This week, our beach read selections are inspired by our coastal location. As they say, “when in Rome, do as the Romans do.” When reading on the beach, why not get lost in novels set on beachfront locations? This edition of Beach Reads takes its title quite literally, detailing the storylines of some of the best-selling reads exploring the nature of or set on the sea.
Blue Mind
Wallace J. Nichols
Publisher’s synopsis: Why are we drawn to the ocean each summer? Why does being near water set our minds and bodies at ease? In “Blue Mind”, Wallace J. Nichols revolutionizes how we think about these questions, revealing the remarkable truth about the benefits of being in, on, under, or simply near water.
Combining cutting-edge neuroscience with compelling personal stories from top athletes, leading scientists, military veterans, and gifted artists, he shows how proximity to water can improve performance, increase calm, diminish anxiety, and increase professional success.
“Blue Mind” not only illustrates the crucial importance of our connection to water-it provides a paradigm shifting “blueprint” for a better life on this Blue Marble we call home.
Tropical Dreams
Kelly Cozzone
Publisher’s synopsis: “Tropical Dreams” is a a tale of love, murder and conspiracy. Can Tiana Alexander overcome her past to learn to love again? Can David Murphy let go of the demons who haunt him. Can they face the future together or will life finally take its toll and their lives?
Liquid Comfort – A Surf Story
Cheryl Lee Petro
Publisher’s synopsis: Sometimes the ocean hands you an unexpected wave. Travis Kelly wants nothing more than to win the world surfing championship and show up his rival, Kane, but when a horrible accident leaves him disabled, he finds himself floating in a world of misery. Surfing was his life. How will he cope? By drowning his sorrows in alcohol, he runs the risk of following in his dead-beat brother’s footsteps—a path of addiction he despises, yet seems drawn toward.
Adrift in a sea of self-destruction, Travis struggles between what makes the pain disappear, and what the surfer really wants—the ocean, the girl, and the union of his family.
With a touch of Hawaiian culture, “Liquid Comfort” is a stirring tale of surf, addiction, determination and unconditional love. Hang on for a gnarly ride!
That Others May Live: The True Story of the PJs, the Real Life Heroes of the Perfect Storm
Jack Brehm, Pete Nelson
Publisher’s synopsis: Pararescue jumpers, or PJs, are the military’s most elite force, a highly trained group of men serving in the Air Force and the National Guard. In battle, they fly behind enemy lines to rescue downed pilots. In peacetime, PJs stay sharp with daring civilian rescues, recovering victims from scorching deserts, treacherous mountaintops, raging seas, and natural disasters. Their almost unimaginable courage first came to the public’s attention in Sebastian Junger’s The Perfect Storm, with that book’s riveting account of how a helicopter of PJs plunged into the Atlantic during a tragic rescue attempt. Senior Master Sergeant Jack Brehm was the PJ supervisor coordinating their dramatic efforts that night.
“That Others May Live” not only sheds new light on that rescue, it also tells the thrilling story of Jack Brehm’s devotion to the PJs, a career choice that transformed him from an aimless kid to an on-call hero. This book is a compelling and deeply personal story of one man’s “ordinary” heroism that is, in reality, extraordinary.
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.