11 literary beach reads to throw in your tote
The beach read sweet spot, in my opinion
Last summer, I had an aha moment. I had just read the final sentences of a summery new release and closed the cover. I was soaking in how much I loved it (which one, you ask? More on that below...) and connecting the dots between a few similar books I loved, realizing how they fell into the same subgenre. I realized I had found my sweet spot for beach reads: the literary beach read.
A literary beach read leans more literary but is still set in a *very* summery location. It features complex characters, whether they are family, young folks coming of age, or a group of endearing friends.
What I love about these types of books is that they have an impeccable summer setting and feel but more depth than a typical summer book. No shade, I love a good summer romance or contemporary fiction novel! But sometimes, you also crave something more complicated that dives into what it means to be human.
Curiously, several of these books have a horrendously low Goodreads rating. But they have all been 4+ star reads for me, so don't let yourself be deterred by the suspiciously low ratings. I'm chalking it up to the fact that the internet hates complicated women, many of which these books feature 🙃
