There’s nothing quite like setting up shop for the day in your trustiest beach chair, digging your toes into the sand, and getting lost in one of today’s best-selling novels. It’s a welcome escape that all should experience at least a few times throughout the summer season here at the shore. Here, in our first edition of “Beach Reads”, we take the challenge out of selecting “the perfect beach book” and bring some of this season’s top-selling novels to you. Enjoy!
And the Mountains Echoed
By Khaled Hosseini
From the #1 New York Times–bestselling author Khaled Hosseini of literary sensation The Kite Runner, comes a tale of exploration about how we love and how the choices we make resonate through generations. And the Mountain Echoed details the inner workings of the family, from parents and children to aunts, uncles, cousins, and generations that have come before. Hosseini explores not only how these units nurture and sacrifice for one another, but also their tendencies to hurt and betray those closest to them. From Kabul to Paris to San Francisco to the Greek island of Tinos, this tale traces the ramifications of each of its characters’ choices around the globe, and readers are guaranteed to become increasingly emotionally invested with each turn of the page. Get lost in this unforgettable story of “finding a lost piece of yourself in someone else”.
The Alchemist
By Paulo Coelho
“With over a million and a half copies sold around the world, The Alchemist has already established itself as a modern classic, universally admired,” states one Amazon’s official review. The Alchemist is the magical story of Santiago, an Andalusian shepherd boy who yearns to travel in search of a worldly treasure as extravagant as any ever found. From his home in Spain, he journeys to the markets of Tangiers and across the Egyptian desert to a fateful encounter with the alchemist.
The story of the treasures he finds along the way teaches us about the essential wisdom of listening to our hearts and, ultimately, following our dreams.
Air Bound (A Sea Haven Novel)
By Christine Feehan
For as long as she can remember, Airiana Ridell has been aware of her unique “powers”. She can intuit revealing and illuminating “patterns” in the air around her—whether in a cloud of mist, in clouds, or in even in the swirls of a heavy fog. These unparalleled abilities led to her placement in a secret government training facility when she was a child, but after her mother was murdered, Airiana fled the program.
She is able to outrun her captors for a time, but eventually finds herself kidnapped and held aboard a ship bound for dangerous seas. Her only chance for rescue is Maxim Prakenskii. He has his reasons for helping her, but he isn’t about to reveal them to Airiana. Not yet. Not when there are so many secrets yet untold that could shatter the quaint community of Sea Haven and all who reside there…
The Matchmaker: A Novel
By Elin Hilderbrand
A classic beach read about a woman who knows what’s best for everyone around her — except for herself. 48-year-old Nantucketer Dabney Kimball Beech has always had a knack for matchmaking. With a grand total of 42 happy couples to her credit, it’s safe to say she knows her stuff when it comes to romance.
But the man who stole her heart 27 years ago has now returned to Nantucket and Dabney has never felt so alive. When tragedy strikes, she must share painful secrets and her gift for matchmaking with her family and friends before it’s too late.
Ghost Ship (The NUMA Files)
By Clive Cussler & Graham Brown
The latest in this #1 New York Times-bestselling series from “the grand master of adventure”, Clive Cussler. When Kurt Austin is injured attempting to rescue the passengers and crew from a sinking yacht, he wakes with fragmented and conflicted memories. Did he see an old friend and her children drown, or was the yacht abandoned when he came aboard? For reasons he cannot determine, Kurt doesn’t trust either version of his recollection.
He begins to search for answers, and soon finds himself descending into a shadowy world of state-sponsored cybercrime, and uncovering a pattern of vanishing scientists, suspicious accidents, and a web of human trafficking. But where he will ultimately end up even he could not begin to guess.
For these and even more excellent beach reads, look no further than Cape Atlantic Book Co. of Cape May’s Washington Street Mall. This helpful staff is full of recommendations and ready and willing to point you in the direction of the book to make your beach day complete.