The secret of Good Beach Book
While the evolution of the über-cool iPad may make this article redundant before too long (I for one hope it doesn’t, like newspapers, nothing can compensate for having that physical print in your hands) – the summery read is a staple of any beachside holiday.
In this increasingly hectic world, for many the opportunity to totally lose yourself in a novel, biography or schmaltzy Mills & Boon-esque yarn only comes round once a year – the two weeks you designate to leaving all your mundane problems behind and head for the Babylon of the beach.
By definition then, this carefree, happy-go-luck jaunt is no place for a heavyweight political, historical or theological tomb – as anything that saps the mental reserves will defeat the objective of the holiday all together.
Nope, leave the hardback at home. For one they take up A. Precious space in your suitcase and B. Bump you unnecessarily close to the maximum weight designated by your airline.
Summer is light, airy and throwaway and so your summer read should be too. But that’s enough about the physicality of said read, what about its content?
Well it needs to tick most if not all of the following boxes:
→ Be a page turner
→ Entertain
→ Make Your Laugh
→ Make You Cry
→ Resonant with your own life
→ Educate
Of course penning such a novel is easier said than done, otherwise we’d all be at it. The recycling bins of publishing companies around the world are full of drafts of novels by hopeful authors waiting to be pulped – coming up with something which is both original and sellable is not an easy task.
So you’ve booked the flights, stocked up on sun cream and dug out the overseas adapter from behind the takeaway menus in the kitchen drawer, but just what book(s) should join them in your luggage?
High Fidelity by Nick Hornby
An oldie, but a goodie. Hornby is a master of dissecting the nuisances of the male human condition in a way which appeals to both sexes. Based around the failing relationship of a struggling independent record store owner, the beauty and power of music once again shows just why, if you let it, it can sometimes conquer all. A life-enhancing read that’s worth revisiting time and time again.
£1.74:
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My Friend Leonard by James Frey
If High Fidelity sublimely celebrates the power of music, My Friend Leonard centres on the power of friendship. After battling drink and drug addictions which saw him imprisoned and the love of his life dead, James finds solace, support and companionship in the most unlikely form of Leonard – a fellow inmate, with a mysterious underworld back story. Vivid, visceral and intensely moving, this is contemporary novel writing at its very best. Frey’s next offering Illumination is due out in November, read this and you’ll be hankering to get your hands on it.
£1.74:
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It’s Not What You Think by Chris Evans
It’s only right that we throw an autobiography into the mix, considering they tend to take up the lion’s share of the bestsellers’ list on a weekly basis – and this is the best I’ve read in quite some time. Generally I’m against this cynical new phenomenon of celebrities releasing books which only cover half their lives – but the DJ-turned-television mogul-turned DJ’s own has been a fascinating ride from start to finish. From his working-class Warrington roots and money-making scams as a child to trysts with Kim Wilde, Big Breakfast and borrowing £60m pounds to buy Virgin Radio. Evans comes across as bright, erudite, keen to learn from his mistakes and one of those effervescent characters that comes along in a generation.
£10.28:
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Down Under by Bill Bryson
American Bryson has of course written numerous enchanting travel-based journals of which this is arguably the best. Down Under perfectly encapsulates the ‘survival against the odds’ wonder that is Australia (in the middle of nowhere, inhospitable climate, a largely non-arable land mass, 100 poisonous snakes (not to mention spiders, toads, fish), terrible lager) , yet despite all this, the country has managed to pull itself up from the seat of its pants with a mixture of hard graft, ingenuity, humour, spirit, skill and resourcefulness to become one of the most respected and rightfully admired nations of earth. Bryson captures all of these characteristics with real charm as his zig-zags across the land imparting fact, fiction and general good humour.
£3.17:
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Providing You Don’t Kiss Me by Duncan Hamilton
There has been reams and reams written about the unorthodox genius (is there any other kind?) that was Brian Clough but no book to date has got under the skin of the double European Cup-winning manager as well as Hamilton’s. During his time at the Nottingham Evening Post the sports journalist spent 20 years covering the rise and fall of Old Big ‘Ed and got to know him better than most. Coupled with his sublime ability to weave a yarn while flitting between periods of the unpredictable manager’s life and scattering the tale with facts, anecdotes and unknown gems, make it the most insightful Clough book yet. His inside track on the totemic leader’s glory days is as uplifting as the documentation of his decline sorrowful. Hamilton was right; they’ll never be another like him.
£0.68:
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