It doesn't get much better than relaxing on the beach on a sunny day with a refreshing beverage in one hand and an engrossing book in the other. Over on the The Sequin Notebook, we've been posting up a storm on our favorite beach picks, summer cocktails, and other summer fun! Even though our summer days are winding down, hopefully we all still have a couple of beach days left. I'm going to share five of my favorite beach book recommendations with you, along with five books on my summer reading list that I'll be packing for my weekend getaways!
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Jennifer Weiner is the queen of smart chick lit; everyone remembers her debut novel, Good in Bed, and The Next Best Thing is just as witty and charming. Set in glamorous Hollywood, this novel follows a television writer trying to make it big in show biz while also trying to overcome her past to make her personal dreams come true.
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If you liked the twists and turns of Gone Girl, here's another psychological thriller that will keep you in suspense until the very last page (sometimes I like my beach reading to be a little dark!). As the story unfolds and you get more clues about the central mystery, see if you can play detective and put all of the puzzle pieces together.
On a lighter note - who better to take along on a loungey summer day than a professional lady of leisure such as a Real Housewife? Brandi Glanville has become a favorite of Andy Cohen (and us!) thanks to her blunt comments, and this book definitely demonstrates her candid nature. It's like having your favorite gossipy pal on the beach blanket next to you!
Here's another dark one for you - this gripping novel delves into the drama of a high school cheerleading squad that becomes wrapped up in a mysterious death.
This collection of essays is one of my all-time favorites; I've read it countless times yet it always finds its way back into my beach bag, suitcase, or nightstand. Sloane's hilarious observations make you jealous that you didn't think to put them down on paper first, while also making you scheme about how you can "accidentally" bump into her on the streets of New York City and become besties. I love this collection so much that I once photocopied the opening story and shared it with an ex - I think that relationship lasted way longer than it should have simply because I kept thinking, "But he understands and appreciates Sloane Crosley, which means he understands and appreciates ME!" As much as I love supporting your local library, this book deserves a permanent place on your shelf.
Now onto the books I'll be reading over the next few weeks!
Curtis Sittenfeld won me over with Prep and kept me coming back for more with The Man of My Dreams and American Wife so I can't wait to dive into this tale of twin sisters who share psychic abilities.
This highly controversial book definitely satisfies my creepy and dark summer reading requirement! The author went to high school with Debra Lafave, who was a teacher convicted of sleeping with her minor student; this novel is a fictionalized version of that story, and follows a sociopath who sets her sights on one of her young pupils. Tampa debuted just last month, yet its already become the most talked about book of summer because of its graphic, disturbing content - I'm ready to read it and see why it's taken the literary world by storm.
3) The Engagements (J. Courtney Sullivan)
The cartoon hand holding the massive diamond ring on the cover already signifies to me that this novel is ready to provide some frothy wish-fulfillment reading. This novel traces four different marriages across generations; having read J. Courtney Sullivan's Commencement and Maine, which also span several decades in the lives of their characters, I'm looking forward to her spin on what marriage (and beautiful engagement rings) means in our modern American society.
This novel features another teacher-student pairing but this time, its a graduate student and her notorious professor. It examines what happens when intelligent people are smart when it comes to academics, but clueless about love and relationships.
Divergent has been compared to The Hunger Games, and since I'm obsessed with that trilogy I want to hop onboard with this one before its movie comes out in March 2014. This series is set in a dystopian world where the society is divided into factions based on their identified skills (kind of sounds like another one of my favorites, The Giver). Our heroine Beatrice must choose which faction to join, but she has a secret that makes her dangerous...can't wait to find out what it is!
Did any of your favorites make the list? I love adding new items to my list, so please let me know some great books that you've been reading lately!
