family reading

BEACH READS 2026

Posted on by vlaw759

As you all probably recall, my definition of a beach read is whatever people actually read at the beach. This year, twelve people ages 17-95, read the following 21 actual books (listed alphabetically by author).

Aykatsuki, Yukito: The Decagon House Murders
Baldacci, David: Absolute Power
Buchlman, Christopher: Between Two Fires
Ephron, Nora: Heartburn
Erdrich, Louise: The Mighty Red
Gaige, Amity: Heartwood
Green, John: Everything is Tuberculosis
Huckelbridge, Dane: No Beast so Fierce
Kapoor, Deepti: Age of Vice
Kraus, Daniel: Angel Down
Kendig, Laraba: Her Admiration for Mr. Darcy

Loeb, Jeph: The Long Halloween
Pavic, Milorad: Dictionary of the Khaars
Radford, Leigh: One Yellow Eye
Setterfield, Diane: The Thirteenth Tale: A Novel
Starlin, Jim: The Infinity Gauntlet
Taylor, Mary Ellen: The Sky Beneath Her
Yu, Vincent: Seek Immediate Shelter
Whitehead, Colson: The Colossus of of New York (two readers)
Whitehead, Colson: Harlem Shuffle
Whitehead, Colson: Cool Machine

The thirteenth member of our group lodged a protest: “I read! Just not books.” Perhaps in the future I’ll have to add substack and other online reads.

BEACH READS 2025

Posted on by vlaw759

As you all probably recall, my definition of beach reads is whatever people actually read at the beach. This year, fourteen people ages 16-94, read the following (in no particular order).

You may notice a lot of romance reads, in honor of National Read a Romance Novel Month.

The Great Gatsby, F. Scott Fitzgerald

Jack’s Fantastic Voyage, Michael Foreman

The Heartbeat of the Wild, David Quammen

The Golden Bowl, Henry James

Mrs. Digger’s Roots, Eleanor Friedlander

Lizzie’s Spirit, Charlotte Wellard

Sixteen Days at Pemberley, Susan Andriani

The Three Body Problem, Cixin Liu

Death’s End, Cixin Liu

Braiding Sweetgrass, Robin Wall Kimmerer

Rabid: A Cultural History of the World’s Most Diabolical Virus, Bill Wasik and Monica Murphy

Lock Every Door, Riley Sager

Silver Buckles, Grace Gibson

The Last House in Lambton, Grace Gibson

Black Woods, Blue Sky, Eowyn Ivey

The Stranger, Albert Camus

Look on the Heart, M. Stratton

Searching for Elizabeth, Cathleen Earle

The Backyard Bird Chronicles, Amy Tan

Love Your Life, Sophie Kinsella

There Are Moms Way Worse Than You, Glenn Boozan

And one podcast noted: If Books Could Kill, M. Hobbs and P. Shamshiri

Bottom Line: I can’t speak for or against any of these beach reads, merely put them forth as books chosen by people I love.

MY ANNUAL FAMILY BEACH READS BLOG

Posted on by vlaw759

As many of you know, my definition of a beach read is anything that is read while at the beach. So here we go, reads from my family beach week. This year we were twelve, ages 14-92. (For favorites of younger readers, see the latter part of this blog.)

Although a lot of required reading happened for an online master’s program in public health, I’ll spare you that list.

Without further ado, here are the pleasure reads, with comments when any were made. These fall into two categories: Brought Here and Found Here.

Brought Here

Found Here

For the Younger Crowd

Because my family isn’t getting any younger, I reached out to a friend for what her young relatives (ages 1 to 7) are enjoying. There’s been a bit of a theme all summer, even before they went to the beach!

Beach read
Beach read

Bottom Line: “Beach read” could mean any books read at the beach or books to prepare to go to the beach!

BEACH READING REALITY

Posted on by vlaw759

Every year, recommendations for “beach reading” or “summer reading” turn up everywhere. Sometimes, it’s just a list of what’s on some famous person’s summer list (like Rashida Jones, Bill Gates, or the faculty of Harvard Law School). For example, Barack Obama’s list got a lot of attention this year, and may have given a significant boost to “Southern noir” writer S. A. Cosby’s Razorblade Tears.

But do many people really look for—or follow—such reading suggestions? I, for one, am not a seasonal—or locational—reader. And I don’t personally know such people, either.

Once again I spent a great beach week with family, thirteen people ages 13 to 91. And here—in no particular order—are the books being read.*

* The four teenagers really didn’t contribute much this year!
** Necessary when someone is enrolled in an online master’s program.
*** Evidence that a series reader was on a roll.

Bottom line: Anything can be read anywhere, any season. “Beach reading” goes well beyond the beach. What are you reading now?

Terry Pratchett’s theory on beach reading.
from The Last Continent