Pack Your Beach Bag, Baby
Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly feature hosted by The Broke and The Bookish. Every week they post a new topic/top ten list and invite everyone to share their own answers. I'm so obsessed with lists - so it makes perfect sense that I'd love this feature!
This is one of my very favorite Top Ten Tuesday topics - favorite beach reads! When I did this topic last year, I decided to add a little personality to my list. Once again, my recommendations are sorted based on what you might be looking for in your beach read and some extra loot to complete the look. Enjoy and let me know what books or items you'd want with you at the beach!
Top Ten Beach Reads
A co-worker recently asked me for a book recommendation that was light, fun and had just a little bit of a love story. If that sounds like something you'd toss in your beach bag, look no further than Attachments by Rainbow Rowell. This quirky tale of friendship and falling in love will have you hooked!
If that touch of romance leaves you wanting more, dive into No Angel by Penny Vincenzi. The first book of this trilogy will introduce you the powerful Lytton family and pre-WWI England. This historical fiction family saga is incredibly addicting. Despite its length, you'll be swooning (and maybe occasionally swearing) your way through this series.
Want to sit on the beach and take a journey to another time and place? The Fever Tree by Jennifer McVeigh is the book for you! Travel to 1800s South Africa and discover a world of greed and exploitation. I flew through this book, even if I wanted to smack the heroine for being so stupid a time or two, and I think it'd be perfect for anyone wanting a little adventure across the globe.
Love the musical Chicago or the early 1920s? Toss The Girls of Murder City by Douglas Perry into your beach bag. This non-fiction book is anything but boring - it tells the true story the musical was based upon. It's an intriguing tale of crime and the beginnings of sensational media coverage. Don't be fooled by these doe-eyed ladies!
While There You'll Find Me by Jenny B. Jones has some serious moments, but it's also completely hilarious. Jones is so quick-witted and quirky - I absolutely adore her sense of humor. This book is so funny, relatable and touching. It's got a lot of depth and definitely isn't fluff, but it will certainly have you smiling (even if you're tearing up a little, too).
Is it any wonder that Someday, Someday, Maybe by Lauren Graham (yes, THAT one) makes this list? It was such a delightful book, and I had a huge smile on my face almost the entire time I was reading it. Graham is witty and her heroine is charming - this is one celebrity author that left me begging for more!
Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn is one of the most psycho books of a marriage gone wrong that I've ever read. I started it on a flight to San Francisco, and I found myself reading the last few pages in baggage claim. I absolutely couldn't put this book down! The characters are all kinds of crazy, and you'll be frantically flipping the pages to find out what happens next.
Need a more relatable kind of drama? Then check out The Lost Girls by Jennifer Baggett, Holly Corbett and Amanda Pressner. The travelogue tells the story of three friends who spent a year traveling the globe. From tight budgets to tense relationships, this kind of drama is perfect for a summer day by the ocean. Plus, it will totally make you want to take off and travel the world!
Sometimes the perfect beach read is one that's comforting and familiar - a book that you can casually pick up and fall back in love with the characters. The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett is a childhood read that would be a great beach companion. The wonder, the mystery and the sweet discoveries in its pages make for a perfect summer read.
Want a little something more? Time to toss Little Women by Louisa May Alcott into your beach bag. The four March sisters will make you smile, laugh, shake your fist and wish they were real. This family is all things comforting and warm. It's a book that will warm your heart while the sun is making you sweat. Sometimes, the summer just makes you want to return to an old friend.
Great picks!! I've got quite a few of these sat on my bookshelf ready to go, really need to get round to picking them up. Especially heard good things about No Angel and Lauren Graham's book! Can't wait!
ReplyDeleteMy TTT!
Hope you read both of those at some point! They're both such fun reads :)
DeleteIt's official--you have the cutest ideas EVER. What a fun way to spice up a TTT post!
ReplyDeleteThanks, Tara! This is one of my favorite posts to write each year!
DeleteLove the way you did this! I love these, especially the "make you laugh" one. I think that one would be my pick.
ReplyDeleteThanks :) I love the make you laugh one, too!
DeleteLove love love the way you've done this week's topic! I'm gonna have to use your list for my own summertime beach getaway - so inspiring :)
ReplyDeleteThanks! Hope you enjoy any of these if you end up reading them!
DeleteI am DYING over that yellow Anthropologie radio! So cute. We aren't headed to the beach until July but I'm already thinking about the books I want to bring--great list!
ReplyDeleteI love that radio too! SO ADORABLE!
DeleteI love love this list. I'm reading Attachments right now actually. :)
ReplyDeleteI LOVE THAT BOOK!
DeleteReally loved the way you've organised your list.
ReplyDeleteThank you :)
DeleteI was like ooh this looks familiar. :) LOVE the way you did your list, seriously. It makes me so happy you liked Attachments! Also, yes to Gone Girl and The Secret Garden. x
ReplyDeleteGlad you agree with some of my recs!
DeleteYou are seriously the most creative blogger EVER. I remember when you did this before, and I was amazed, but this list is even BETTER. Wow. Just, wow.
ReplyDeleteThanks Melissa! You're too sweet :) This is definitely a fun post to write.
DeleteI adore this post, partly because your graphics are beautiful and simple and cute and partly because you've included some really great book suggestions. I think, out of all of them, I'm the biggest fan of the ones that will make me nostalgic. I read both of those books when I was much younger, so it would be great to revisit them!
ReplyDeleteI love reading books that make me nostalgic in the summer! It's just such a great time to revisit some childhood reads!
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