plan. I would have read this in a day if I could!
Funny Story by Emily Henry
This one has some pretty classic rom-com themes (opposites attract/fake dating plot) but it’s a fun, steamy novel that makes for a great summer read.
The Five Year Lie by Sarina Bowen
A romantic/suspense novel that was a total page turner for me. I was a little annoyed at the ending, but I breezed through it. It’s about a woman named Ariel Cafferty who receives an alarming text message one morning from the only man she ever loved. The problem is, it's been several years since she learned he died.
Be Ready When the Luck Happens by Ina Garten
I just started re-watching episodes of Barefoot Contessa and I already have so many ideas for recipes I want to make. I absolute loved this memoir by Ina Garten and I highly recommend the audiobook which is read by Ina.
Demon Copperhead by Barbara Kingsolver
This book was brilliant, moving, heartbreaking, and raw. A modern day David Copperfield, it explores modern-day Appalachia, poverty, and the opioid crisis. At over 500 pages I thought it would take me a while to finish but I ripped through this book.
I have so many more I could share but I want to hear from you. Tell me what you’re reading and what’s on your wish list this summer.
I loved a lot of those on your list too! Demon Copperhead still haunts me (in a good way). Just started You're Safe Here by Leslie Stephens, who I discovered here on Substack! Other favorites I've read recently are Margo's Got Money Troubles, All the Colors of the Dark, and Pearce Oysters
Two memoirs: Graydon Carter’s When the Going was Good, and Keith McNally’s I Regret Almost Everything.
Carter really gives you the inside track on being editor in chief of Vanity Fair for twenty five years, great observations about people he interacted with, and his remarkable career as a Canadian without a college degree who conquered the publishing world eventually. McNally’s is more personal and it’s clear his regret lies in his own foibles but there’s a lot of success again from a guy from a council flat in a poor London section who took off at sixteen and has ultimately become one of the most successful restauranteurs in New York. By the way I’m not a New Yorker, rather I
live in SE Virginia and still enjoyed both memoirs a great deal.