Top Ten Tuesday: Top Ten Beach/Cottage Reads

Today I've got another link-up with The Broke and the Bookish.  Today's topic is beach reads; however, I've changed it around slightly.  I don't really "do" beach reads.  If I go to the beach, I typically bring whatever I'm reading at the time.  I'm also not much of a beach person, considering I burn very easily.  On the other hand, I do love cottages, and sitting on the dock of our family cottage with a good book is one of my greatest joys in life.

I don't have many criteria for cottage-y reads, although generally if it's a vacation, I prefer to avoid very heavy subject matter, as well as anything super-scary; cottages get dark and have strange noises at night, so if you're reading something scary, you may have trouble sleeping!  The plus side is if I'm on vacation, I can take the opportunity to read long, saga-type books because I know I'll have time to dig into them, and can read goofy books that I might be embarrassed to bust out on the subway.

 

Mysteries work well for the cottage, as do books that are somewhat light-hearted, for example:

1.  The Number One Ladies Detective Agency by Alexander McCall Smith.  There are occasionally heavy moments, but overall this series is pretty light and enjoyable.

2.  The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle.  They are mysteries, but not the kind that make you afraid at every bump in the night.

3.  One Day by David Nicholls.  I read this one on my honeymoon. There are definitely a few not-light elements in this one, but overall I'd classify it as fairly light.

Sagas or books that are just plain long:

4.  The Shell Seekers by Rosamunde Pilcher.  Not long enough to be called a Saga, but it does cover several decades within a family.  I'd say this is the ultimate cottage read because it has romance, war, secrets, and family drama, yet it's not heavy enough to leave you depressed.

5.  Edward Rutherford books.  I've only read Sarum, but I enjoyed it.  Because his books are so long, I hesitate to pick one up unless I have some time on my hands because it annoys me if I have to keep flipping back to earlier sections to remember what happened.

6.  11/22/63 by Stephen King.  I actually read this one in a week because I had an 8-day library loan and I wasn't working at the time; however, it's realllllly long and some people would hesitate to pick it up unless they had a lot of time on their hands or were prepared to forego sleep by reading into the wee hours of the night, because it's really addictive.

Adventures books:
7.  Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson.  Okay, it's kind of for kids, but it's full of adventure... and pirates.

8.  Voyage of the Dawn Treader by C.S. Lewis.  They all take a boat to the end of the world and encounter new lands.  Plus Reepicheep is in it, so there is comic relief.  Most of the Narnia books would make good cottage reads.

9.  H. Rider Haggard.  I mentioned him last week as well.  His books are your typically 19th century adventures stories.  I've got his Allan Quartermain stories on my to-read list, but King Solomon's Mines and She would also be good cottage or beach reads.

Books that are kind of embarrassing:
10.  Gordon Korman.  I'm way too old for him, but honestly his books are just so funny.  The Bruno and Boots books are my favourites; I love the idea of taking out a big stack of them from the library and laughing my way through a week at the cottage.  No one at the library has to know that I don't have kids....