Beach Reads To Bring on Your Summer Vacation

Right alongside the sunblock and sunnies is the true star of any well-stocked beach bag: the beach read. As a label, “beach read” can apply to multiple genres and formats. We’re not picky about our beach reads; they can be fiction or nonfiction, paperbacks, audiobooks, or e-books. A good beach read only needs to be a book you’d want to take to the beach and spend the day reading and relaxing with. The writing should be compulsively readable, and the story should be compelling enough to keep you coming back after your midafternoon nap.

Whether you’re planning a single day at the shore or need to stock a few selections for a weeklong trip, there are beach reads to suit every mood. Romance and fiction are great for escapism, while mystery and journalistic nonfiction provide something meatier to chew on. For true relaxation, pop in your earbuds and listen to an audiobook — try a memoir narrated by the author.

Check out some of our suggestions for summer beach reads, below.

Fiction

The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid

Any of Taylor Jenkins Reid’s books would be excellent on the beach, but this one in particular has a juicy gossip angle. Struggling journalist Monique lands the story of a lifetime when famously secretive star Evelyn Hugo agrees to open up about her life in order for her biography to be written. As Evelyn confides in Monique, it becomes clear that the smoke screen of Hollywood hid more than Hugo’s fans ever realized.

Circe by Madeline Miller

This retelling of Greek myths is all over the #BookTok circuit. Circe was a banished witch whom Odysseus encountered in Homer’s epic poem The Odyssey, but in this story, Miller focuses on Circe’s side and how she negotiated living between the Olympian gods and mortals. Like the original Greek myths, this book balances epic showdowns between powerful figures and deeply human stories of love and connection.

The Wedding People by Alison Espach

The first encounter Phoebe Stone has with the bride at this hotel destination wedding is jarring to the extreme. She’s the only one in the hotel who isn’t a guest of the wedding, but she spends the week striking up a friendship with the bride-to-be, smoothing over disputes, and navigating kooky wedding guests. Phoebe came to Newport, Rhode Island, to escape her own life, and finds a surprising alternative ahead.

Mysteries and Thrillers

Vera Wong’s Unsolicited Advice for Murders by Jesse Squanto

A murder mystery needs a great detective, and Vera Wong is a surprisingly fun sleuth. She’s an older, comfortable tea shop owner in San Francisco who loves a good armchair mystery, and when someone actually dies in her store, she uses her skills of deduction and her ability to slip around unnoticed to do what the police can’t.

The Examiner by Janice Hallett

Gela Nathaniel needs her new multimedia art course to work, or she’ll lose her university position. A motley crew of six students come from all over the map, possessing different skill levels and perspectives, and the titular examiner is meant to judge their coursework at the end of the first year. After sorting through the essays, emails, chat messages, journals, and more (which we get to read as well), the examiner is convinced of foul play against the students.

Romance

Book Lovers by Emily Henry

Though her book Beach Read is what launched her into the literary stratosphere, give Henry’s third novel, Book Lovers, a try. Nora Stephens is the ultimate big sister: She raised her younger sister Libby and has achieved all of her career dreams as a literary agent. When she and Libby go on a trip to a small North Carolina town for the summer, Nora runs into her work rival. Through the process of working together on one of Nora’s client’s books, they find something more than just a summer fling.

A Caribbean Heiress in Paris by Adriana Herrera

Rum heiress Luz Alana kicks off the juicy fun of Herrera’s historical romance series. When she arrives in late-19th-century Paris, she’s intent on saving her family’s business after her father’s death. It’s a time when most people won’t do business with a woman, so she reluctantly accepts help from Earl James Evanston Sinclair. The more Luz focuses on the liquor business, the more Evan falls in love.

The Ornithologist’s Field Guide to Love by India Holton

India Holton has made a name for herself in the cozy fantasy romance genre, and her Love’s Academic series is the perfect summer adventure. Beth Pickering and Devon Lockley are rival ornithologists (bird scientists) who are both experts in the murderous magical birds of their world. When they start another showdown in the Birder of the Year competition, sparks fly. You can also pick up the second in this series, The Geographer’s Map to Romance.

Nonfiction

Shakespeare: The World as a Stage by Bill Bryson

Bryson’s writing spans topics and genres, and his comfort with diving into new terrain makes his take on Shakespeare seem fresh. As large as Shakespeare looms in the history of theater, we still know very little about his biography. Bryson pieces together what does exist along with coverage of the historical context and how Shakespeare got so famous.

Bad Blood: Secrets and Lies in a Silicon Valley Startup by John Carreyrou

Before the public fallout and the television show covering the drama, Theranos was a simple idea from a Stanford student that captured the attention of Silicon Valley bigwigs. John Carreyrou’s tireless reporting exposed the ultimate sham at the center of Elizabeth Holmes’ company. The story of how so many people fell for the scam, and truly believed she could glean everything from a tiny drop of blood, is a rollercoaster.

Audiobooks

Emma by Jane Austen

Jane Austen reportedly endeavored to write Emma as a character no one would like very much, but the book is still delightful. The full-cast version of the audiobook (narrated by Emma Thompson) enhances Austen’s quick-witted dialogue and the comedic elements in Emma’s family and social circle. With daily promenades, parlor room gossip, and the romance of dancing at a ball, this is one of Jane Austen’s funniest stories, and well worth the full-case audiobook treatment.

Not My Father’s Son by Alan Cumming

Celebrity memoirs read by the author are an excellent option for the beach because the narrator usually has the acting chops to back up the story they wrote.Alan Cumming’s amazing life story and Scottish accent are worth listening to the audiobook format. In 2010, he found out world-shaking things about his grandfather and his father that totally upended how he saw himself.

Even More Books for Your Beach Bag

New Releases

Mark Twain by Ron Chernow (May 13)
Slipstream by Madge Mari (May 20)
Atmosphere by Taylor Jenkins Reid (June 3)
These Summer Storms by Sarah MacLean (July 8)
With A Vengeance by Riley Saeger (June 10)
Sounds Like Love by Ashley Poston (June 17)
A Happy Marriage by A.R. Torrie (June 24)

Featured image credit: bonetta/ iStock

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Julia Rittenberg

Freelance Writer

Julia Rittenberg is a culture writer and content strategist driven by a love of good stories. She writes most often about books for Book Riot. She lives in Brooklyn with a ton of vintage tchotchkes that her cat politely does not knock over.