Beach reads for your ‘summer vacation’ | The Triangle

Beach reads for your ‘summer vacation’

The best way to spend a hot, lazy summer day is to bring a stack of books to the beach and just hash them out. Why do we enjoy to read books on the beach? Even though most (myself included) try to go onto their cellphones while baking in the sun, reading is overall a pleasing activity that is easier on the eyes. Getting sand on your phone is also the worst and should be avoided at all costs.

On an especially hot day, your best bet is to run into the ocean to cool off, sprawl out on your towel, sleep for a little and then start ripping through pages. As a book nerd myself, and strong advocate for “beach bum” status, here’s a quick rundown of some good beach reads for summer 2019. Put down SnapChat, and try to read a chapter or two of one of these books this summer in between napping and listening to music.

Florida by Lauren Groff

A 2018 National Book Finalist and winner of the 2019 Story Prize, “Florida” is a collection of eleven short stories set around a family full of unknown secrets and scandals, and they all have one thing in common — they’re set in the heavy, humid heat of Florida. Groff is well known in the literary world for being on The New York Times list.

Disappearing Earth by Julia Phillips

Taking place on a remote Russian peninsula where two little girls have gone missing, this is essentially a series of character studies between needy tweens and restless young mothers. Though focused on the novel’s central mystery, Phillips spends a good amount of ink digging deep into each character.

Exhalation by Ted Chiang

Mastermind behind the hit film “Arrival,” Chiang dives into science fiction with nine short stories that circle around free will, virtual reality and regret.

Normal People by Sally Rooney

Rooney’s sophomore book is a very complicated love story between a girl and a boy. Two students at college live their own separate lives, but continue to end up circling one another in daily life. It highlights how sometimes it just doesn’t take love to make a relationship work. What makes this novel so good is the intense detail and intimacy that is described — real, raw and psychologically complex.

Say Nothing by Patrick Radden Keefe

“New Yorker” writer investigates a series of killings in Northern Ireland that have loomed over local communities. Keefe sketches out what happened to a missing woman in 1972 who was abducted, giving readers intimate access to half a century of conflict.

The Electric Hotel by Dominic Smith

Taking place at the famous Knickerbocker Hotel in Hollywood, “The Electric Hotel” focuses on the traps, joys and deceptions of the movies as a longtime resident is forced to reflect on his own film.

Mostly Dead Things by Kristen Arnett

A daughter takes over her father’s taxidermy business after he commits suicide in his own shop. As the novel progresses, twists and turns and family resentments are slowly brought to the surface.

Bunny by Mona Awad

An outcast student at an Ivy-League is taken in by a group of mean yet a-little-bit-odd girls who call one another ‘Bunny.’ The novel takes a bit of a sinister turn, becoming a dark take on power and the toxicity of female friendships.

Recursion by Blake Crouch

A thriller novel that discusses the power of memory as reality starts to crumble. Shonda Rhimes and Matt Reeves are jointly working together to create a Netflix adaptation of the novel.