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Recommend your must-read beach books
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Anonymous
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This is 10:37 - for the PP going to the spa (jealous!), here's some more favorite Chick Lit. The Help by Kathryn Stockett (probably a big duh since everyone has read it) and the Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer. Guernsey is set on Guernsey Island during WWII and it is all letters and it is adorable and sweet and fairly predictable but a pleasure to read, too. Like another PP, I also have enjoyed Emily Giffin's books (the first two anyway) which are pretty well done chick lit.
More substantive than chick lit but still qualifies as good beach reading is anything by Julia Glass - relatively easy reading but fabulous families and characters and stories. I've read all of her books except the brand new one and have thoroughly enjoyed them all. Also, OP, if you haven't read the Stieg Larson books and you like mysteries, those are total page turners and perfect beach reading. I don't entirely get the worldwide hype but I definitely read them quickly. And they're cheap on the Nook! |
Anonymous
| I have enjoyed some books by Kristin Hannah...of those that I have read, I prefer On Mystic Lake and Magic Hour. These would be perfect beach or spa reads! Yes, they are a little predictable but each has a twist to it that makes it more than just chick lit (i.e. they are not about shopping, weddings, or living in London as a magazine writer -- although, there is a place for those books as well!). |
Anonymous
| I'm usually a chick-lit reader, and have no interest in sci-fi, but I highly recommend the Hunger Games trilogy. It's technically written for teens, like the Twilight series, but it is fantastic. I downloaded the first one (Hunger Games) on my nook and basically couldn't put it down until I finished it. I was hiding my nook inside of reports at work so I could keep reading, and then I downloaded the second one (girl on fire) the second I finished it. The last one in the trilogy (Mockingjay) isn't quite as good, but still will reel you in. |
Anonymous
| OP here- thanks everyone! You've given me great ideas! I have actually read the Steig Larsson series and agree with everyone that they were all excellent, and I've read every single Ken Follet book, so I'm glad to see them getting recommended! Thank you all!! Keep 'em coming, maybe we'll get a really great list going for everyone to enjoy! |
Anonymous
The ultimate chick lit - the Shopaholic series by Sophie Kinsella!! The first ones are the best - Confessions of a Shopaholic, Shopaholic Takes Manhattan and Shopaholic Ties the Knot - total fluff, fun, witty reads. I ditto the rec for anything by Julia Glass, esp Three Junes, but that is more substantive reading - I'd still read Glass's books at the beach, but compared to the Shopaholic books it's like reading Tolstoy  Also, have you read anything by Alice Hoffman, like Practical Magic or The River King? Sort of a mystery/magic type books - really good beach reads! So jealous of your trip - enjoy!
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Anonymous
If you haven't read the Jennifer Weiner books yet, try them! Good In Bed and Certain Girls (the sequel to Good in Bed) are my favorites by far. Similar but even lighter are the books by Allison Winn Scotch. Sweet and nostalgic -- I liked them both a lot. In the not quite "frilly girly chick lit" category, but still beach-friendly, I'd say Time Travellers Wife and Art of Racing in the Rain. |
Anonymous
| I second Diana Gabaldon's Outlander. You won't be able to put it down. |
Anonymous
10:50 here who recommended Anita Shreve - I've also read "The Pilot's Wife" which is probably her most famous book since it was an Oprah pick. I really liked that one, too, and it was somewhat shocking (in a good way). You can also try "All He Ever Wanted". Enjoy your weekend - I'm jealous! |
Anonymous
| Pillars of the Earth is like crack; you can't get enough once you start. |
Anonymous
| I'm not a big chick lit fan, but I've read some Jennifer Weiner and her books are very enjoyable, kind of like the old Susan Isaacs books. For the beach this past summer I loved Jonathan Tropper's book, "This is Where I Leave You." Hysterically funny and also very well done. I then read "Bush Falls," which is also good, but you could tell it was done earlier in his career. |
Anonymous
| Marian Keyes is good for chick lit. Sophie Kinsella also rights under the name of Madeline Wickham and some of those books are fun (fluff, but fun!) I also highly recommend the Sunday Philosophers Club series by Alexander McCall Smith (can't remember the exact title, it is something like that). If you like books set in France, try Diane Johnson's Le Divorce, and Joanne Harris (Chocolat and its sequel are good, but I've pretty much liked all her books). Nick Hornby (I'd go with About a Boy or High Fidelity maybe). For something a little meatier, try Zadie Smith's White Teeth or Richard Russo (really liked Empire Falls and Nobody's Fool). Or you can go old school with a little Nancy Mitford or even Edith Wharton. Finally, gotta recommend I Capture the Castle by Dodie Smith. |
Anonymous
| Sheehs, writes, not "rights." Multitasking! |
Anonymous
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I read the HUmnger Games and liked it but don't recommend for a beach read -- kind of depressing what with everyone dying, you know?
I recommend The Other Boleyn Girl by Phillippa Gregory. It's basically a trashy romance novel, only not so trashy, and you won't feel silly reading it because it sounds historical.  Plus, it's pretty good!
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Anonymous
| I love anything by Kristen Hannah. The first one I read was Firefly Lane which I really really loved. The characters were very likable. |
Anonymous
| Just wanted to add that since you have a Nook you can check out ebooks from the library for free. |