Oh, Internet, I need your help! We leave for a beach vacation on Friday, and I don't know what books to bring along. Sad days indeed when a literature major doesn't know what to read. Can anyone recommend some good beach reads? I'm mostly looking for fiction, but non-fiction would work, too.
Here are some of my favorite novelists, to get the ball rolling: Jane Austen, Edith Wharton, P.G. Wodehouse, C.S. Lewis, J.R.R. Tolkien, J.K. Rowling, Dorothy Sayers, P.D. James, Elizabeth George, Madeleine L'Engle...
12 comments:
It is tough recommending a book without truly knowing your tastes. But, that won't stop me! Here are a few I have enjoyed, and your list of authors you like is similar to mine.
Firstly, this is not a novel, but it reads like one! "A Severe Mercy" by Sheldon Vanauken is one of the best written story of a couple's Love and their subsequent coming to Christ at Oxford, with a lot of influence by CS Lewis, who became a close friend. Honestly amazing.
Now, this sometimes falls under juveline fiction, but I'd only categorize it that for the somewhat easy-reading, not the story's content. Mollie Hunter's "A Pistol in Greenyards" is historical fiction of a village during the Highland Clearances of Scotland. Amazingly educational & gripping! A must-read, if you like learning history with a little fun.
Sorry that's all for now. "Jane Eyre" by Charlotte Brontë is not dark and I like a little suspense!
Have a great time at the Beach!
Whoops, that was me. Sorry!
Have you read Lewis' Till We Have Faces? You might really enjoy that...
Read the Lilith's Brood trilogy by Octavia Butler or the Alvin Maker series by Orson Scott Card.
Two recent favorites of mine:
Peace Like a River (Leif Enger)
This Heavy Silence (Nicole Mazzarella - teaching at Wheaton now!)
Older favs:
anything David James Duncan ever wrote
Anne Lamott's novels (after I devoured Traveling Mercies)
Nick Hornby novels (read AFTER the movies in a surprising twist - especially good for beach reads)
There's also a few P&P follow-up books, something like the author's view of what happened after Austen's closed out her novel. Might be fun!
I could use some recommendations too, so I'll check back and see what others have to suggest.
How serious do you like your beach reads to be? I usually end up bringing lots of light reading to the beach, and plow through 1-2 books a day :-)
On a serious note, I just finished reading "facing terror" by christian missionary carrie mcdonnall (sp?), which was excellent, and perfect if you can have a good cry.
On a lighter note, I just read some of the "Shopaholic" books by Sophie Kinsella, which were a nice escape.
I also did a nice "walk back through time" by reading the complete Anne of Green Gables selection...Ah, Avonlea!
"Sorcery and Cecelia" by Patricia Wrede and Caroline Stevemeyer is a light and frothy read that combines Jane Austed and Harry Potter. Truly, you'll love it.
Also, Patricia Wrede's Enchanted Forest Chronicles is also awesome. Light and easy without being brainless. The perfect beach read.
Let me know if you like them!
I echo Sara E's recommendation of "Peace Like a River." Kenneth had recommended it to me and I devoured it. Very well crafted words that really draw you into the story and you feel just as if you're living it.
I heard the "new" Tolkien book is good (The Children of Hurin).
Oh and a non-fiction. The Tipping Point was a really fun and intriguing book - a good non-fiction beach read.
I just read and loved Mansfield Park. I am attempting to read all of Jane Austen this year. Emma is up next for me, but i haven't had a chance to get into it. I read Sense and Sensibility earlier this year and loved it too!
Wow - thanks for all the recs! I won't get to all of them on vacation, but I've picked up a few from the library and I'm looking forward to reading!
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