Good Beach Reads?

[mudbug]

Wasn't at the beach (that's next month) but killed several hours at the DFW airport reading The Devil Wears Prada.

Funny, quick read about the fashion industry in New York and the poor schlumps known as personal assistants. Kind of along the lines of The Nanny Diaries.

So now I need some fluff to read when I actually go to the beach! Has anyone read any of those Sweet Potato Queens books? How about the No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency series?

 

[Alix]

Haven't read either but I hear the Ladies Detective agency books are good. I think I would recommend Lisa Gardners new one, Gone. Robert B. Parker's Sea Change was good. (He is a fast read and doesn't disappoint, any of the Spenser, Jesse Stones, or Sunny Randalls are good) Have you read any Shirley Rousseau Murphy? Hers are good for a beach read.

I personally am looking forward to Janet Evanovich's new one this summer.

 

[Trip]

Haven't read any of them, rereading V.C. Andrews older series now, then might reread one of my Harry Potter books... we'll see. lol

 

[The Z]

The best beach reeds.

Just my opinion, of course

 

[wasabi]

Excellent choices, The Z.

 

[pdswife]

How about an oldie.... Wizard of Oz
Lord of the flies
The old man and the sea
For whom the bell tolls
Dante's inferno
To kill a mockingbird

Or something by James Patterson, all of his books are really good.
If you like historical romances Victoria Holt is great. Pride of the Peacock
and Spring of the tiger are two that I really enjoyed.

 

[corazon]

If you haven't read The Time Traveler's Wife, you are missing out on a great book! It's by Audrey Niffenger. One of my faves of all time!

 

[Claire]

Oh, pdswife, please. Those are absolutely great books, but BEACH reading is about relaxation. I love The #1 Ladies Detective books!! Victoria Holt! I haven't read anything by her since I was 20, and that was 30 years ago! But yes, she qualifies. Any pet lovers will like Braun and Brown books (two different authors, both of whom feature cats in their mysteries)(yes, frivolous, but that IS the idea of beach reading).

Right now I'm skimming American Vertigo by a Frenchman named Levy. Definitely NOT summer reading, but I want to mark some chapters to read to my shut-ins. He is insightful, but very negative. NOT what you want to read on the beach.

84 Charing Cross Road took me two hours to read aloud, so you know it's a short one, but an oldie worth revisiting. So now I'm reading its sequel, The Duchess of Bloomsbury. That's my 'reading aloud' program.

 

[GB]

I haven't read either of those Mudbug, but SW has read the Sweet Potato Queens books and loved them. She thought they were hilarious.