We are putting together a bookcase of books called 'Best Beach Books' and want to include books that are easy, (don't need to refer to a dictionary to read them) fun, (but doesn't need to be funny)  and great for travel, (you can put it down and pick it up an hour or a day later with out 'losing' the plot line.)  They do not need to be recent best sellers.

I would love to know what books you would include in a Best Beach Book shelve!  Thanks!

My favorite beach read ever was Hannibal by Thomas Harris.  I can't explain it, except that the characters and pigs and HEA ending were just right for a day at the beach.

The other books I would add to this list are Welcome to Temptation and Fast Women by Jennifer Cruisie. 

Anything written by F.M. Parker.  They are Westerns with great characters.

Two fun and easy to read books I recently have read and would recommend as a "beach book" are:

Something Missing by Matthew Dicks

Gold by Dan Rhodes

I was reading Little Bee by Chris Cleeve by the lake at a park this weekend and it went pretty well.  Very easy to read, the prose is vivid and light and doesn't get bogged down, the characters and plot grabbed me from the beginning.

I like to read about books set in a beachy setting while at the beach.  Mostly, I'd suggest anything by the following authors - I've enjoyed everything they've written!  Dorothea Benton Frank, Mary Alice Monroe, and Mary Kay Andrews.  Mostly set in the Low Country, they are easy reading, quirky, and funny books.  

"Annie Freeman's Fabulous Traveling Funeral" by Kris Radish.  Not so heavy that you have to be oblivious to everything else going on around you, but with enough depth to keep you involved -- a book with a message, but with fun parts and characters that you'll enjoy.

"Flabbergasted", "One Delirious Summer", and "Lost In Rooville" by Ray Blackston (www.rayblackston.com).  This series was a delightful surprise for me this summer! 

You've heard of Chicklit, well, one reviewer coined these books as "Ladlit".  They are nice reads-no sex, bad language, etc., VERY funny, lots of surprises, quirky characters, a bit serious at times, all comes together in book 3 (I wrote the titles in order above), and could be called Christian fiction, but definitely NOT preachy.  I think they'd be perfect beach reads, except once you start them you might not want to quit reading them, they are that good!  Mostly set in S. Carolina but also in other places at times. 

Excellent reads, check them out and give them a try!  I got all 3 in the series here on PBS last year, copies still might be available.  I even emailed the author to let him know how much I liked these books.  He emailed back and said he was working on a screenplay for "Flabbergasted", as some interest was shown for one!

those sound good Bonnie , I'm putting Flabbergasted on my list.

I told a friend about Ella Minnow Pea by Mark Dunn , she was looking for a beach book to take on vacation. If you have not read Ella Minnow Pea , give it a look , it is a fun story.

I really liked reading the shopaholic books by Sophie Kinsella.  Also, Love the One You're With by Emily Griffin.  Twilight also

Fiirst Wives Club

by Olivia Goldsmith  Her book are a good laugh and you can put them down and pick them up anytime. You won't have trouble finding your place. Just a good time. Barb

Bull's Island by Dorothea Benton Frank - I just finished this audiobook and I really enjoyed it! Drama, romance, humor - all set in the south on Florida's Gulf coast. :)

Anything by Jen Lancaster:

Bitter is the New Black: Confessions of a Condescending, Ego-Maniacal, Self-Centered Smart Ass, Or Why you Should Never Carry your Prada Bag to the Unemployment Office

Bright Lights: Big Ass: A Self-Indulgent, Surly, Ex-Sorority Girl's Guide to Why it Often Sucks in The City, or Who are These Idiots and Why do they all live next door to me?

Such a Pretty Fat: One Narcissist's Quest to Discover if her Life Makes her Ass look big, or Why Pie Is Not the Answer

My Fair Lazy: One Reality Television Addict's Attempt to Discover if Not Being a Dumb Ass is the New Black, Or, A Culture-Up Manifesto

I think I listed them in order of publication.  You don't have to read them in order, but the 1st book really helps you understand the back story of what happened, and why and everything.