Best Beach Reads Display
The general definition of a beach read is a book that is enjoyable, easy to read, and entertaining. Now, my definition of enjoyable and your definition of enjoyable may be very different, which is why it's so important to find books that YOU like rather than just reading the books everyone is talking about. But if you're looking for a book that will capture your attention and maybe let you read away a Saturday, check out some of these titles:
Brit Bennett's "The Vanishing Half" is an engrossing page-turner about family and relationships that is immersive and provocative, compassionate and wise. Weaving together multiple strands and generations of this family, from the Deep South to California, from the 1950s to the 1990s, Brit Bennett produces a story that is at once a riveting, emotional family story and a brilliant exploration of the American history of passing. "The Vignes twin sisters will always be identical. But after growing up together in a small, southern black community and running away at age sixteen, it's not just the shape of their daily lives that is different as adults, it's everything: their families, their communities, their racial identities. Ten years later, one sister lives with her black daughter in the same southern town she once tried to escape. The other secretly passes for white, and her white husband knows nothing of her past. Still, even separated by so many miles and just as many lies, the fates of the twins remain intertwined. What will happen to the next generation, when their own daughters' storylines intersect?"
"Next Year in Havana" by Chanel Cleeton is set in Havana, Cuba in 1958. "After the death of her beloved grandmother, a Cuban-American woman travels to Havana, where she discovers the roots of her identity--and unearths a family secret hidden since the revolution ... Havana, 1958. The daughter of a sugar baron, nineteen-year-old Elisa Perez is part of Cuba's high society, where she is largely sheltered from the country's growing political unrest--until she embarks on a clandestine affair with a passionate revolutionary ... Miami, 2017. Freelance writer Marisol Ferrera grew up hearing romantic stories of Cuba from her late grandmother Elisa, who was forced to flee with her family during the revolution. Elisa's last wish was for Marisol to scatter her ashes in the country of her birth. Arriving in Havana, Marisol comes face-to-face with the contrast of Cuba's tropical, timeless beauty and its perilous political climate. When more family history comes to light and Marisol finds herself attracted to a man with secrets of his own, she'll need the lessons of her grandmother's past to help her understand the true meaning of courage--and what it means to be Cuban." Cleeton is known for her books set in tropical and oceanfront climates--a perfect match for a day of reading at the beach.
If you're looking to try reading a classic while on vacation, why not check out "The Great Gatsby" by F. Scott Fitzgerald. Even if you read it as part of an assignment in high school English class, this one is really worth a reread. "The mysterious Jay Gatsby embodies the American notion that it is possible to redefine oneself and persuade the world to accept that definition. Gatsby's youthful neighbor, Nick Carraway, fascinated with the display of enormous wealth in which Gatsby revels, finds himself swept up in the lavish lifestyle of Long Island society during the Jazz Age. Considered Fitzgerald's best work, 'The Great Gatsby' is a mystical, timeless story of integrity and cruelty, vision and despair. The timeless story of Jay Gatsby and his love for Daisy Buchanan is widely acknowledged to be the closest thing to the Great American Novel ever written."
Science fiction more of your genre? Check out the much-hyped "Annie Bot" by Sierra Greer. "Annie Bot, created to be the perfect girlfriend, is trying hard to please Doug. She's learning, too. But as she becomes more human, her relationship with Doug grows more intricate and difficult." This title looks at the relationship between a female robot and her human owner, exploring questions of intimacy, power, autonomy and control.
And if you're looking for a really fun read, check out Jesse Q. Sutanto's "Dial A for Aunties." "What happens when you mix 1 (accidental) murder with 2 thousand wedding guests, and then, toss in a possible curse on 3 generations of an immigrant Chinese-Indonesian family? You get 4 meddling Asian aunties coming to the rescue! When Meddelin Chan ends up accidentally killing her blind date, her meddlesome mother calls for her even more meddlesome aunties to help get rid of the body. Unfortunately, a dead body proves to be a lot more challenging to dispose of than one might anticipate-especially when it is accidentally shipped in a cake cooler to the over-the-top billionaire wedding that Meddy, her Ma, and her aunties are working, at an island resort on the California coastline. It is the biggest job yet for their family wedding business-"Don't leave your big day to chance, leave it to the Chans!"-and nothing, not even an unsavory corpse, will get in the way of her aunties' perfect buttercream-cake flowers. But things go from inconvenient to downright torturous when Meddy's great college love-and biggest heartbreak-makes a surprise appearance amid the wedding chaos. Is it possible to escape murder charges, charm her ex back into her life, and pull off a stunning wedding, all in one weekend?"
You'll find these and lots of other titles in our "Best Beach Reads" display. For additional title suggestions, see the lists below:
