CThis summer, you’ll be flocking to the sandy beaches. Perhaps they prefer perching under a tree near a riverbank or spreading out a towel in a small grassy area at a local pool. No matter where you’re dipping, I hope you’ve packed a book.
It’s officially ‘beach reading’ season, and as I prepare to switch off social media and close my laptop for a few weeks, I find myself staring at the wonky tower of novels on my bedside table. is paying attention to.
Days without plans are unfolding before my eyes. I have four children who are old enough to make their own lunches and survive boredom. If they need me, I’ll be languid with a hat on my head and a book on my face.
My local small beach is close to the bay but quiet. We go there every day, six of us and our dog trudging down the road, towels slung over our shoulders and a basket full of drink bottles and sunscreen. My partner holds an umbrella and I tuck a paperback book under my arm.
There are no lifeguards here, and there’s nothing you could call “surfing” here, but when the sun is out and the wind is light, it’s like a postcard.
Summer is the time to read all the books you haven’t been able to read all year.
Inevitably, you’ll bump into your neighbors and notice people in the distance who are hunched over looking for sea glass at low tide. Bodies lie on striped towels dotted on the sand, some preferring picnic blankets under pine trees. I walk around among my fellow bathers, subtly checking their literary tastes. Don’t worry. I don’t judge, but I must refrain from suggesting what you should read next.
Summer is the time to read all the books you didn’t get to read all year. Doorstops and shortlists that require a certain level of focused attention. Or maybe you want to frolic in a story that requires nothing more than the ability to skim and turn pages, deeply enjoying the lightness and frivolity it brings. We get it; fantasy romances are in high demand, and for good reason. When the end-of-year fatigue hits, reading for fun is the only way to go. If you can’t buy oysters due to budget constraints, aphrodisiac novels may be an option.
While new releases are sure to be appealing and get featured heavily under the tree, you may also find yourself nostalgic for novels that don’t mention texting or the pandemic and are asked to return to your bookshelf. OP The paperbacks that line the shelves of shops and are always found in the city library, gathering dust. Delivery news, pachinko, and the daughter of an orthopedic clinic. A favorite paperback book with a name scrawled on the cover, a yellowed receipt, and a forgotten bookmark.
When you leave, you’ll be envious of the opportunity to peruse the carefully selected bookshelf of your chosen Airbnb. Because everything you read in that villa is probably woven into your memories of that season. If the book is good enough, the characters will sit around the table like people, clinking glasses, peeling shrimp, adding another dollop of cream to berries.
Celebrity biographies and crime thrillers have always been popular with the beach crowd, and the current bestseller will likely be as ubiquitous as a toddler’s tantrum on a sandy beach. But have you ever considered short story collections for a refreshing afternoon by the seaside? They don’t get the attention they deserve, but if you’re interested, check out Jhumpa Lahiri, Georgia -You can’t ignore Blaine, Lily King, and Katherine Haney. A story before and after swimming. perfection.
But sometimes, when you take your whole crew on an annual vacation, you need an interesting story that spans multiple generations. When arguments start and bickering about children’s whining and parenting choices becomes a daily chorus, it’s easy to retreat into the pages of someone else’s family drama and ignore your own.
Of course, there’s always a chance that the book you decide to read this season will be one of your favorites. Cozy comfort, a moral compass, and an uplifting mission. Someday in the future, you’ll pull that beloved paperback off the shelf, a few grains of sand will fall to the floor, and you’ll remember exactly where you read it and how it made you feel.
There are only two rules for summer. Every body is a beach body. Any book will do.
Jody Wilson is the author of three books, including Practicing Simplicity and The Complete Guide to Postpartum: a mother-focused for life for birth of life, scheduled to be published in July 2025. It will be published in July. She writes weekly for Substack.
