My family is just back from a week at the beach, our habitual spot where, among other things, I habitually enjoy reading a book a day by the ocean, the pool, and on the balcony. These dedicated doses of quality reading time would be delightful on their own, but one of the highlights of reading in public on our trips is I get to see what other people are reading. I love to snoop other people’s book choices no matter where I am, but because beach and summer reading are near and dear to my heart I especially like to see what people choose to read on vacation.
This oceanfront sampling from Florida’s gulf coast is in no way representative of readers at large, but since we’ve been visiting this beach for nearly twenty years now (I’m shocked it’s been that long) I’ve had the opportunity to see how people’s reading habits have evolved over time in this small stretch of shoreline.
So what’s the beach reading situation in 2024? Just like last year, I spied so many readers reading actual paper books! Nowhere near as many people reading books as iPhones, but still, so many physical books, many more books than Kindles. Interestingly, those reading paper books tended to be older than me (50s, 60s, 70s) or younger than me (teens and 20-somethings); not many people who appeared to be in their 30s or 40s had actual print books this week. (Any theories as to why?)
This beach reading photo is from 2022 but you’d never know it; I had the same suit, hat, Kindle, shades, and fabulous oceanside reading experience in 2024!
In many ways, this year’s beach read sampling resembled what I observed in 2023. To explain, let me first walk you back to 2022, when Colleen Hoover (lots of different titles but especially It Ends With Us) and Carley Fortune’s just-released debut Every Summer After dominated the beach. (Not a judgment, just an observation.) But this year and last are remarkable, compared to previous years in our iPhone-saturated era, not just for the recent increase of physical books but for the the great diversity of reads on display. I’ve never said this before but: this week I never saw two readers with the same book, with one notable (and awesome) exception.
I saw many books I expected to see—those recent and current bestsellers that are statistically likely to show up in crowds of readers—but not in the quantity I expected. Instead of multiples as in past years, I saw single copies of new beach-worthy releases like Abby Jimenez’s Just for the Summer, Emily Henry’s Happy Place paperback and her new Funny Story hardcover, Christina Lauren’s The Paradise Problem, and Carley Fortune’s 2022 hit Every Summer After (but not her new release, the Summer Reading Guide selection This Summer Will Be Different). Our typical beach spot is not terribly close to any bookstores, independent or chain, and I do wonder if we’d see more new releases and bestsellers were we closer.
I saw piles of mysteries and thrillers in the hands of readers of all ages, including Lisa Jackson’s You Don’t Want to Know, Rumaan Alam’s Leave the World Behind (Netflix tie-in edition, in a teenager’s hands), Gillian Flynn’s Gone Girl, When I saw Gregg Olsen’s If You Tell and Doug Kari’s The Berman Murders in readers’ hands I assumed they were fictional thrillers, but it turns out they’re both nonfiction true crime tales—the former about three children abused by their mother in 1990s-2000s rural Washington state and the latter about a still-unsolved 1986 murder that took place in the Mojave Desert.
Romance and women’s fiction were well-represented: I saw several different titles from Lucy Score and Ana Huang, multiple installments from Sarah J. Maas’s A Court of Thorns and Roses series, and a handful of Colleen Hoover titles—but in nothing like past years’ quantities, and no repeats. Over the course of the week I saw a handful of library books and two magazines, which made me wistful for my family of origin’s spring break beach trips in the 80s and 90s: I used to love stocking up on Seventeen and Allure and the like at the grocery store before leaving for vacation. (This week I saw Real Simple and Outside; the Outside was in my husband’s hands.)
A beach read is any book you read on the beach, and plenty of readers had chosen nonfiction books that you probably don’t think of when you hear the phrase “beach reading”: Brené Brown’s The Gifts of Imperfection, Elisabeth Kübler-Ross’s On Death and Dying, C.S. Lewis’s Mere Christianity, Kati Neville and Lindsay Ahrens’s Fix, Freeze, Feast. I saw one man reading Chat GPT Made Simple with James Clear’s Atomic Habits waiting on deck. For a moment I thought The Perfect Marriage was nonfiction because the reader seemed to be journaling about it, but then I noticed the blood splatter on the cover. Turns out it’s a psychological thriller about a successful defense attorney who must defend her own husband when he’s accused of murdering his mistress. My mistake!
As for what I read on the beach: alas, this year the answer was not a book a day, but I am definitely happy with my reading week and the four books I completed in six full days. This is the part you’re not going to like, because I’m about to get vague, but for a good reason: I started the week with two of my personal most-anticipated forthcoming releases that I now know we will feature in our September Fall Book Preview. (Tickets not yet available, but you can check out last year’s edition right here.) Both were mystery/thrillers from authors I already know and love; each was suspenseful and plotty and exactly right for the beach and kept me happily occupied for exactly twenty-four hours.
Then I shifted to Isabella Hamad’s 2023 release, the Aspen Words Literary Prize winner Enter Ghost, which I bought at Books & Mortar in Grand Rapids in April (at the recommendation of WSIRN alum Allison Matz, who didn’t say anything about it beyond it being her favorite book of the year, or some similar superlative). Since then I’ve been saving it for my own summer reading. It was the kind of book that I had to read slowly: smart, reflective, and beautifully written. I knew very little about it going in and was surprised to discover it’s a theater book: in the wake of a destabilizing break-up, a Palestinian actress flees London and returns home to visit her Palestinian family in Haifa after a long absence, and while there is pulled into an Arabic production of Hamlet. This story demanded to be read slowly, and on top of that I did so much googling, both for my understanding of the plot and timeline and out of curiosity about the region’s history and present. While not at all the same, in many ways it reminded me of Hala Alyan’s The Arsonist’s City.
I finished the week with a sexy and intellectual (yes, both!) re-read that was undeniably work reading, as I was revisiting it with fresh eyes to determine if it would make a good fall pick for Modern Mrs Darcy Book Club. (I think … yes?) But the book itself was a pleasure, and I discovered it’s the sort of read that is even better on the second pass than the first.
I almost forgot! Now about the only time I saw two readers with the same book: almost every day I saw two women who looked to be my mother’s generation sitting side by side with matching paperback copies of Barbara Kingsolver’s The Poisonwood Bible. I only saw them reading, never talking—but I do hope they enjoyed good conversation about their reading all week long.
If I’m the only one who wants to eavesdrop on other peoples’ reading choices, I don’t want to know. But if you also like to see what everybody else is reading, or what you’re choosing to read this summer, tell me in the comments section!
99 comments
My favorite historical fiction author …
https://lindastoll.substack.com/p/porch-142-historical-fiction-at-its
I thought I might be the only one to spy what others are reading when on a beach, at a pool, or in a vacation spot! I’m always curious what a fellow book lover might be enjoying! Right now I am reading The Secret to Happiness by Suzanne Woods Fisher, listening to Being Henry by Henry Winkler and then also reading (e-reader) The Happy Life of Isadora Bently by Courtney Walsh. Happy Summer & Happy Reading all!
Hi Linda!
I started reading A Fall of Marigolds quite awhile back. The ONLY reason I stopped is because I wanted to thoroughly take it all in. I think I may have been a third of the way in, but I was so disjointed in my reading (ADHD) that I stopped so I can savor it at the proper time with the proper attention it deserves. So glad to see how many more books Susan Meissner has written! Thank you for sharing! Carri
Loved that one! Just finished Only the Beautiful, unique subject matter and also very goodd.
I knew I couldn’t be the only Susan Meissner fan!
Carri, I absolutely hear what you’re saying about giving a book the attention it deserves. Sometimes you just need to find the perfect time and place, right?!
Get ready for summer reading with a few romances and a thriller that I adored! https://neverenoughnovels.com/2024/06/13/june-2024-mini-book-reviews/
As a 30-something who loves a paper book, I bring my Kindle to the beach because I have little kids so 1) my book will def get ruined by sand and something when it’s tossed at the bottom of our beach bag and 2) I need something quick and light to whip out if I have a moment to read that will save my place when I inevitably have to help someone not eat sand. The kindle fits so nicely in the side pocket of our bag where it’s safe from sand and sunscreen and food and water bottles, but a paper book just can’t withstand the same beating. But I do prefer a paper book when I can get my hands on one! I just notice that Kindles are easier for me to read in this specific season of my life (and I’d venture to say that lots of 30-40 year olds are hardly reading at the beach cause they’re taking care of kiddos)
As a 39-yr old with two young kids (7 and 4) I haven’t returned to my reading-on-the-beach days. Just not the season that I’m in right now and, as Laura said, I suspect many others are in similar boats. But I do love reading on the porch of a beach house while the kids rest. I catch my read moments when I can.
Memoir is my favorite genre, but I tend to forget that memoir costs the author something. I loved Lisa Jo Baker’s new release: https://michelemorin.net/2024/06/19/whatever-made-you-think-the-christian-life-would-be-easy/
Love the report about your beach reading observations and interesting to hear the changes you’ve seen over time!
My latest reading month was very good — all from different parts of the world – and I’m looking forward to my summer reading plans!
https://avikinginla.com/2024/06/what-ive-been-reading-lately-may-2024-summer-reading-plans/
I’m so thrilled that you read Enter Ghost! Such an important story given the current events and so creatively told through this local production of Hamlet. I was so hoping it would win the Women’s Prize for Fiction this year.
My summer reading commenced with Funny Story by Emily Henry. I love every book she has written and this was no exception. Lighthearted but filled with all the emotions and important themes of finding belonging, feeling you are enough and worthy of love, and living, loving and trusting without fear of what may come.
We were in the pool on Sunday at our son’s apartment complex and there were several readers, but only one physical copy. Everyone…all young 20-somethings, were on their Kindle. The only physical copy reader…besides me…was a man in his 40s.
I’m sharing 9 books I’ve read or listened to lately. Some were recommendations from here. Seven of them were audiobooks.
The Man Who Died Twice
She Come By It Natural
Stiltsville
How to Walk into a Room
Search
Ghosts of Honolulu
The Self-Care Solution
Nothing Else but Miracles
The In-Between
https://www.sincerelystacie.com/2024/06/quick-lit-june-2024-edition/
I love seeing what people are reading! Unfortunately I mostly just see people watching videos on their phones, public reading seems to be on the decline. The few readers I spot in the wild are reading on their Kindles—a bummer for this nosy lady, but I’m usually on my Kindle too so I get it!
This month I’m reviewing a few middle grade novels (one I LOVED and a few that were big hits with my 9-year-old), a couple of complicated family stories, an absolutely wild thriller, a fun sliding doors historical novel, a humorous essay collection, thought-provoking nonfiction on friendship, and a must-read on how how technology is affecting today’s youth.
https://kendranicole.net/quick-lit-june-2024/
It’s so interesting you say this about people being on their phones. I – almost – always have a book with me and it fascinates me what a conversation starter it is. I get confessionals – “I wish I read more – how do you do it?” Shock/Surprise- “Oh wow, I don’t see many people with actual books.” Connection – “Oh, what are you are reading? I love reading!” Maybe we’re having a tiny positive impact of encouraging others simply by reading!
People probably think I’m mindlessly scrolling on my iPhone, but it’s where I do most of my reading through my kindle app—that is if I’m not listening to my audiobook on it. 😀 So no one is going to know what I’m reading unless they stop to chat.
I think people in their 30s and 40s are packing all of their kids stuff and they don’t have room for books so they slide in their Kindle instead 😊😊 Sounds like a fun trip! xo Kristy
Excellent theory!
Hahaha! I relate to this immensely! I greatly prefer to read physical books, but nothing can beat a Kindle when you’re traveling with a lot of heavy STUFF already.
Yes, this is absolutely true for me (I’m 40, with four kids nine and under—they have too much stuff and too many of their own books to leave room for my books!).
That’s exactly what I thought too! Even if they could have squeezed some reading into the bag, they were too busy at the beach watching the kids to look at a book.
Just finished Happier Life (ARC) last night! Stayed up late to finish it. (That’s part of the summer reading experience, right?) So worth it-I loved it!
I love to speculate! Here’s my $0.02. People younger than 30 still have good eyes. PEople older than 50 have appropriate glasses. People in their late 30s and 40s have not accepted the fact that they need readers and have slowly increased the font size on their kindles without even noticing to compensate for their declining eyesight. I may or may not know this from first-hand experience. Now i’m a proud wearer of glasses and can read physical books again! ha!
My experience too!
I think you hit the nail on the head with your assessment!
Yes! Great theory. My font size has gotten bigger and I didn’t realize!
this is my truth too
My theory is the 30s and 40s are in the throes of young kids and have a million things to pack and no room for a paper book. I am 40 and almost exclusively read paper at home but the kindle comes out for trips as there is just no room!
Agreed!!
I’m a nosy reader too! I think it’s natural to be curious about how other people are participating in a hobby you’re passionate about.
I’m preparing for a beach trip of my own, which I mention in my recent current reads post: https://readeatrepeat.net/2024/06/15/books-in-progress-june-2024/
Greg Iles latest book Southern Man packs a punch and at 963 pages can double as a boat anchor. Perfect beach read and so fun especially if you have read his other Penn Cage novels. Tough to get my kayak miles in when this book is sitting on my chair.
If you like memoirs, I just read Genevieve Kingston’s Did I Ever Tell You? I liked it. I also read Lisa Jo Baker’s memoir, It Wasn’t Roaring, It Was Weaping, and enjoyed it as well
I always want to know! What I cannot figure out is how close you need to get to read the titles AND THEN how you remember the title until you get back to your chair to note it on repeat. Please explain the process sometime. I need to take some practical tips with me to the beach to do the same!
My thoughts exactly! I’m so curious!
Exactly!
Love this kind of literary voyeurism! On our recent trip I read Bruno, Chief of Police and flew right through it.
It’s almost like you were a summer reading spy! I love seeing what others are reading, too.
This is what I’ve been reading lately: https://forthejoyofbooks.com/quick-lit-may-2024/
If a person has a book out anywhere, I’m
Snooping.
My anticipated summer read is the final book in the Maisie Dobbs series. It will be a bittersweet moment.
Everything on your list sounded appealing. Bookmarked the page in my Books (TBR) file. Thx!
For me I switched to kindle in my 40’s because I was in denial that I really did need reading glasses.
Jill
http://www.allthebooksihaventread.com/
I switched because it’s so much easier on my wrists, but it’s a bonus that it can withstand a bit of water splashes too.
Absolutely love this post! Thank you
I tried This Summer Will Be Different, I even purchased it because of the PEI/ Anne connections and the fact that it made the summer reading guide. It is extremely rare for my to DNF, but IMO that book was absolutely terrible and despite making it over 40% through, I put it down! Unsurprising that it wasn’t spotted on your trip 🤣 Part of what made me put it down finally was starting another MMD recommendation, The Ministry of Time. Wow!! What amazing writing and original story; the whole thing is smart and posh and page turning. I’m almost done after 3 days. I’ve decoded it is James Bond meets Jane Austen (impeccable vocabulary and dialogue).
Here in Orange County, June Gloom is a Thing, so beach reading has to wait awhile.
In the meantime, recently I have enjoyed:
The Frozen River (with a shoutout to Anne Bogel in the acknowledgments!)
Knife (Salman Rushdie memoir)
The Royal Governess
American Prometheus
One I did NOT enjoy was the book club selection, The Christie Affair. Ugh. 😣
My recent reading:
Prequel, by Rachel Maddow
The Three-Body Problem, by Cixin Liu (re-reading, Hoopla audiobook)
Out on the Rim, by Ross Thomas (re-reading, audiobook novel)
The Women, by Kristen Hannah (about combat nurses in Vietnam)
The Road to Roswell, by Connie Willis (comic 2023 SF)
River Kings: a new history of the Vikings from Scandinavia to the Silk Roads, by Cat Jarman
Hello! I am terrible at beach reading… I have trouble concentrating with all the beach activity around me, so unless the book I’m reading is absolutely gripping, I just can’t do it. Am I the only one?
My recent reads are:
* Expiration Dates by Rebecca Serle (4 stars) – This book surprised me. I generally don’t enjoy romances but the premise of this one was fascinating, the story was well written, and it really made me think. This one is much more than a romance story.
* The Seven Year Slip by Ashley Poston (audiobook – 3 stars) – I enjoy time slip books but this one was a bit too predictable.
* Shiner by Amy Jo Burns (5 stars) – I struggled through the first half of this book but kept going since I had recommended this for my book club, so felt obligated to finish it. I’m so glad I did! The second half of the book just drew me in, and this book will be one of my favorites for 2024.
* When We Had Wings by Ariel Lawhon (4.5 stars) – Anne recommended this book for my mother on WSIRN. She absolutely loved it, and I have had it on my TBR for months now. I found it a bit dreary and a hard read in some places, but I learned so much about the impacts of WWII and the resulting deprivation in the Philippines.
* A Game of Lies by Clare Mackintosh (4 stars) – This was a great twisty mystery, the sequel to The Last Party.
Current Reads are: The Ministry of Time by Kaliane Bradley; Library of Legends by Janie Chang (audiobook); Where the Wind Leads by Vinh Chung; and a re-read of Malibu Rising by Taylor Jenkins Reid, which my book club will be discussing soon. Happy Reading!
I’m with you on the beach reading! Plus I have young kids, so I feel like I need to keep an eye out. Now, beach house reading is another story 🙂
Yes to beach house reading!!!
I just got back from a trip to catch up with my sisters, and we were constantly looking at what people were reading in the airport, on the plane, and at the beach. My one sister was noting them down in her phone, lol. We’re all readers, so we had many lovely discussions about books, as well as our favorite shows to watch. It was great.
Haha, just heading out on an international trip. I’m going to do this too!
June favorites so far that are newly published books include Last House & Shopkeeping. Shopkeeping was in the Guide. I noted Last House as discovered in Library Journal, but that might have been in the Guide, too. I just started The Editor, which is in the Guide. Hard to put down! I finished Ministry of Time but did not like it.
Paper books all the way for me and I’m later 40sish! Haven’t been to the beach yet, but there are always books in people’s hands on my little beach in Maine, and I do try to peek. The Poisonwood Bible was a favorite of mine, so.much so I read it and then picked it for my book club. While a tragic story in many ways, the voices of the girls made me laugh, not unlike Whistling Past the Graveyard that Im also rereading for my next book club meeting. I listened to an Agatha Christie while resting with a migraine last week. It was a Christmas short story-The Adventure of the Plum Pudding, a Hercule Poirot mystery. Also read The Marlow Murder Club, by Robert Thorogood, a nosy neighbor murder mystery, in anticipation of the upcoming tv series of the same story. I finally read an older children’s story, The Treasures of The Snow by Patricia St. John, a morality tale about forgiveness, which was much better than I anticipated. My husband loved it as a child and his mother bought it for our son long ago. I guess we never read it…oops! But I loved it. Also The Lost Wife, by Alyson Richman, a lost love WWII story, with all the tough stuff, and Horse by Geraldine Brooks, which overall was good while dealing with the difficult slavery and racial themes. Happy summer reading!
Horse is our July book club pick and I’m looking forward to reading it.
I LOVE Barbara Kingsolver (I count Prodigal Summer as one of my top 5 favorite books) but I have never been able to finish Poisonwood Bible. I have picked it ups several different times over the years. So many people love it and I wonder why I can’t get into it!
Anne, I must know, did you tell them you were book stalking them or did you just walk right by then make notes? I love that it was a diverse mix of books! My 20 something nieces always read real books, not Kindle or phone books at the beach. I think it feels more luxurious or something at the beach to have a “real” book. My 70 something mom doesn’t even own a Kindle and would never read on her phone. I’m 50/50 (early 50s).
I love to see what other people are reading, and sometimes I feel so surprised when I’m reading in public and absolutely no one asks “what are you reading”? Maybe I’m just nosy, but I ALWAYS ask, when I see someone with a book in a public space.
Right now I’m loving Real Americans by Rachel Khong, and I just finished The Guncle Abroad (I liked the first book, but this one I felt was a dud). Before that, I read Birnam Wood, followed by The Bee Sting– I’ve reached my quota for mind-blowing/unsatisfying endings for now 🙂
On our recent cruise of the Canadian maritimes, I saw fewer books in the hands of readers than I would’ve expected as this was clearly trip that attracted the over-60 crowd. I lack proper book-snooping skills though. I couldn’t see what the titles were. I wish now I had just asked! Those readers were clearly book people and they probably would’ve been happy to tell me. I did see one woman on the plane to Boston where the cruise began mishandling a Lucy Foley paperback – she was folding over to the back the cover and the pages she’d already read – but I exercised restraint and did not fly out of my seat to conduct a rescue.
I read Colm Toibin’s Long Island on the trip which was recommended to me on WSIRN and which I loved, as well as The Husbands, and started Leif Enger’s I Cheerfully Refuse. All vacation worthy!
I’m reading Long Island right now and wow, he’s an excellent writer. I’m really not sure where I think it’s going to go!
I love this post! And I love seeing what others are reading in public.
My family is headed on a road trip to the beach next week and I’m taking a stack of books purchased specifically for this trip, and a Kindle loaded with my latest KU choices. As a mom to young-ish kids (10, 7, and 7), I don’t get to read ON the beach unless the water is closed. Last year in PCB, I got to read all week because of rip tides. Sad for the kids, good for my reading! 🙂 I do usually reach for my paperbacks on the beach because I don’t want to expose my precious Kindle to sand and sunscreen.
This year’s beach hopefuls: The Paradise Problem, Just for the Summer, This Summer Will be Different, and Wild Love by Elsie Silver (proud romance reader here!).
I love to spy on what people are reading, or what books they are buying or checking out. But I just came to say it’s a little unfair for you e-readers to deny the rest of us the ability to snoop! Ha! 😉
I’m curious, is your beach spot the same place every year (it sounds like it might be? I was wondering if you are in a different place geographically each time if that would affect the demographics of who is reading e-readers vs. paper copies, etc.
I’m in my 40’s and prefer my paper copies. A big part of my decision is I still have small kids and I want them to see me reading a book and not think I’m just scrolling an electronic device.
Happy reading,
Michelle
My guess is that people in their 30s and 40s have younger kids which is when it’s easier to read on a phone or Kindle. Also, interesting observations, Anne! I love that there was a huge variety this year!
We are preparing for a trip in two weeks and I know that I’ll be bringing several on my Kindle, but I do try to bring one actual book. This year I may bring a paperback from a used book sale as I don’t mind “releasing it into the wild” when I’m done.
This is what I like to do! I take physical books and then I leave them in the hotel/VRBO for other guests. It feels like I’m somehow connecting with people and I really love that idea.
My favorite so far this summer: How To Read A Book by Monica Wood. I wanted to invite myself to the main characters’ get togethers!
Just wrapping up An Inconvenient Wife by Karen Olson. Fast moving tangle of murders, victims, and ex wives. The Moral: never, never, never marry a billionaire, no matter how much you think you love him. (Especially if you are going to be wife #6.) No amount of money will make it worth what will happen to your life.
Tried The Ministry of Time – gave up after about 60 pages.
I have always been a nosy reader, too. The Book of Form and Emptiness by Ruth Ozeki is on my TBR because I saw a young, hip (I assume) New Yorker with it next to her at brunch during my NYC trip in May 2022. State of Wonder by Ann Patchett made my reading list because Grace (Jane Fonda) was reading it in an episode of Grace and Frankie. I definitely always pay attention to books being read by characters in shows because writers are readers and I presume those books are put there for a reason. 🙂 Happy Summer Reading!
I had a bunch of lighter audiobooks that were perfect for summer (plus a couple that I think you can safely skip), and one literary novel that kept me hooked through the month: https://www.mindjoggle.com/may-2024-book-reviews/
My first Paris trip is coming to an end so I suspect my summer will have lots of Paris themed reading, including The Paris Novel, and a duology (Days in the Caucasus and Parisian Days) by Banine. I just finished The Postcard by Anne Berest, which I really enjoyed. Open to hearing others!
I just devoured Catherine Newman’s new book Sandwich (pun not! Intended). It was so, so good and the beach vacation setting was perfection.
I LOVED bringing my magazines to the beach!
I love this so much because I too was just on the Florida panhandle last week! I saw SO many hard copies. It was kind of surprising to me. There was a wide array, but I was familiar with all the titles: Emily Henry, Colleen Hoover, Sarah J. Mass, Carly Fortune, Ellen Hildebrand. Pretty sure I saw The Silent Patient. My sister was reading The Masterpiece. I saw hardcopies with people from ages 20-70. I honestly felt a little out of place with my kindle. I think I spotted only 1 other! I read Real Americans, Expiration Date, and the Return of Ellie Black. Nothing- I mean nothing- beats soaking up a story on our beloved beaches! 🏖️🧡📚
What a fun post! Thank you, Anne. It’s exciting to hear that people are reading so many interesting titles. Here are the books that I feel are bingeworthy reads this summer. https://bit.ly/bingeworthysummerreads
I’m with you, always nosy about what people are reading! But I find it hard to tell, without actually asking them! They have it flat on their lap, or somehow the cover is obscured, the print is too small to see what from where I sit, and I don’t like to ask (usually). Did you have to ask some of the readers you saw? I’m sure they didn’t mind, but…
I will say, about MY reading, that I’m now reading “How to Read a Book” by Monica Wood, in your Guide this year, and I AM LOVING IT.
I just want to know what beach it is as I always head to the Florida panhandle as well mostly Seagrove. But I have spurged the last few years and stayed in Seaside. I just love it and Sundog Books is always a dangerous shopping day.
As a mom in my 30s I read almost exclusively on my Kindle when traveling and it is completely about space and keeping my bags light. I only have one kid, so I can only imagine how much space is needed with each additional kid, but I know that while my little guy can carry his own small backpack between my husband and I we will both end up carry additional items that he may need. We’re flying next week and with the costs of flights and baggage (yikes) for all of us we are doing everything we can to limit what we take. Sadly, that includes leaving some paper books I’m eager to read at home and opting for my Kindle instead.
I think the 30 and 40 years old are the ones with kids 🤣. I know for me having 4 kids there’s not much time for reading on the beach. You’re busy playing with/watching over kids. If I do get to read it may be for a couple minutes here and there before a kid needs me for something. That’s my theory anyways!
You are not alone, Anne. I’m always peering at covers of books in people’s hands, but I thought it was an occupational hazard being a librarian 😂
Thanks for making me feel better about this!
This was fun and fascinating! I am ALWAYS nosy about what people are reading around me, just interesting to see what others pick up. And I also aim for a book a day on vacation but with two kids grade school age…that doesn’t happen at the beach right now!
No beach reading for me yet this year, just May craziness!
May Reading Recap
I am always walking around the beach or pool to see what people are reading!! It’s fun! I also agree; more people have gone back to reading actual books. Can’t wait until I hit the beach next week and start peaking at those book covers!
I recently read
The Tattooist of Auschwitz
Cilka’s Journey: A Novel (Tattooist of Auschwitz Book 2)
Three Sisters (Tattooist of Auschwitz book 3)
The Midwife of Auschwitz
Lilac Girls
Lost Roses (Woolsey-Ferriday)
Sunflower Sisters (Woolsey-Ferriday)
Next up is If You Tell
I Love that like HRH Princess of Wales you feel JOY Sharing that you reuse and refit/reoutfit. Like a GOOD Book too!
I’m a retired school librarian and I have ALWAYS checked out the books being read in the beach! Great place to get ideas.
I listen to the podcast while I walk at lunch. It gives me a break from my stressful job. I go back and forth listening to old podcasts and then new podcasts. The other day you mentioned “The Bookshop of Dust and Dreams” I am not a big YA reader but I thought this might be one that my granddaughter would enjoy, so I read it first to see. Oh my goodness, I could never imagine a YA book making my top 5 reads list, but this one sure did. Thank you, as always, for the book recommendations. Looking forward to many more to add to my growing TBR list.
I am always curious when I see someone reading in public so that is undoubtedly why these comments are appealing to me. When a comment includes a website instead of titles it feels like they are reading on an electronic device where I can’t see the title. I am reading Sandwich and just completed Unfinished Love Story. Expiration Dates felt a bit silly to me. But then I had just finished James and was reeling from that amazing Huck Finn retelling from Jim’s point of view so timing might be the issue. I thoroughly enjoyed Miss Morgan’s Book Brigade. Funny Story and The Paradise Problem were better than I expected. And Solferino 21 has been quite educational concerning international humanitarian law.
Thanks for all the suggestions-I added many to my reserves.
I snoop others’ reading pile all the time. What’s fun is going into the local coffee shop and seeing that the owner is reading the same thing you are (The Women), striking up a conversation, and having a nearby table weigh in. Good times!
It’s so interesting how many of these are much older books!!! Gone Girl is from quite a few years ago…not to mention Poisonwood Bible. Great titles, though!
I’m currently reading and LOVING Second Best which I believe was a recommendation of yours! And I preordered The Wedding People to be my beach book this year 😊
My beach read was The Nightingale by Kristan Hannah. Couldn’t put it down!
I recently stopped to ask a woman reading at a table and drinking wine, what she was reading. We got into a long discussion and she gave me a hug! Reading people love reading people!
I’ve just finished “Humanize – A Makers Guide to Designing our Cities” by Thomas Heatherwick. Gave it 4 Stars.
Another beautiful book was some Hungarian literature. “The Adventures of Sindbad” by Gyula Krudy. The street I used to live on in grad school was named after this writer, so I had to read the book.
I used kindle for ten years. It was great because I used to travel so much. But I got tired of it and I sleep better since I switched back to paperback. I’m 35 years old. When I was a teen we didn’t have booktube and all that. But the excitement about taking your backpack and picking up whatever book you liked in the library. So I went back to that feeling. Here in Poland I can travel to two or three English bookstores in two hours. When I go to see my mom in Germany, I get books in German. Next week I’m on holiday in Bolzano/ Bozen, Italy. They speak German in that part of Italy and I’ve already checked out bookstores close to our hotel. Very excited! But that’s just my personal experience.
My theory as to why the 30 and 40-somethings aren’t reading paper books is because they are in the think of the parenting years? I’d love to read a paperback book at the beach, but I have a 4 yr old and 2yr old so they require eyes on them at all times.
Reading ” Summer at the Saint” by Mary Kay Andrews, she is queen author of the beach reads. I give it 5 stars!
I love this post Anne and I also love to “spy on” fellow beach readers. I often wish ereaders would have a little screen on the outside that would show what book is being read. Funny about Poisonwood Bible – it’s my August bookgroup selection. Looking forward to delving in. I heard a rumor that Jean Hanff Korelitz has a sequel coming out to The Plot. Maybe that’s what you were reading….
Loved this post so much – what fun “eavesdropping” on what other people are reading!
My theory about the 30-40 year olds is based on my own experience of parenting young children in my late 30s and, though I adore a good paperback, my Kindle/phone are more portable and easy to whip out when I DO have a minute and then also feel better to tote around if I never get that quiet reading time because of said young children. (OBVIOUSLY not all 30-40s are in the peak intensity parenting phase thanks to their kids being older or being childfree – but I bet proportionally more in that age range have significant parenting duties that cut into their reading time.)
We were in a beach community along 30A last week too!
If you would have peeked at our books, you would have seen my tween reading BigNate, manga and Fuzzy Mud. I was reading Joanna Fluke culinary mysteries,
(thanks to books left in our rental), My Utmost For His Highest and Amish romance ebooks. 🙂 I also enjoyed magazines on Flipster. My partner, per usual, had his nose stuck in a Stephen King book.
One of my favorite things to do when traveling is to support small businesses, especially book stores. We happily spent time and money in Sundog Books and The Hidden Lantern. Highly recommend both if you are in the 30A area.
I also will peruse someone’s bookshelves when visiting…it’s a compulsion.
I loved the Husbands, finally read Hamnet, and Save Me the Plums by Ruth Reichl whose writing I love and am tracking down all her books. Also listened to Stories of Your Life a Short Story Collection by Chiang. Currently reading the Heaven & Earth Grocery Store in Hardback, Still Life on Audible and Whose Killing Off the Old Mystery Writers on Kindle app. Was message the Library has The Minstry of Time waiting for me.
Although I am usually reading on a kobo I am always looking at what people are reading at the beach. Last year’s beach trip revealed lots of Colleen Hoover!
I am racing through LONG ISLAND by Colm Tobin. I had read BROOKLYN a few years ago and this continues the story. Love his writing.
Your emails are coming through again…YAAA.
I love your observations about what people were reading at the beach. My reading was pretty varied this month https://myviewofthehoneypot.blogspot.com/2024/06/what-i-read-june.html
A single woman with whom I go to church always has a book in her hands at church. She’s fairly shy, and so I feel it’s a back-up in case no one speaks to her. More and more I don’t see her reading, because so many people know and speak to her. Anyway, I always ask her what she’s reading and usually the novels are in the fantasy genre. When I’m in public, I do enjoy asking people, but first I decide whether they’d be amenable to my asking. When I’m together with friends or my 3 sisters, we often ask each other what we’re reading. Good way to get recommendations.
Years ago at the pool I noticed a young man who looked like a rebellious type. I wondered what he was reading, expecting science fiction or horror. Nope. He was reading Plato’s Republic!
I am reading through the summer reading guide. I have finished Real Americans, Jackpot Summer, Trust Her, The Lion Women of Tehran, Swan Song, Clara Reads Proust, The Same Bright Stars, and The Rom-Commers. I also have been reading our Library’s Battle of the Books titles for our 4th-8th graders who will battle it out with other libraries in September for the title of champion. I get to MC the show and I LOVE it so much. I also have a book discussion each month of a nonfiction book to read. Just finished Leave No Footprints and will begin Chasing the Thrill after hearing about it from Anne. Needless to say, a lot of reading is happening in my house.
Comments are closed.