Top Ten Tuesday is an original feature/weekly meme created by The Broke and the Bookish. Each week, they post a topic and encourage fellow bloggers to list their own top ten answers. This week’s prompt was to name the Top Ten Books I’d Recommend as Good Reach Reads! This was a bit tricky for me, as I tend toward serious or dramatic books, and I usually think of beach reads as being light and easy-going. But I persevered!
1. The Girl’s Guide to Hunting and Fishing, by Melissa Bank
I picked this up on a whim in a used book store in Quito, Ecuador. It knocked my socks off. This chick lit provides some deep insights, while still being funny and sad by turns.
2. The Secret History, by Donna Tartt
If it’s a hot day, this book will cool you down (considering it takes place during winter in Vermont!). It’s also an incredibly addictive tale of friendship and murder.
3. Ghost, Interrupted, by Sonia Singh
I read this a few years ago, but I remember it as being a fun and surprisingly cute take on the idea of ghost hunters, with some interesting commentary on cultural differences. It’s a quick and easy read with enjoyable characters and a nice, neat storyline.
4. The Other Boleyn Girl, by Phillipa Gregory
Probably not the most historically accurate retelling of the saga of Anne and Mary Boleyn, but it’s certainly entertaining! (For a more serious take on the Boleyns, check out Hilary Mantel’s Wolf Hall.)
5. Close to Shore: The Terrifying Shark Attacks of 1916, by Michael Capuzzo
What better subject to read about while splashing around in the ocean? Even better if you’re vacationing on the New Jersey shore (where these attacks took place).
6. Prep, by Curtis Sittenfield
While you may not find the 14-year old narrator of Prep likable, you can sympathize with her experiences as a middle-class student at a private boarding school. It’s a glimpse into an elite world through the eyes of an outsider, and I always find that fascinating.
7. Lost City of Z, by David Grann
The true story of a 1920s adventuring party lost in the Amazon while searching for an ancient civiliation. Preferably read on a neotropical beach.
8. Life of Pi, by Yann Martel
If you feel like tackling some some complex beach reading, I think Life of Pi is a good place to start. Though on the surface the story is fairly simple–after a shipwreck, a boy and some zoo animals are trapped together on a lifeboat–the dreamy writing and magical realism make it very memorable.
9. The True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle, by Avi
Get into a beach mood by reading about a female teenage pirate. This was a favorite when I was a kid!
10. The Hunger Games trilogy, by Suzanne Collins
I doubt I’ll be the only one to list these books! The Hunger Games and Catching Fire especially would be great to read while playing in the sand. (Just watch out for killer monkeys.)
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