The Best Beach Reads for Your Summer Vacation
Here’s our ideal summer set up: We’re posted up in a lounge chair, looking out at the ocean. To our left is a table with a fruity frozen drink we were kind of embarrassed to order and a tube of sunscreen, because we’re responsible adults. On our lap is a book that’s quick to read and entertaining as hell. Here, 30 of the best beach reads that are sure to fit the bill.
1.
The Beach at Painter's Cove by Shelley Noble
Four generations of women reunite in their crumbling family mansion in Connecticut for a dramatic summer of family, secrets and sisterhood. Buy the book
2.
One Day We’ll All Be Dead and None of This Will Matter by Scaachi Koul
This razor-sharp debut story collection tackles everything from growing up as the daughter of Indian immigrants to awkward conversations with bikini waxers. Buy the book
3.
Perennials by Mandy Berman
Rachel and Fiona treasured their summers together as campers at Camp Marigold. Years later they’re reunited as counselors, but their relationship is more complicated. Buy the book
4.
Secrets in Summer by Nancy Thayer
For year-round Nantucket resident Darcy, Memorial Day means a sudden onslaught of people. Juggling two men she’s interested in, she’s thrown for a loop when her ex-husband rents the house next door. Buy the book
5.
Real Love: The Art of Mindful Connection by Sharon Salzberg
An expert in loving-kindness meditation, gives us tools to create deeper relationships using meditation techniques and mindfulness exercises. (To be done poolside.) Buy the book
6.
Made for Love by Alissa Nutting
In this hilariously raunchy and absurd story, a woman moves into a trailer park of senior citizens, where her roommates are her father and Diane—an extremely lifelike sex doll. Buy the book
7.
The Lake Effect by Erin McCahan
A funny and poignant YA novel about that fun and eye-opening summer between high school and college. Buy the book
8.
Seven Stones to Stand or Fall by Diana Gabaldon
Calling all Outlander fans: In this story collection Gabaldon dives deeper into the lives of side characters like Lord John Grey and Master Raymond. Buy the book
9.
When You Find Out the World Is Against You by Kelly Oxford
Twitter sensation Oxford waxes hilarious about everything from stalking her husband on an accidental date with another man to almost getting swept up into a tornado. Buy the book
10.
Rich People Problems by Kevin Kwan
From the author of Crazy Rich Asians comes an equally entertaining story about the unconventional Shang-Young family as they rush to the deathbed of their ailing matriarch. Buy the book
11.
You Don’t Look Your Age…and Other Fairy Tales by Sheila Nevins
In this essay collection, movie producer Nevins covers everything from working in a male-dominated industry to coping when your adult children won’t return your calls. Buy the book
12.
The Whole Thing Together by Ann Brashares
A summer-breezy novel about two former spouses who remarry and create new families but refuse to give up the beach house they once owned together. Buy the book
13.
Beautiful Bodies by Kimberly Rae Miller
Part memoir, part social history, Miller’s book is a powerful and relatable examination of how and why we try to control our bodies with food. Buy the book
14.
The Hideaway by Lauren K. Denton
A woman finds out that her grandmother willed her a bed-and-breakfast. Reluctant at first, she takes on the task of sorting through dust and memories to uncover her family history. Buy the book
15.
The Secrets of My Life by Caitlyn Jenner
Spanning her childhood, Olympic triumph and transition, Jenner's memoir dives deeper into the life of someone whose every move has been picked apart for the better part of a decade. Buy the book
16.
One Good Thing by Wendy Wax
In this novel, four estranged friends put their differences aside to work together to regain control of their renovation-slash-reality TV show, Do Over. Buy the book
17.
The Shark Club by Ann Kidd Taylor
When she was 12 years old, Maeve was bitten by a shark. Eighteen years later, she’s a marine biologist who feels more comfortable with her animal subjects than she does her human counterparts. Buy the book
18.
The Alice Network by Kate Quinn
Two women—a female spy recruited to the real-life Alice Network in France during WWI and an unconventional American socialite—are brought together in this gripping work of historical fiction. Buy the book
19.
The Sunshine Sisters by Jane Green
The queen of beach reads, Green’s back with the story of three distant sisters who are called home by their sick mother. There, old jealousies are confronted and unanticipated bonds are formed. Buy the book
20.
It Happens in the Hamptons by Holly Peterson
A woman moves to Southampton to be with her wealthy boyfriend, expecting bliss. She doesn’t expect having to navigate a society where no one is who they say they are. Buy the book
21.
Party Girls Die in Pearls by Plum Sykes
A brainy Oxford student discovers the dead body of a classmate and embarks on a glamorous and sinister investigation to find the killer. Buy the book
22.
The Good Widow by Liz Fenton and Lisa Steinke
Jacks’s marriage is already on the rocks when she gets the news that her husband died in an accident—with another woman. Along with that woman’s fiancé, she sets out to find the truth. Buy the book
23.
Cocoa Beach by Beatriz Williams
In Prohibition-era Cocoa Beach, Florida, love, betrayal and redemption—along with rumrunners and scoundrels—are par for the course. Buy the book
24.
Map of the Heart by Susan Wiggs
A widowed woman makes peace with the past and settles into life with her daughter in a sleepy coastal town. That is, until a mysterious package arrives and turns everything on its head. Buy the book
25.
Cork Dork by Bianca Bosker
An enlightening inside look at the wine industry, with peeks into underground tasting groups, exclusive restaurants, mass-market wine factories and even a neuroscientist’s office. Buy the book
26.
Same Beach, Next Year by Dorothea Benton Frank
One summer in South Carolina, two couples begin an unlikely friendship that lasts 20 years and sees them through triumph, heartbreak and everything in between. Buy the book
27.
Summer House by Hannah McKinnon
A woman summons her three grown children to the family beach house to celebrate their father’s 80th birthday, where she attempts to mend relationships that have frayed over the years. Buy the book
28.
Identicals by Elin Hilderbrand
In the latest from summertime staple Hilderbrand, twins Harper and Tabitha’s similarities end at their appearance. Then, after more than a decade apart, they switch lives in an attempt to save their splintered family. Buy the book
29.
Lowcountry Bonfire by Susan M. Boyer
A woman hires two private investigators to follow her husband, but when he turns up dead, his wife is the main suspect. The P.I.s uncover small town scandals and long-kept secrets to keep their client out of jail. Buy the book
30.
Theft by Finding by David Sedaris
Because don’t you always just wish you were on vacation with David Sedaris anyway? Buy the book
Wellness Director
- Oversees wellness content
- PureWow's resident book reviewer
- Has worked in lifestyle media for 11 years
