Trashy beach reading!
 

ok, so I got your attention!

Let's start a list of what you wanna read on the beach this year (or on vacation, etc.)

Maybe not so trashy, I don't recall the last time I read anything that would be called "trash" unless you count reading Star magazine in line at the grocery store.

I'm heading to Florida in a few days, and while I'll likely take one of my flight manuals (fun fun huh?) I'm going to select one book from my current stack to take with me. (or, maybe more than one...)

will post later what I decide, but let's start a list here!

I just finished <i>St. Dale</i>, the new book by Sharyn McCrumb. It is about a group tour to all the Dale Earnhardt NASCAR racing sites, and it is a hoot. It is more like her MacPherson series, not the ballad novels.

Do you want to be scared? Nicki French- her books scare big time.

I read, The Devil Wore Prada on vacation last month. It's an easy read and after that your own boss probably won't seem so bad, after all. LOL! If you know anything about fashion, and I don't, it's interesting in other ways.

Not a trashy read, but certainly a fun vacation read -

TALES OF A SHOPAHOLIC by Kinsella

Mot trashy, but GREAT fun in a chic lit way: The Marrying Game,by Kate Saunders

That's pretty funny - I was going to suggest the &quot;Shopaholic&quot; series as well. Sophie Kinsella is hilarious!

Hi JJ5, I read &quot;The Devil Wore Prada&quot; about a month ago. What a fun read!

I have known a few women involved in the fashion world, so this book gave me a big chuckle.

All good books! Can You Keep a Secret by Sopie Kinsella or Under the Duvet- cute short stories by Marian Keyes. I also love all Marian Keyes books- Angels and Watermelon are two of my favorites!

Elizabeth Berg writes some good ones. They raen't trashy, but they are basically easy to read without having to think too much. Careful though-- she has two main themes: she either writes about middle-aged women having identity crises (highly recommeneded good reading) or about 16-17 year old girls coming of age (not highly recommended). Open House is a good one to start with.

jamieren, I just read two of the Shopaholic books I received for Christmas presents. Really fun reads! Now it's on to the more serious stuff: Grisham and Pilcher! ***kim*** ((#))

I like to take the latest Maeve Binchy book or someting from the travel essay section from B&amp;N.

Janet Evanovich's books...All are terrific,but I'm partial to the Stephanie Plum series.They're a great combination of steamy lust and absolute crack up out loud reading. I got hooked quickly,reread all of the series atleast once,and buy the newest one the day it comes out.

Oh Maeve Binchy, I love her books! They make me always want to grab the next flight to Ireland.

THE book of the spring has to be &quot;I Am Charlotte Simmons&quot;-the new Tom Wolfe. A blast from the past of all the good, bad and ugly from college years with a 21st century twist. Really thick but quick read!

Lots of fun reading posted on here! I agree with klr, though about Janet Evanovich's Stephanie Plum books. They are absolutely hilarious! The first one I bought was on vacation last year. I was reading in the hotel room one night and began laughing uncontrollably. My husband thought I'd gone nuts, but the book was just hysterically funny!

Loveitaly, I'm glad there's another Binchy fan out there. I also enjoy Rosamunde Pilcher's books.

The last book I took on vacation - &quot;It's All Greek To Me!&quot;

Easy read, beachy. Skinny Dip by Carl Hiaasen.

Loved the Devil Wears Prada but who would put up with that?

Just finished Kite Runner. Fabulous book.

Dogs of Babel was ok but fast read.

Hi starsville, oh yes, I love Rosamunde Pilcher's books too.

Actually, I love to read!

And BTW, for anyone who is a stepmother (or who will be) or who has any interest in Finland I just finished a book which was written in 1980.

Title is Stepping. Author is Nancy Thayer. Fantastic book.

Bergdof Blondes by Plum Sykes is a good trashy beach read too!

So many books, so little time, LOL!

I read &quot;Daniel has aids&quot; painted on a wall in the beach parking lot. I hope he wasn't one of the guys messing around in the cars...

&quot;Miss Julia Speaks Her Mind&quot; by Ann B. Ross and its sequels. They're not trashy, just fun - good vacation reading.

Lee Ann

I've enjoyed Karin Slaughter for the last year or two - think there are about 5 or 6 books by now, which are written in chronological order but can stand alone too. They are murder mysteries, with the forensics/pathology slant, and a good dash of personal storylines too where you get to follow the lives of their family and friends through the series.

Anna

I read 3 excellent books on vacation last month in Mexico: The Time Traveler's Wife, The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night Time, The Shell Collector (short stories--each one better than the last).

I like reading the local authors when in FLA. Hiassen, Lawrence Shames &amp; Randy Wayne White come to mind. The afore mentioned Ms. Evanovich. I also like Stuart Woods.

Not trashy but my favorite that I lend out all the time is &quot;The Secret Life of Bees&quot; which is set in the pre-civil rights South. The main character is a 14 yr old girl with no mother and an abusive father who goes on a journey with her caretaker after the women is threatened by white men when trying to vote. It is a page turner and an easy read...the kind of story you don't want to end.

I love these threads when they get going. Currently reading &quot;The Other Side of the Story&quot; by Marian Keyes - love her writing. Also love Maeve Binchey.

The Time Travelers Wife was excellent - one of the best books I've read in awhile.

Not a fan of Sophie Kinsella - Marian Keyes writes similar stuff but she is a much better writer. Characters have more depth, plot lines are more realistic, and touch on real life issues (Rachel's Holiday was excellent)and she's funnier.

Next on my list is The Kite Runner. Been hearing good things.

And thanks for the post about the new Tom Wolfe book. I'll have to check it out.

I just finished, &quot;Salty Piece of Land&quot; by Jimmy Buffet and loved it. I also liked &quot;Northern Lights,&quot; by Nora Roberts, made me want to move to Alaska! &quot;State of Fear&quot; is good, but a little heavy. I like the Kinsella &quot;Shopaholic&quot; series and the &quot;Traveling Pants&quot; books. &quot;Winter Soltice&quot; by Rosamund Pilcher I loved.

I have run book groups and am a very eclectic reader, and I tend to stick with a lot of non-fiction now and also some very heavy, dense stuff and harder reads. But saying that every time I've ever recommended Pilcher to readers, I don't think even one person has ever come back and told me they were disappointed. She's gone now, but like gardening, she always leaves me with such a feeling of peace and balance. Also like gardening does.

In the vein people are exploring here, one of my &quot;best&quot; group over time (and I can't use best really as there are SO many good books, so little time)- and a great vacation read are the Susan Isaacs. I do think the appeal is mixed, but she &quot;gets&quot; it- especially about marriage, family, step-family etc. It really is LOL for me with her.

One of her best is &quot;Long Time No See&quot; in which the main character is one which was in one of her earlier books about 20 plus years younger. Both are a scream. It's not &quot;Magic Hour&quot;. I'll post later, after looking it up. But I read them both backwards anyway, as I hadn't caught the first one years ago (early '90's, I think). All of you who have been married a long time, are widowed, or divorced whatever- you will love these books.

In the first she has a brief affair during her marriage and another entirely different plot. In the second- &quot;Long Time No See&quot; she is in the midst of another crime/murder etc. and adult kid problems etc. etc. and meets up with same guy from the affair after she is widowed. It's a second read, it was that good. Women of all ages like almost all of hers, but these were hysterical.

So many great books suggested here. Not a ton of mysteries. Before kids, we used to go to the used bookstores and stock up on paperbacks that we could plough through at the beach and leave behind. Some favorites: John Sandford, Lawrence Block, Jon Kellerman, Dean Koontz, Nelson DeMille, Robert Crais, JA Jance.

My all-time favorite trashy trashy trash-trash-trash books are by Jilly Cooper. Most of them have come from England or Amazon.UK. But I love the English-rich-horse-racing-fox-hunting settings. They're fluffy and long and let you settle in with some fun characters but there is very little redeeming about them, although I know understand the rudiments of polo, among other things.

The best book I've read in awhile (I review books for newspapers and my blog) is The Memory of Running by Ron McLarty. It's that great combination of gripping and engaging but not terribly lightweight;it's a well-written and solid novel.

Not trashy but REAL page turners are any of the books Michael Connelly: Back Echo, Black Ice, Concrete Blonde (in order).

Sorry for the terrible English, I'm doing this fast and with many interruptions. But wanted to add to the person who said about &quot;Prada&quot;- who would put up with that? You should see what happens in academia when tenure etc. are at stake- and/or the intern year for doctors. It's like little Hitlers evolve- and people do put up with it- to get to their perceived goals.

&quot;Secret Life of Bees&quot; was very good. Connelly is especially good for audio books. I listen to his all the time in the car on my commute, as is Crichton for &quot;action&quot; while you are driving.

A good mystery I'm reading right now is &quot;Buried Dreams&quot; by Brendan Dubois. Lots of nice N.H. coastline and history in this one too.

On the Susan Isaacs as in my former post- the first one I spoke of is &quot;After all these Years&quot; (1993) and the second is &quot;Long Time No See&quot; (2001).
She has many, many others but these two in sequence are funny. And the protagonist ages about 20 years plus between the two.

Annag, I just love Karin Slaughter's books too! I have read them all...the darkest one was about child porn,,,,it was very disturbing IMO. amwosu, I loved the Secret Life of Bees too!!!! I cried like a baby! Meg Chittenden books are wonderful too eg &quot;Snapshot&quot;. I am crazy avid reader....I read a book almost daily,,,,I am addicted! Book stores make me deliriously happy...how sad is that!

What a nice post. I am madly writing down suggestions which will get me through this turgid winter.

Along the lines of Pilcher is a series of books by Jan Karon. Wonderful characters who live in a small town in N. Carolina. They are written in order - the first book is &quot;At Home in Mitford.&quot; Hated to see them end.

If you want to laugh your ass off, I highly recommend &quot;Hypocrite in a Pouffy White Dress&quot; by Susan Jane Gilman.

Hey suzanne thanks for the tip! Looks like I can get in shape by picking up that book. No more stairmaster for me!!! ;)

Hissy Fit by Mary Kay Andrews is a very fun read. I have also enjoyed the entire Jan Karon series. :)

Maueve Binchy is also another one of my favorite authors. Quentins, Tara Road and Scarlett Feather are my favorites. ***kim*** ((F))

This is a great thread!

And the Jan Karon &quot;Mitford&quot; series, I was sorry when I finished reading the last one too. What a great read.

It is great to get so many recommendations.

I, too, have enjoyed seeing all the suggestions! Have to throw into the pot the Nevada Barr series - esp if you tend to visit the National parks. Earlene Fowler's mystery series, based on the West Coast, are also entertaining light reads that pull you into the characters' lives. Same with the &quot;tea&quot; series based in Charleston by Laura Childs. Also for a quick &quot;beach&quot; fix are the Benton books - Shem Creek, Isle of Palms, Plantation - you can almost taste the fried shrimp and smell the marsh!

Sorry - the last author should be Dorothea Benton Frank!

buckeyemom: I knew I liked you for a reason - We're on our way to the Keys in a few weeks and Jimmy Buffett's newest book is packed and just waiting for me to sit in the sun and crack it open!

hey, we are doing well - 24 hours later and 38 responses, not bad!