10+ ideas for your next beach read
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Planning to head to the coast for a short trip away before work gets too hectic?
Sounds like a great idea.
Sitting on the beach after a nice swim trying to think of a way to stay entertained and make the most of the warm weather?
Not as fun.
Lucky for you, we’ve compiled a list of our favourite beach reads – books we think fit the beachy vibes perfectly!
Malibu Rising by Taylor Jenkins Reid
Something about reading a book celebrating the end of summer, during your own summer just seems right. This book ticks that off!
Four fictionally famous siblings throw a massive party to celebrate the end of the season, but an eventful twenty-four hours is set to change their lives forever.
As I’m yet to read this book, I thought I’d include a short one-liner review from British author Holly Bourne: ‘The perfect, literal, beach read, with the emotional depth of the ocean’
Sounds promising to me!
The Hating Game by Sally Thorne
What would be a beach read list without an enemy-to-lovers trope?
If you want to completely switch off and read something that doesn’t require much brain power, The Hating Game has you covered. It follows the character Lucy’s whirlwind of emotions regarding her coworker and nemesis Joshua. Need I say more?
The best possible bonus? Sally Thorne is a Canberra author!
The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller
Set during the Greek Heroic Age, The Song of Achilles is a retelling of the Trojan War from the perspective of Patroclus. It explores young love, queer relationships, and the sacrifices that are made for love and joy.
For fans of Greek myths and history, this is the sort of book that you’ll love. If you’re not a massive fan of this subject, read it for the character relationships and the struggles they face.
It’s raw, it’s captivating, and it’s the sort of book you can’t put down (except for a cooling dip in the ocean).
Mary Jane by Jessica Anya Blau
If you want a book that you can pick up, read a chapter or two, and then put down for the rest of the day, Mary Jane is perfect! It’s a slow narrative, focusing on the main character’s development throughout the summer of 1975.
It’s nothing too serious, with a few page-turning scenes, but overall, it’s the perfect beach read. Another bonus is the book includes a trip to the beach (the sounds of the ocean near you will help make this section of the book feel that little bit more real)!
The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald
Don’t want to take a very heavy book with you? The Great Gatsby may be your perfect beach read! It’s barely more than a novella but is filled with an intriguing story with well-known characters and iconic symbols (I’m looking at you, green light at the end of the dock).
If you want to be able to come back from the beach and impress those around you by saying you read an entire classic while you were away, this is the best place to start.
Love Stories by Trent Dalton
This is the sort of book that you can dip in and out of between dips in and out of the ocean! Australian author Trent Dalton sat on a busy street corner with a typewriter and asked the world a simple question: can you please tell me a love story?
What resulted is this beautiful book, with stories of sibling love, friend love, romantic love, and everything in between. It’s like a hug made of words that are wise, poignant, funny, and moving.
It’s the sort of book that makes you look at everyone you walk past slightly differently, as you wonder what their love story is.
Daisy Jones and the Six by Taylor Jenkins Reid
The book that made a fandom wish a fictional band was real. Told in a unique interview style format, this book is less of a narrative, and more of a biography exploring the lives and experiences of fictional band Daisy Jones and the Six.
Reading this makes you feel all sorts of 1970s vibes, and you’re sure to find yourself with a strong investment in these characters who all have their own troubled backstories (I just wanted to give Daisy a hug).
Women vs Hollywood: the Fall and Rise of Women in Film by Helen O’Hara
If fiction isn’t really your thing, this might take your fancy. Step into the world of Hollywood and learn about the roles women have played in this industry both in front of and behind the camera, and the stories of the pioneering and talented women who were written out of Hollywood’s origin story.
The book traverses multiple time periods and genres of film, so you can flick through and choose a new section to read whenever you feel like it!
The book also introduced me to the sexy lamp test…
The Talented Mr Ripley by Patricia Highsmith
If you want to read something as gritty as the sand, take this book with you. Highsmith’s psychological thriller keeps you hooked, with both a level of horror at the situation that unfolds and intrigue in how it’ll end.
If you’ve seen the movie and liked it, I believe it’s your duty to now read the book. It offers a new experience as it’s told from a third-person perspective, meaning you only see the thoughts and feelings of Tom Ripley.
Everything I Know About Love by Dolly Alderton
Let Dolly take you by the hand and guide you through her journey of growing up and navigating all kinds of love along the way. Hear about how she fell in love, found a job, got dumped, went to therapy, and just a general recap of the 30 years of her life revolving around love.
If you’re in your 20s feeling a bit lost and like you don’t know where you’re going in life, this book will hit home. While there are sad sections, there’s also a strong tone of hope entwined through it.
The Italian Girl by Lucinda Riley
This book is chick lit at its finest. The Italian Girl by Lucinda Riley is a passionate and romantic love story following the lives of two opera singers in Europe whose lives are forever intertwined. But their intense connection carries a shadow – dark secrets from the past threaten to unravel everything they’ve built.
If you are a hopeless romantic and a sucker for drama, this one’s for you.
