Books for the Beach
Don't be scared, this list isn't just for women
I hate the term “beach read.” Or more specifically, I hate how beach reads are typically defined. Books that are labeled “beach reads” are known as light and fluffy, usually involving romance, and marketed exclusively towards women. Books in the beach read category often intersect with another identifier that I dislike: “women’s fiction.” More often than not, books are labeled women’s fiction because the main characters are women and the author is a woman. That’s it. I’ve read plenty of books that I wouldn’t say belonged in the beach read genre by any means - books that involved the exploration of intense and universal themes - that are labeled for women because a woman wrote it and the characters at the center of the book are women.
I find this demeaning. Books that are pulled out in the days leading up to Father’s Day that nearly always feature male protagonists - your police procedurals, historical fiction set during World War II, or action-packed westerns - are never labeled “men’s fiction.” They’re just fiction - the default setting. These books aren’t inherently more highbrow than “women’s fiction,” nor are they known for their nuance or exploration of complex themes. And yet these books aren’t called beach reads either. They’re thought of as part of a higher strata and therefore marketable for anyone, leaving women’s fiction and beach reads in a category assumed to be vapid and unsophisticated.
So I propose a new definition for beach read. I think beach reads should encompass any book that is in your comfort zone; one that is inherently fast-paced and readable for you. And while I know that this definition is hard to translate into marketing on a large scale, I think that’s the point. What one person enjoys as a lighter book varies based on the person, and isn’t inherently defined because of one’s gender or identity. Over the past year and a half, when it was sometimes hard to focus, I’ve come to appreciate my version of a beach read. Sometimes you need a book that is light and smart. And just because it is light does not mean that it is also devoid of tough topics or poorly written. In fact, as the following list will show, it’s quite the opposite.
I’d also like to note that this is not meant to be a summer reading guide. I’m hoping to send out one of those in the coming weeks, which will include books in a variety of genres, all fast-paced and readable to fill the niche of everyone’s version of a “beach read.” Until then I hope you enjoy the following list of some of my favorites in my personal beach read category, ordered alphabetically by last name.
Finlay Donovan Is Killing It - Elle Cosimano
Finlay Donovan is Killing It is a propulsive, smart, and fast-paced read - everything I like in my beach reads. Finlay is a financially struggling, recently divorced mother of two young kids. She is also a mystery writer. While at lunch with her editor pitching an idea for a new murder mystery that she was supposed to start months ago, Finlay gets slipped a note by the woman sitting next to them offering her $50,000 to kill her husband. While insistent that she does not want to get involved, Finlay can not keep her curiosity at bay and decides to inconspicuously meet the man she has been hired to kill. Once there, a series of mishaps create a snowball of events that plunges Finlay headfirst into the coverup of a murder at the same time that she is trying to solve it. Along the way, Finlay gets wrapped up in a police investigation and a run-in with the D.C. branch of the Russian mafia. While elements of the mystery can sometimes feel a little convenient, the book is overall creative and crisp. Cosimano adeptly pulls in little details that would normally be ignored by the reader to tie the mystery together and has created funny and charming characters that makes this book hard to put down.
Rating: 9/10
Party of Two - Jasmine Guillroy
Olivia is a successful lawyer who moves back home to California from New York to start her own law firm with her best friend. While she is looking for a house she moves into a hotel, and one night she meets an attractive and smart man at the bar. It’s only later that she discovers that the man was Max Powell, the United States senator for California. Having no interest in dating a politician or being swept into the public spotlight, Max and Olivia date in secret until their cover is blown and they are both forced to confront the viability of their relationship. Party of Two was the first book strictly categorized as a romance novel that I’ve read, and not only does it not disappoint, it is also not your stereotypical romance. It’s a book about politics and race and the intersection between the two. It’s also a book with smart and accomplished protagonists, particularly the female characters, who aren’t willing to sacrifice their own careers in the interests of men. If you like this book, Guillroy has a whole collection of books with overlapping characters that rotate the role of protagonist or a supporting role depending on the book.
Rating: 9/10
Beach Read - Emily Henry
January is a “women’s fiction” writer, struggling to overcome writer’s block after the loss of her father and desperate for her work to be recognized in the way that she thinks her books deserve. With a deadline looming, January goes to a beach house that her father has left her in his will to get away from distractions. When she gets there she accidentally reunites with Augustus, an old rival from her writing classes at college, who inadvertently lives next door and happens to be a renowned and respected author of literature. Hoping to force one another to respect the work that they each do, January and Augustus accept a challenge to write a book in the other’s genre, and along the way learn that their assumptions might have been just that. (They may also fall in love, but you have to read the book to find out.)
In many ways, Emily Henry uses Beach Read to make a similar argument to the one that I made at the beginning of this post. Augustus’ literary career has been full of accolades. His dark and brooding male protagonists are considered deep and complex. On the other hand, January has been relegated to the “women’s fiction” shelf, a favorite for book clubs full of women who don’t read the book, and placed in the “genre fiction” section at the back of a bookstore. I liked what Henry brought to the table, and the way that she turned our assumptions about beach reads and what the focus has to be for a book to be quality on its head.
Rating: 9/10
Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine - Gail Honeyman
Eleanor Oliphant is living a fine life. Her organized lifestyle, complete with timetables and routines that are never shaken, allow Eleanor to mask as best as possible the fact that she is lonely and struggling socially. Eleanor’s life begins to change when she meets a kind man at work named Raymond, and together they grow and expand one another’s horizons. This book is character driven rather than plot driven, which is perfectly fine given that Honeyman has created warm, smart, and humorous characters navigating their lives with a few well placed twists along the way.
Rating: 9/10
Red, White, and Royal Blue - Casey McQuiston
Red, White and Royal Blue is about the unlikely romance between Henry, the Prince of Wales, and Alex, the son of the president of the United States. Both boys grew up in the spotlight, and for most of their young adulthoods, disliked one another. When Alex and Henry get in an altercation at Henry’s older brother’s royal wedding, the PR teams at Buckingham Palace and the White House devise a strategy to make it look like the two men are good friends, which inadvertently develops into an unexpected secret romance. Mainstream romance novels typically feature heterosexual relationships, and I liked that Red, White and Royal Blue broke from this without making it seem abnormal in any way. In fact, the most abnormal (and entertaining) aspects of this book were the elite lifestyles that both men led as people adjacent to enormous power and attention. The conflict surrounding their relationship arises at the end, when the respective PR teams and families are forced to confront their own prejudices and priorities on if a famous family should present itself truthfully or not.
Rating: 9/10
The Flatshare - Beth O’Leary
Set in London, The Flatshare alternates between the perspectives of Tiffy and Leon, two strangers who decide to share a room in a flat (bed included) on the condition that they will never see each other. Leon, who works as a nurse on the night shift will sleep during the day on one side of the bed and be gone by the time that Tiffy, an editor at a small publishing company, comes home from work. As the months go by, however, Tiffy and Leon start to get to know one another through notes that they leave behind, sharing their issues and insecurities, and slowly become friends. It’s not a spoiler to say that they do eventually meet, but you will have to guess what comes after. This book is warm and full of heart, with equally enjoyable and fully-fleshed out characters.
Rating: 8/10
The Ex Talk - Rachel Lynn Solomon
The Ex Talk is set in the Seattle public radio station where the main characters, producer Shay Goldstein and journalist Dominic Yun, work. With the station struggling financially, Shay and Dominic’s boss put them together to host a new radio show about the nuances of relationships. The show is marketed as having two exes host, despite the fact that Shay and Dominic have never dated. As this is a romance, the outcome of this “haters become lovers” plot line is inevitable, as well as the public drama that unfolds when fans find out that the premise of the show was a ruse. What is not inevitable, however, is the interesting take that Solomon provides on public radio as well as power and gender dynamics in the workplace as Shay, a ten year veteran of the station, struggles to have her input and presence respected. Fans of NPR will find lots of relatable references that make this light read one with an unusual amount of substance. The Ex Talk is cheery and sweet, which is sometimes exactly the type of book that you need.
Rating: 8/10
One to Watch - Kate Stayman-London
One to Watch is the perfect example of a book that is able to tackle hard and complex issues while staying true to the story and genre. One to Watch is about Bea, a stylish and successful fashion blogger known for content that features plus-sized women. One night, while watching “Main Squeeze,” (a dating show modeled on The Bachelor), Bea goes on a Twitter rant arguing against the show’s complete lack of diversity, both in terms of race as well as body size. When the Twitter rant goes viral, Bea gets a call from the producers, offering her a chance to be the star of the show in the next season, which Bea reluctantly accepts after making the calculation that it could be good for her publicity and career. Interspersed with transcripts from podcasts, television interviews, and entertainment news articles, the rest of the book follows Bea and her journey on the show, which includes humorous as well as hard moments as she tackles expectations surrounding her body size in television and dating. This book stuck with me not least because of how clearly and effectively Stayman-London tells a clean and interesting story, while also drawing attention to the complicated rhetoric around body image and society’s standards of beauty.
Rating: 8/10
All Adults Here - Emma Straub
All Adults Here is the newest book by Emma Straub. Keeping with Straub’s typical focus in her novels, All Adults Here is about a family and their relationships. After watching a bus accident, Astrid, the matriarch of the family, begins to confront her own mortality and whether or not the life that she has lived so far is the type that she wants to continue living. Her adult children also appear to be drifting, each leading different lives and struggling to reconcile what being an adult really means with what their dreams and aspirations were from an earlier time in their life. Unlike some of the other books on this list, this is not a romance and it is not plot driven. It is a family story imbibed with rich and heart-warming characters that paint the portrait of a complicated and relatable family.
Rating: 9/10
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