Sand And Suntans: Beach Reads At The Library

Are you looking for a summer escape? Stop into the library and grab a beach book to take along to the beach! Don’t have a chance to lay out with your toes in the warm sand? These fun summer reads let you settle in on your couch or in the backyard and vicariously enjoy the sea.

If you are seeking a light-hearted beach book, “Little Beach Street Bakery” by Jenny Colgan (FIC Col) is packed with emotion and laughter. Polly escapes to the Cornish coast to get away from a ruined relationship and discovers a new passion for baking bread and along the way also discovers herself. Or, perfect for book lovers, “The Bookstore on the Beach” by Brenda Novak (FIC Nov) is about a charming beachside town and an old high school romance that sparks renewed feelings. Another good one for book lovers is “The Seaside Cafe” by Rochelle Alers (FIC Ale) about a seaside book club, where the members bond over their favorite novels, but romantic twists are happening in their own lives as well.

Of course, we also have the queen of beach reads, Elin Hilderbrand, whose shiny book covers are always filled with cloudy skies, beach chairs, and ocean waves. You can imagine yourself there as you read her many seashore stories including “28 Summers,” “Endless Summers,” and “Here’s to Us” (FIC Hil).

Prefer historical fiction? We’ve got beach reads for you, too! Check out Chanel Cleeton’s books, “The Last Train to Key West,” which shares the story of women whose lives are changed by hurricanes in the Florida Keys in 1935, or “Our Last Days in Barcelona,” a story about a shocking family secret that jumps between 1936 and 1964 (FIC Cle).

Can’t get enough mysteries? “Reckless Girls” by Rachel Hawkins (FIC Haw) takes you on an island adventure, but it turns into a gothic reimagining of a classic Agatha Christie mystery with a perfect twist ending.

If you are looking to learn about inspiring, fearless women that are shattering records on 80-foot waves, the nonfiction title “Women on Waves: A Cultural History of Surfing: from Ancient Goddesses and Hawaiian Queens to Malibu Movie Stars and Millennial Champions” by Jim Kempton (797.3 Kem) is for you. Dive into the history of swimming and consider the reasons why humans have an intimate relationship with water in Lynn Sherr’s book “Swim: Why We Love the Water” (797.2 She).

From our movie collection, travel aboard with George Clooney and Julia Roberts on a hilarious adventure in “Ticket to Paradise” (DVD FIC Tic). Watch these meddling parents try to stop their

daughter from marrying an Indonesian seaweed farmer, or enjoy a ridiculously funny cult classic “Weekend at Bernie’s” (DVD FIC Wee) or “Weekend at Bernie’s II” (DVD FIC Wee).

Looking for a quick but relaxing water experience? Take the whole family on a trip around the Atlantic with “Turtle: The Incredible Journey” (DVD 597.928 Tur). This amazing film follows the life journey of a loggerhead turtle as she travels her ancestry waters.

Cool off at the library and enjoy your visit with an in-person program, or grab a Take and Make kit when you are picking up your summer reads. Stop by the Circulation or Reference Desk if you would like to receive instructions on how to use the OPAC station to find materials, acquire a CDPL library card, or more information about our monthly used book sale. Please visit our website at www.cdpl.lib.in.us or call us at 765-362-2242 for more information. CDPL is open Monday-Thursday 9a-9p, Friday-Saturday 9a-5p, and Sunday 1-5p.

-Toni Ridgway-Woodall is a Library Assistant in the Reference and Local History Department and the Mary Bishop Memorial Gallery Coordinator at CDPL. Megan Taylor is Assistant Manager in the Reference and Local History Department.