Tuesday, June 11, 2013

Top Ten Tuesday -- Top Ten Best Beach Reads



For the future Top Ten schedule and how to participate go HERE!




1. Jamie's pick: Golden by Jessi Kirby-- If you are a reader of contemporary YA this one is fabulous. It's light but not TOO fluffy if you like some substance from your beach read. Made me think a bit plus the subtle mystery kept me going!

2. Bridget's pick: Having just finally read Matched by Ally Condie, I would recommend that for a good beach read. In fact, I just lent my copy (by which I mean my sister's copy, oops, but I bought it for her so...) to a coworker for a vacation she'll be going on soon. I didn't love it, but it kept me interested and was definitely a quick, mostly fluffy read.







I've Got Your Number 3. Jana's pick:  I've Got Your Number by Sophie Kinsella

Here, we have an adult contemporary about a girl about to get married... and she loses her engagement ring at a party. And then her cell phone. So, she finds a random cell phone in the garbage and uses that. Turns out, it ended up in the garbage by mistake and the owner wants his phone back. She refuses because she has already given the number to EVERYONE to call if they find her ring. She becomes his answering service, reporting to him whoever calls. Hilarity and a bunch of swoony romance ensues. It's the perfect light, summery read!



4. Julia's pick for romance: A Rogue by Any Other Name by Sarah MacLean
This one is one of the books I have read in summers past and it is a nice fun read, but not too fluffy. It's about a group of scoundrels who run a gaming hell in London. This and the second book One Good Earl Deserves a Lover were both five star reads for me.







5. Julia's pick for fiction: Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen
This is a book I actually did read on the beach. It is so easy to get caught up in this world of the circus and time past. If you saw the movie, just forget that and read the book. It is great!




6.  Lori's first pick:  North and South by John Jakes
This is the first book in a trilogy that follows two men--one from the North and one from the South--from their days at West Point to their service in the Mexican-American War through the Civil War and Reconstruction.  It's a very quick historical fiction read.  I haven't finished yet, but I am definitely looking forward to.







7.  Lori's second pick: The Marriage Plot by Jeffrey Eugenides
I've been reading this one quite a bit lately.  The story follows a girl who is writing her senior thesis about the marriage plot that you find in Jane Austen and George Eliot.  It's a book for people who love books and reading for pleasure.  I find myself relating to the main character and--surprisingly--missing my days as an undergraduate literature major.







8. Tahleen's pick: Since You're Leaving Anyway, Take Out the Trash by Dixie Cash
Or any other book in the Domestic Equalizers series. This is the first one, and it's a funny mystery with kickass amateur sleuths and some nice romance thrown in there. It's a fast, humorous read with a plot that will keep you turning the pages—perfect beach reading.





9. Tahleen's second pick: Where'd You Go, Bernadette by Maria Semple
Told through a series of emails, legal documents, letters, and other various documents, broken up here and there with the first-person perspective of Bernadette's 14-year-old daughter Bee, we learn firsthand about the quirky title character's personality and outlook, and her behavior, before she disappears one day. Full of humor and plenty of mystery, there were so many twists and turns that I honestly had no idea how it would all play out in the end.






10. Paula's Pick:  The Princess Bride by William Goldman
Most people I've met know and love the movie The Princess Bride... but few realize that there is a real book that was written as well (not just the grandpa reading it to a sick kid). The novel makes up a classic epic story that an editor has found and decided to abridge into a "good parts" edition. This lets brilliant things such as footnotes and side stories exist. Such as- an "editor's note" explaining that he's removed an entire chapter where Buttercup is trying to decide what hats to bring along to the castle. It's a really fun light read- aka perfect for a day at the beach!



Check out this list of new & best beach reads for this year!

51 comments:

  1. Sophie Kinsella made my list as well. She's PERFECT for the beach. I also just got a copy of GOLDEN and cannot wait to read it!

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  2. Love the varied picks on this list! I think THE PRINCESS BRIDE is a perfect pick for summer.

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  3. Shockingly I have never read the Princess Bride!!! I love that movie!!

    Angie

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  4. I went for beach-y covers :)
    http://booksabc.com/2013/06/10/top-ten-tuesday-strandlasning/

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  5. So many of my favourite books on this list!!! Although I suspect that Sophie Kinsella has now earned lifetime status on the "Best Beach Reads" ranking board. There's just something about her books that calls for sunscreen and sand toys. Love the addition of "Where'd You Go, Bernadette?" - one of my favourite books to recommend these days, especially now that it's in paperback!

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  6. I have yet to read the Princess Bride but I did know about the book. Might have to pick that one up.

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  7. Oh I can totally seeing Water for Elephants being a good beach read!

    My Top Ten

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  8. Great list! Sophie Kinsella is definitely perfect for a summer/beach/vacation read. Ditto re: Where'd You Go Bernadette (though I haven't read it...yet)

    My TTT

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  9. Where'd You Go Bernadette made my list too. Such a quirky book!

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  10. Great picks! I need to read Matched. I've heard good things about it, but just haven't gotten to it in my never ending TBR pile lol.

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  11. It shows you how diverse interpretations of "beach read" can be when Sarah Maclean and Jeffrey Eugenides are on the same list! I love them both, but they are so different!

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  12. Sophie Kinsella was on my list too. . . and The Princess Bride was close to making it on there too, amazing book!

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  13. Ha! I thought I was the only one who'd have John Jakes on my beach reads list! Nice choices here. Bernadette is terrific, of course, and you definitely can't go wrong with The Princess Bride!

    Lisa

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  14. I've heard great things about the Sophie Kinsella book listed.

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  15. I chose Sophie kinsella too, I like this
    List, want to read where'd you go Bernadette too!!

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  16. Yep, romances make perfect book reads! So Sarah McLean would be a great choice for me. But I'd also add in Golden as an easy, smart, beautifully written YA book (I haven't read this one yet, but that's what JK's other two books were like for me!).

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  17. Great beach reads!

    My TTT:
    http://evelinesbooks.blogspot.nl/2013/06/top-ten-tuesday-3.html

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  18. I actually read Matched on the beach and it was a good beach read! Too bad I didn't find the next two books as swoon-worthy.

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  19. The Princess Bride is one of my favorite movies but I've never read the book. I may make it one of my beach reads this year! :)

    My TTT

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  20. I've read a couple of the books on your top ten-great picks! I still need to read "I got your number", I love Sophie Kindsella

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  21. Thank God you all threw in The Princess Bride at the end or I would've gone 0 for 10 this time. (although I do own Like Water for Elephants - I just haven't gotten to it yet)

    I'm doing a list anyway.

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  22. I adored I've Got Your Number and A Rogue by Any Other Name!

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  23. You all have some great beach reads listed. I bought Water for Elephants awhile ago and it's been buried in my TBR list. I need to dig it out! Thanks for a great list.

    My TTT

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  24. I keep meaning to read The Princess Bride. My hubby owns a copy. He read it and said it was good... and I just look at it occasionally, think about picking it up and then I read something else.

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  25. Golden is on my reading pile, but I haven't gotten to it yet. Looks like this summer is a good time to read it though! And chalk up another who knew The Princess Bride was a book, but never read it. :)

    Great list.

    Erin @ YA Book Crush

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  26. I absolutely loved Golden--it made my list, too. I love a good Sophie Kinsella in the summer. Great picks!

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  27. Great list, I am adding most of them to my TBR!

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  28. Matched and Water For Elephants are great beach reads! As are romances- I have a copy of A Rogue By Any Other Name, but for some reason, I haven't gotten around to reading it, so I may have to do that soon. Great list!

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  29. I love the John Jakes pick! Have you seen the miniseries? I used to love it (Patrick Swayze as Ori) - just don't watch the Reconstruction part of the miniseries - the novels are all good, though.

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  30. I totally did not know that Princess Bride was a book - and it sounds hilarious! Guess I have something to read at the beach this summer! :-)

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  31. I just finished (and wrote a review of) Golden and agree with you Jamie, it's fabulous! Really love it <3

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  32. I've meant to read The Princess Bride since I found out it was originally a book, but I haven't gotten around to it yet...because I always end up rewatching the movie instead :)

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  33. Great list! I love The Princess Bride and added a couple of others to my list of TBR books this year.
    Thanks!
    Laura

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  34. I'm especially interested in I've Got Your Number now :) these all seem like good choices.

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  35. Hey everyone, It's my first time here. I love this meme and I loved your Top 10 reads. I have read almost all of them and wow... Nice!

    You can see my top 10 Beach reads @Booklok Coffee TTT

    XOXO
    Ankita

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  36. The freedom to define beach reads however I liked made this one difficult. I ended up splitting my list between 'light and fun' and 'get lost in this book.'
    I love the Princess Bride book--and the movie!

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  37. I love seeing everyone's take on your theme for the week. I've seen Golden on a few lists. Looks like I have another book to add to my TBR list.

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  38. I love looking at everyone's take on your theme of the week. I've seen Golden on a few people's lists. Looks like I have a new book to add to my TBR list. :)

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  39. Great list! Need to pick some of these up! They look fantastic!

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  40. Oh, nice to see I'm not the only one with Sophie Kinsella on my list!

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  41. I would totally read Matched and The Princess Bride on the beach! So fun! :) The others I haven't read but am interested in...great list! :)

    My list: http://yearningtoread.blogspot.com/2013/06/top-ten-tuesday-best-beach-reads.html

    Sierra @ Yearning to Read

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  42. It's so interesting to see how differently people interpret your topics. That's half the fun of this meme...the other half being adding yet another page to my tbr list!

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  43. I LOVED the matched series!! Great beach reading.

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  44. Nice choices. I like that there's a mix of classics and contemporary reads.

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  45. Good choices, and a nice collection of genres and older/newer books. The Princess Bride is definitely great summer reading.

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  46. I feel ashamed! I've only read Water for Elephants (which I loved) and the Princess Bride (which felt a bit like reading a quirky history book). I'll need to check out all the others!

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  47. Love Water For Elephants! I'll have to check out some of these others. The Dixie Cash mystery looks fun and lighthearted--a perfect beach read. I'm jumping in late this week; just posted my oddly specific list of mermaid novels for girls.

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  48. Every time I walk into B&N I almost leave with 'Where'd You Go Bernadette" - maybe now I will actually leave with it! It sounds too good to keep passing up!

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  49. Great book ideas! I just entered myself as participating in top ten Tuesday! Check out my blog, I post hauls, vacation photos and book reviews! http://thebibliophilebooks.blogspot.com

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