Favorite Mindless, Unimportant Books for the Beach

[Anonymous]

Summer Sisters by Judy Blume

[Anonymous]

Reckless Girls by Rachel Hawkins

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I just finished Nora Goes Off Script recommended by another person as I great palate cleanser after the toughness of Demon Copperhead (thanks to that person). I absolutely LOVED it and think it would be a great beach read.

Me too, so much so that I preordered the author's new book and just finished it - also really enjoyed it. Same Time Next Summer.

[Anonymous]

I just read Apples Never Fall by Liane Moriarty and thought it was fun and would make a great beach read.

[Anonymous]

Probably falls into the "slightly literary beach read" category, but I think The Nest is great for this.

[Anonymous]

Loved Vera Wong’s Unsolicited Advice for Murderers by Jesse Sutanto. Sort of an Only Murders in the Building vibe. A funny murder mystery where it never gets too stressful.

[Anonymous]

Bridget Jones is still hilarious.
Girls guide to hunting and fishing is hilarious but also has profound moments. It’s the ltimate smart chick lit book.

[Anonymous]

That Summer by Jennifer Weiner is also a good one.

Minor Dramas and Other Catastrophes by Kathleen West is also really enjoyable.

Also loved Ruth Ware's The It Girl and Greer Hendricks The Golden Couple.

[Anonymous]

I would add Laura Henry and Catherine McKenzie to the list of authors to consider in this genre.

[Anonymous]

I also would recommend Alma Katsu - I enjoyed the Taker trilogy and her latest spy novels - Red Widow and Red London. Not as big a fan of her horror novels, but that's really on me.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I listened to Guest List by Lisa Foley on a recent beach trip and it was a fantastic beach listen. Her books are told from the perspective of multiple characters, which I don’t usually love, but each character is read by a different person in the audiobook so it ends up really drawing you in. I also just finished listening to Paris Apartment by her and it’s the same format (enjoyed it too). They aren’t the greatest books of all time but I found both audiobooks very immersive.

If you liked The Guest List, you'll probably enjoy The Hunting Party (also by Foley). I liked it almost as much as The Guest List, and more than The Paris Apartment.

I also echo the Elin Hilderbrand recommendations. I love all of her books, but her earlier ones are definitely better, from a literary perspective. "The Love Season" is one of my favorites by her. Mind you, it's still not "literary," but I do think her books have become increasingly formulaic over the years, so earlier stuff hits the right mix of lightweight but not completely fluff. (Not that I care -- I read everything she writes!)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Bridget Jones is still hilarious.
Girls guide to hunting and fishing is hilarious but also has profound moments. It’s the ltimate smart chick lit book.

Love both of these. I’ll add Prep and American Wife by Curtis Sittenfeld. American Wife is modeled after Laura Bush, my favorite of all her books!

[Anonymous]

My current pool book is The Measure by Nikki Erlick. Basically everyone 22+ gets a box one night and a string inside that correlates with the length of their life. The book follows 8 people with different string lengths. Very easy but enjoyable read