NBR - calling all bookworms! Rec me your favorite pool/beach reads

iceandsnowflakes29 · May 2016

Basically what the title says.

I love to read by the pool and I have a beach vacation in the fall. I'm in a bit of a reading rut. I love trashy reads like 50 shades and the crossfire series. I also like the Sookie Stackhouse series. Basically, I love a good series. However I like stand alone novels too.

Has anyone read anything good lately?

Any particular favorites?

TIA

mylittleversailles · May 2016

I'm a lifelong certified bookworm. I'm pretty sure my recs would mostly not be up your alley, but I do recommend 84, Charing Cross Road by Helen Hanff to everyone. It's a series of letters between an American writer and a bookstore in London that spans many decades post WWII. It's a funny, sweet and extremely touching story about friendship over distance. It's a good pool read; doesn't take more than an hour or so to read.

Have fun relaxing.

Spartanrd4 · May 2016

I am in a book club- this month we are reading When breath becomes air. It is about a physician who is diagnosed with terminal cancer and how he lives the last part of his life. Sad but it is good so far. Last series I read was Divergent..or Hunger Games if you haven't read those. If you like 50 shades, have you read Grey? Its the first 50 shades novel but told from Christian's point of view. It was interesting.

iceandsnowflakes29 · May 2016

I will check that out

thanks! I like non junk stuff too. The Stranger I read for school and loved. I also like Kate Chopin's The Awakening I liked. Death in Venice I also loved. It's dark though.

I've only come across two authors I can't stand and that's Joseph Conrad and Stephen King. Lol.

ETA wow I typed this while multi tasking and I can't believe how jumbled I sound! lol. Sorry about the grammatical train wreck! I'm not even fixing it cause it's hilarious.

mylittleversailles · May 2016

If you loved The Stranger (L'Etranger? Camus? I get a little confused sometimes with the translated names), you might try some of Antoine Saint-Exupéry's stuff aside from Le Petit Prince - my DH highly recommends Night Flight. French existentialists wrote some great stuff. And going back earlier, Voltaire's Candide is legit hilarious. Now my head's stuck in France, so I'll get back to you if I think of something outside of there.

Definitely no King recs from me.

SnobunnieMel · May 2016

When breath becomes air is an amazing read. I just finished the Danish girl and it was very well written. Moderately quick read though so I give that warning. I am crawling through the game of thrones series. They take forever

iceandsnowflakes29 · May 2016

Yes Camus! I couldn't remember his name!

iceandsnowflakes29 · May 2016

@Spartanrd4 yes I read Grey

I will admit I have not finished the last installment of the Divergent series. Someone told me it would piss me off. Lol. But I enjoyed the first two books.

JDMRS · May 2016

I got a good chuckle out of Camus as a beach/pool read. I was a lit major in college and I love a good complex story ripe for literary criticism as much as the next girl but I also love "fluff" because we can't all read Russian literature all of the time, now can we?

(and my day job is as an attorney doing tedious reading) I am in love with Tom Wolfe again and revisiting I am Charlotte Simmons.
@iceandsnowflakes29 Have you ever read Christopher Moore? His books aren't a true series, but there are plot lines and characters intertwined throughout his cannon. He is hilarious (IMO)- He combines the supernatural, science fiction romance and humor.
I also have a soft spot for Emily Giffin (Something Borrowed, Something Blue, The One and Only- maybe stay away from Babyproof depending on where you are in your journey.
And if you're looking for something racier- check out Anais Nin's Henry and June or The Story of O by Anne Desclos/Pauline Reage (sorry American keyboards make accent marks a nightmare.)

mylittleversailles · May 2016

Anais Nin's erotic short stories are pretty good, though I'd promised no more French. Especially good if you like a nice description of an opium den, which I do.

iceandsnowflakes29 · May 2016

@JDMRS I have a BA in English and I think that's why I appreciate junk reading occasionally. I read so heavy in school! I will check out Christopher Moore. I haven't read him.

Camus is definitely a beach read compared to some other stuff. I was ready to take a match to Absalom, Absalom. I will go to literary hell for saying that, I'm sure.

JDMRS · May 2016

@iceandsnowflakes29
Oh don't worry about that feeling- I believe it is universal.
I, for one, cannot stand Tolkien- it made my myth and hero class torture. It was so I read the cliff notes for the Hobbit. My mother was absolutely scandalized.

chloe97 · May 2016

Ha you ladies and your intellectual beach reads!

I'm going to low brow it and recommend Liane Moriarty's books. The Husbands Secret, What Alice Forgot, and Big Lies. All decently long, easy reads that keep you entertained! I read 2 on my honeymoon and one on our Mexican vacation in January.

mylittleversailles · May 2016

@chloe97 Don't get me wrong -- I love rotting my brain with all kinds of what might be called fluff, I just do it with video games and trash tv.

iceandsnowflakes29 · May 2016

@reneeannemm I'm addicted to Diablo 3. My husband and I play it together.

catiecatp · May 2016

Books I love - Left Neglected by Lisa Genova and Anchorboy by Jay Onrait were my last beach reads... On our next vacation I want to read Still Alice by Lisa Genova.

lilylover27 · May 2016

I second @catiecatp Left Neglected by Lisa Genova was excellent, I have read all here books. She also has Still Alice, Inside the Obriens and Love Anthony. They are all very good reads and have a basis in neurological diseases and brain disorders and she is a PhD in Neuroscience, but they aren't science heavy.

Ive been reading a lot lately to keep me distracted. I recently read Orphan Train by Christina Baker Kline and it was a good short read but be warned may be a TW as kids/pregnancy are mentioned. I am also a sucker for Nicholas Sparks and recently read his newer novel See Me and it was pretty good too!

catiecatp · May 2016

@lilylover27 - I have an MSc in behavioural neuroscience and can attest that the science seems solid in Left Neglected (the disorder is unilateral neglect - it usually affects the left visual field). My PhD is in cognitive psychology and so Still Alice (about a psychology professor (cognitive I think) who develops early onset alzheimers...) - Love Anthony I think is about autism.

I actually have a flight coming up - I have to prep - and love to knit while travelling - but I might pick up Still Alice just in case.

I also want to read Gifts of Imperfection soon...

lilylover27 · May 2016

@catiecatp I have a BS in Psychology with a minor in neuroscience so I loved reading the books too! Yes love Anthony is about Autism and Inside the Obriens is about Huntington's. While she touches on the science she does it in a way that even if you are not into the science or have a hard time understand it you will still enjoy the books. Still Alice was by far my favorite and I read it before watching the movie. I think she is the first author that I have read all their books. I believe she has said he next book would be about ALS.

ladipale · May 2016

Oh - I loved Still Alice! I read it in ONE sitting. I'll check out the others by same offer.

I just finished The Nightingale - it was good but does deal a bit with miscarriages if you are sensitive to that.

I like You Before Me (? - its about to be a movie) and the sequel (although I'll never finish it because I was reading it in the waiting room when I found out about my MMC)

I just started the new book by Curtis Sittenfield called Eligible - I loved her previous books. This one is supposed to be a modern retelling of Pride and Prejudice

iceandsnowflakes29 · May 2016

@ladipale you had me at pride and prejudice!

MissPrint1219 · May 2016

Have you read Gillian Flynn (Gone Girl, Sharp Objects, Dark Places)? Her stories always have a good, unexpected twist. For summer reading, I like anything by Jane Green, Anna Quindlen or Jennifer Weiner. The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo series if you haven't hit that one yet.

Spartanrd4 · May 2016

I love Gillian Flynn....I read all her books. You definitely need to be into sick and twisty.

MissPrint1219 · May 2016

Oh, yeah, @Spartanrd4! She needs to hurry and write some more.

dubcompanion · May 2016

@Spartanrd4 Did you say sick and twisty....? ::runs and grabs her Kindle:: Which book would you say is the juiciest??

@iceandsnowflakes29 There are a couple of books by Wally Lamb that I really like. I Know This Much is True and She's Come Undone are easily in my top 10. The former is a bit lengthy, but I devoured it. I loved the therapy/counseling aspects to the books, and I have an inkling that these kinds of stories led me to becoming interested in psychology. I'm a special education teacher and would eventually like to earn my doctorate in either psychology or writing (two different fields, I know, but I've got a long while to decide!)

MissPrint1219 · May 2016

@dubcompanion - You can't go wrong with either Dark Places or Sharp Objects. Gone Girl was great too, but since the twist is already out there, you'll lose out on the WTF moment :-)

dubcompanion · May 2016

@MissPrint1219 I actually, honestly, truly have no idea what the twist in Gone Girl is! I tend to be an oblivious person; maybe it's finally paying off, lol. I'll read that first before I do start paying attention.

MissPrint1219 · May 2016

@dubcompanion - Go immediately to the Kindle store! LOL. I think you'll really enjoy the psychological aspects of all three books :-)

dubcompanion · May 2016

@MissPrint1219 On it!!

BornReady · May 2016

I saw this list today and plan to work through these. I need some mindless entertainment in my reading life! The last few books I've read have been serious downers.

https://media.bookbub.com/blog/2016/05/26/new-beach-reads-summer-2016/

silentP · May 2016

@dubcompanion I am finally reading "I Know This Much is True," after wanting to for years. I was a bit overwhelmed by the length at first, but I loved it right away. I still have many pages to go.

In the past few months, I have read "The People in the Trees," (a bit disturbing but very good) and "Middlesex," which has stayed with me long after I finished it. I did read "Water for Elephants" finally, too, but while it started out promising, I feel it fell a bit flat. A quick read, though.

I enjoyed Gillian Flynn's novels, too!

JDMRS · May 2016

@MissPrint1219 I saw Jennifer Weiner at the grocery store by my job and geeked the f out...she lives near my office apparently.

iceandsnowflakes29 · May 2016

@dubcompanion I love She's Come Undone. I read that in high school for pleasure and it is still a favorite. I also liked White Oleander ( it's not a wally lamb book. I forget who wrote it).

MissPrint1219 · May 2016

@JDMRS - EEEK!!! If I ran into her I would likely turn into a blithering idiot. I still quote the line from In Her Shoes: "Clothes never look good. Shoes always fit."

Spartanrd4 · May 2016

@dubcompanion I think sharp objects is the twistiest, then gone girl....then dark places. Read them all! I also read Girl on the Train which is really similar to the other books just written by another author.

If you like true crime I read In cold Blood by Capote....was really good too.

MissPrint1219 · May 2016

@Spartanrd4 - I was wondering about Girl on a Train. Now I've got another book to add to my list :-)

dubcompanion · May 2016

@iceandsnowflakes29 I read "She's Come Undone" in HS too! I think that's a very impressionable age to read it.

Its quotes and passages have stayed with me through the years.
I loved the book "White Oleander too. The movie wasn't great but I like it by default, since it's the closest I'll ever see the story played out.

@Spartanrd4 Thanks for the recs!

Another book that I loved and has stayed with me through the years is "The Red Tent" by Anita Diamant. I think there is a TV miniseries of it, but I can't bring myself to watch it. I have such a specific visual of the story in my head. I'm willing to let people do stuff to Harry Potter on screen. I'm okay with that. The Red Tent? Eh...

catiecatp · May 2016

@dubcompanion - I feel the same way about Anne of Green Gables - I'm willing to let them do different things with it for an on stage performance but the movies drive me nuts for all the things they get wrong.

dpjennifer · May 2016

As someone with a long, and sometimes excruciating, commute, I listen to audiobooks constantly, and usually more 'fun' type books that aren't as intellectual. So, here are some recent ones I found that were pretty awesome:
Hounded by Kevin Hearne
Cinder by Marissa Meyer
Soul Screamers: My Soul to Take by Rachel Vincent

I also really enjoy reading Kate Quinn novels, "Mistress of Rome" was the first one in a series I believe.

JDMRS · May 2016

@iceandsnowflakes29 Thank you for starting this thread. I just put my list into the library site (my city has an amazing library system which I use as much as possible!) and I will have 15 new books to read shortly. I am really looking forward to reading on my vacation. Good thing we are driving because I have about 50 pounds of books now.

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