Operational definition of beach reads: anything that’s read at the beach! Many of you know that I poll family members about their reading during our annual gathering at the beach. This year we were fourteen people, ages 15-93.
Actually, there was less reading than usual going on this year. One woman was submitting her thesis for a master’s degree in public health and another was job hunting. One man had two work-related zoom sessions. Two people had major cold symptoms, and one of those spiked a temperature a bit over 102—with weakness, sweats, and chills—and ended up in the ER from 11:00 p.m. to 4:00 a.m., with two others in attendance.
Nevertheless, without attribution, in no particular order, here is the list:
- The Face of Another, Kobo Abe
- Mr. Mercedes, Stephen King
- David Copperfield, Charles Dickens
- The Husband’s Secret, Lian Moriarty
- American Nations, Colin Woodard
- Honeysuckle Season, Mary Ellen Taylor
- Portrait of a Lady, Henry James
- Spare, Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex
- A Most Remarkable Creature, Jonathan Meiburg
- Hidden Mountains: Survival and Reckoning after a Climb Gone Wrong, Michael Wejchert
- Mrs. Digger’s Roots, Eleanor Friedlander and Wendy J. Collins
- Here Comes the Postman, Dorothea Park
- The Demon of Unrest, Erik Larson
- Brewed Awakening, Cleo Coyle
- Sense of Deception, Victoria Laurie
- Powder Days: Ski Bums, Ski Towns, and the Future of Choosing Snow, Heather Hansman
Bottom Line: I can’t speak for or against any of these, merely put them forth as books chosen by people I love.
