I guess it was yesterday's record setting 101F/38.3C high temperature (not having had a proper spring sort of takes one a little by surprise) that puts me in mind of beach reads. I am very much a mood reader and as I was leaving work and soaking up the very warm sunshine I started thinking of the beach and how nice it would be to be there about now. As I am about as far from any major body of water as you can get in the U.S., any wish to spend time at the beach must be fulfilled through the pages of a book.
For me, 'beach reads' doesn't mean books you might read at the beach (I mean you could read War and Peace at the Beach just as easily as a NYT bestseller). Rather my beach reads are books with a beach/seaside setting. I could happily (and would happily given a chance) live close to the ocean and it is my secret fantasy to someday live close to the ocean. Since I've been thinking about beaches why not read a book with that setting.
Every year I like to come up with a new list of possible 'beach reads', though the heat has prodded me to think of making one earlier than normal (I like to at least wait until June). Since I've not had a chance to do any browsing for new titles, I'll ask for a little help. I'll start the ball rolling with a few books I pulled from my shelves last night.
Dorothea Benton Frank, Plantation - ". . . a lush plantation in the heart of modern-day South Carolina--where family ties and hidden truths run as deep and dark as the mighty Edisto River. . . "
Iris Rainer Dart, Beaches - "One is rich and pampered. The other, poor and ambitious. Never has there been a friendship that made more sense."
Ann Brashares, The Last Summer (of You & Me) - "Three friends, two sisters, one love--and the summer that would change their lives."
Dorothea Benton Frank, Return to Sullivans Island - "It was impossible to remember how gorgeous the Lowcountry was. It never changed and everyone depended on that."
Feel free to help me add titles to the list. Suggestions are welcome. I am looking for stories with (any) beach setting and that has a strong sense of place as well as a good, engrossing story.