here is a list put together by msn of the ten best beach reads of all time.
peyton place: contemporary readers of peyton place will be captivated by its vivid characters, earthy prose, and shocking incidents. through her riveting, uninhibited narrative, metalious skillfully exposes the intricate social anatomy of a small community, examining the lives of its people — their passions and vices, their ambitions and defeats, their passivity or violence, their secret hopes and kindnesses, their cohesiveness and rigidity, their struggles, and often their courage.
if you want more after you are finished reading you can also check out the successful film and television series, melrose place and grey’s anatomy.
chocolates for breakfast: precocious and shocking when first published in 1956, chocolates for breakfast is a candid coming-of-age story of a young girl’s sudden awakening to love and desire written by 18-year-old pamela moore. disaffected, sexually precocious 15-year-old courtney farrell splits her time between her parents’ homes in new york and los angeles. when a crush on a female teacher in boarding school ends badly, courtney sets out to know everything fast—from tasting dry martinis to engaging in a passionate love affair with an older man.
considered an american response to french sensation bonjour tristesse, chocolates for breakfast is also a tale of courtney’s close and ultimately tragic friendship with her roommate, janet parker, and a moving account of how teenagers approach love and sex for the first time.
valley of the dolls: red or black; capsules or tablets; washed down with vodka or swallowed straight—for anne, neely, and jennifer, it doesn’t matter, as long as the pill bottle is within easy reach. these three women become best friends when they are young and struggling in new york city and then climb to the top of the entertainment industry—only to find that there is no place left to go but down—into the valley of the dolls.
beautiful ruins: is the story of an almost-love affair that begins on the italian coast in 1962…and is rekindled in hollywood fifty years later.
and if you love it, then get ready for the film adaptation by todd field.
outlander: the year is 1945. claire randall is traveling with her husband when she touches a boulder in one of the ancient stone circles that dot the british isles. suddenly she is hurled back in time to a scotland torn by war and raiding border clans in the year of our lord 1743. catapulted into the intrigues of lairds and spies that may threaten her life, she soon realizes that an alliance with james fraser, a gallant young scots warrior, might be the only way to survive. thus begins a work of unrivaled storytelling that has become a modern classic.
crazy rich asians: is the outrageously funny debut novel about three super-rich, pedigreed chinese families and the gossip, backbiting, and scheming that occurs when the heir to one of the most massive fortunes in asia brings home his abc (american-born chinese) girlfriend to the wedding of the season.
when rachel chu agrees to spend the summer in singapore with her boyfriend, nicholas young, she envisions a humble family home, long drives to explore the island, and quality time with the man she might one day marry. what she doesn’t know is that nick’s family home happens to look like a palace, that she’ll ride in more private planes than cars, and that with one of asia’s most eligible bachelors on her arm, rachel might as well have a target on her back. initiated into a world of dynastic splendor beyond imagination, rachel meets astrid, the it girl of singapore society; eddie, whose family practically lives in the pages of the hong kong socialite magazines; and eleanor, nick’s formidable mother, a woman who has very strong feelings about who her son should–and should not–marry. uproarious, addictive, and filled with jaw-dropping opulence, crazy rich asians is an insider’s look at the asian jetset; a perfect depiction of the clash between old money and new money; between overseas chinese and mainland chinese; and a fabulous novel about what it means to be young, in love, and gloriously, crazily rich.
clan of the cave bear: this novel of awesome beauty and power is a moving saga about people, relationships, and the boundaries of love. through jean m. auel’s magnificent storytelling we are taken back to the dawn of modern humans, and with a girl named ayla we are swept up in the harsh and beautiful ice age world they shared with the ones who called themselves the clan of the cave bear. a natural disaster leaves the young girl wandering alone in an unfamiliar and dangerous land until she is found by a woman of the clan, people very different from her own kind. to them, blond, blue-eyed ayla looks peculiar and ugly–she is one of the others, those who have moved into their ancient homeland; but iza cannot leave the girl to die and takes her with them. iza and creb, the old mog-ur, grow to love her, and as ayla learns the ways of the clan and iza’s way of healing, most come to accept her. but the brutal and proud youth who is destined to become their next leader sees her differences as a threat to his authority. he develops a deep and abiding hatred for the strange girl of the others who lives in their midst, and is determined to get his revenge.
state of wonder: a provocative and assured novel of morality and miracles, science and sacrifice set in the amazon rain forest. a gripping adventure story and a profound look at the difficult choices we make in the name of discovery and love.
salem’s lot: ben mears has returned to jerusalem’s lot in the hopes that living in an old mansion, long the subject of town lore, will help him cast out his own devils and provide inspiration for his new book. but when two young boys venture into the woods and only one comes out alive, mears begins to realize that there may be something sinister at work and that his hometown is under siege by forces of darkness far beyond his control.
the age of innocence: newland archer is about to be married to the lovely and sheltered may welland, but when may’s worldly and—gasp!—divorced cousin countess olenska returns from europe to rejoin manhattan’s high society, archer falls deeply in love with her. enjoy wharton’s entertaining and thoughtful descriptions of clothing, ballrooms, and one man’s undeniable romantic longing.
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