Sandy beaches invite one to spread out their beach towel, slather on some SPF 30 and take a mind vacation to another place. A look at three lists of ten best beach reads reveals that the books people pack in their carry on is as varied as the individuals themselves.
The Top All Time Best Beach Books
A look at the recommended vacation books lists from three respected sources, revealed that not one title was the same across the board.
A 2009 poll conducted by National Public Radio revealed the Harry Potter Series, by JK Rowling to be the number one audience pick for best beach read.
- The list also included timeless classics like Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird, F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby and Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austin.
- More contemporary choices were Khalad Hosseini’s Kite Runner, Bridget Jones’s Diary by Helen Fielding, Secrets of the YaYa Sisterhood by Rebecca Wells, The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams, Fanny Flagg’s Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Café and The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingslover
In a recent "Reader’s Digest" article, “Unforgettable Beach Reads,” Select Editions Editor in Chief, Laura Kelly said of her choices, “These aren’t the usual big name literary suspects you’ll see elsewhere.” And indeed, “The Reader’s Digest” picks set a different tone than those put forth by NPR. The number one beach read there is The Blue Bistro, a romance set on Nantucket by Elin Hildebrand.
- Audrey Neffenegger’s The Time Travel’s Wife weighed in second, followed by The Summer I Dared by Barbara Delinsky, Nora Roberts’ Northern Lights, Good in Bed by Jennifer Weiner, Mosaic by Soheir Khashozzi, Can You Keep a Secret? By Sophie Kinsella, Elizabeth Kostov’s The Historian and How Tough Could it Be? By Austin Murphy.
"Good Housekeeping" weighs in with its article “20 Books to Tote on Vacation.” None of the books in the top ten appears on either of the other lists, reflecting the fact that all beach reads are not created equal. The list tops out with Maeve Binchy’s Tara Road.
- Anita Shreve and Jodi Piccoult make appearances with Body Surfing and My Sister’s Keeper consecutively.
- Two of the chosen, A Good Year by Peter Mayle and Frances Mayes’ Under the Tuscan Sun incorporate sunny climates.
- The Other Boleyn Girl by Phillipa Gregory, Mother of Pearl by Melinda Haynes, Love in the Time of Cholera by Gabriel Garcia Marquez and Sarah Dunant’s The Birth of Venus weigh in with historic themes.
- True Love and Homegrown Tomatoes by Julie Cannon completes the list.
Beach books come in all types from romance novels to classics. There is something for everyone while they sit in the sun with sand between their toes.
