Beach reads for every type of reader

This summer, consider skipping your swim lessons and take a dive into a good book on the beach instead. 

By Michaela Ely

Beach reads are often classified as lighthearted and easy to read, usually fitting within the genre of romance, psychological thriller, or contemporary fiction that usually features a female character.  

The target audience for a classic beach read would usually be female, however, a beach read can truly be for anyone as any book can become a beach read as long as you bring it to the beach. 

This list can’t be started without mentioning “Beach Read” by Emily Henry. It’s an exceptional romance between two polar opposite writers living in neighboring beach houses, where they challenge each other to write in the other’s genre. This is to break through their writer’s block, but they might just fall in love along the way. This book is emotional and you won’t want to put it down until you finish reading it. 

Stepping outside of these classic beach read genres, “Silver Elite” by Dani Francis is a more modern dystopian version of “Fourth Wing” by Rebecca Yarros. Both of these books have a top tier enemies to lovers romance that evolves throughout the book, but that’s where the similarities end. After a careless mistake made in front of the wrong people, Wren Darlington is forced to join an elite training program run by her enemies who persecute those with psychic powers. 

 There she meets Cross, the captain in charge of the Silver Elite and has to make sure that no one discovers her own psychic powers. This book has a variety of psychic powers, a well-developed political structure, and a slight Orwellian undertone. However, I would describe this book as more of a romantasy with dystopian aspects than a true dystopian novel. 

“Crazy Rich Asians” is most people’s go-to airplane movie, but it also happens to be part of a trilogy of books by Kevin Kwan. This entire series feels like summer in the best way possible.  

While the movie primarily focuses on Rachel Chu’s character, the books dive deeper into other points of view that are sometimes seen in the film. The trilogy primarily does follow Rachel and Nick but expands on the side characters you wish you knew more about in the film, as well as solving some mysteries that the film doesn’t show, like what Rachel’s birth father is doing. 

For any fans of science fiction, “The Martian” by Andy Weir is an approachable and terrifyingly realistic novel about what it would be like to be stranded on Mars. This book is genuinely hilarious, even when everything that could possibly go wrong goes wrong. The main character Mark Watney’s inner dialogue is something that no other author has been able to replicate for me. The blend of intelligence and comedic moments throughout almost creates this sense of connection between the reader and Mark.?As the reader, you can’t help but feel like this is a real person you’re rooting for to survive on Mars. 

This set of recommendations would not be complete without at least one murder mystery, and “Death on the Nile” by Agatha Christie is a perfect book to fit this slot. As Detective Hercule Poirot boards a boat to tour the Nile River on his own vacation, he is approached by a wealthy socialite to protect her from a stalker. All of Christie’s novels are easy to follow, but watching Poirot conduct his interviews and collect information is so entertaining that you can’t stop reading. 

While these recommendations range in genre and plot, it’s possible that you still haven’t found your perfect beach read. For those who are looking for more recommendations, check out your local library to see what books they have to offer.