Coastal Living – Beach House Books

Beach House Book #6 – The Book of Summer by Michelle Gable

The Book of Summer by Michelle Gable was listed as #2 on Coast Living Magazines 2017 list of 50 Best Books for the Beach this Summer. By comparison, (see related posts below) it should have been #1. Enough said? I loved this gem so much that I am exchanging my local library copy for my a copy of my own. This book I will re-read, hopefully, in my own beach house someday. And if I do, indeed, have a beach house, I am now inspired to have my own book of summer.

The book contained a phenomenal message of the importance of coming home and facing whatever it is that we each must face. Although the setting of the story remains unchanged at Cliff House, a family beach estate on the bluffs of Nantucket, Gable mixes the past with the present. She intertwines the story of the main character Bess with that of Bess’s grandmother, Ruby. Bess and Ruby’s stories are set in present day and in the 1940s, respectively. Both stories, connected through time, provide a remarkable realistic view on the human condition, love and forgiveness. This is a story of how the experiences that we endure, both good and bad, shape us and make us who we are…a story about reconciling what we believed, with what truly is.

This book is a blessing to get lost in. Enjoy.

Related Posts:

I Will Judge a Book by its Cover

Beach House Book #1 – Secrets in Summer by Nancy Thayer

Beach House Book #2 – Perfect Summer by Luanne Rice

Beach House Book #3 – Truly Madly Guilty by Liane Moriarty

Beach House Book #4 – All the Missing Girls by Megan Miranda

Beach House Book #5 – In Twenty Years by Allison Winn Scotch

Beach House Book #7 – Commonwealth by Ann Patchett

Beach House Book #5 – In Twenty Years by Allison Winn Scotch

This book was not on any of my best of summer reading lists; however, I stumbled upon it entering my local library to retrieve a book that was on one of my lists, so I am making an exception. The book literally fell into my hands, a reminder that life cannot be so rigid. Interestingly enough In Twenty Years by Allison Winn Scotch skirts around the rules we create for ourselves…the life that we think that we will have and the life that we actually live. This book found me…maybe because, just like the characters, over 20 years ago, I graduated from a small university in Pennsylvania…maybe because I struggle with my purpose in this life…maybe because I don’t remember who I was back then. If only we could all go back in time, trade a day of wisdom and relish in the joy of youthful optimism, recklessness and innocence.

The setting is Philadelphia…a reunion of UPenn grads…not your typical college reunion, but a gathering of friends that were inseparable in college beckoned together 20 years later. Each faces a reconciliation of their skeletons, regrets and personal sorrow with the courageous, optimistic, and energetic ghosts of themselves from 20 years prior. This story is about soul searching, reflection and purpose. The story is about who we all thought we’d be and where we are now. This story is about somehow embracing your youth of yesterday with the wisdom that comes with age. This book is about surrender.

If I owned a beach house, there would be several copies of this book scattered about…as a gentle reminder to those that lose themselves in her pages, of where they wanted to be, where they are standing now and where they must go. It would be a wish to marry your youthful optimism with your age-old wisdom and go forward so that your next 20 years are truly your best.

Read this book. Remember you. Make changes. Move forward.

Related Posts:

I Will Judge a Book by its Cover

Beach House Book #1 – Secrets in Summer by Nancy Thayer

Beach House Book #2 – Perfect Summer by Luanne Rice

Beach House Book #3 – Truly Madly Guilty by Liane Moriarty

Beach House Book #4 – All the Missing Girls by Megan Miranda

Beach House Book #2 – Perfect Summer by Luanne Rice

For Beach House Book #2, I reached deep into the back of my closet where my book shelf is and pulled out this little forgotten gem…an old, classic, paperback, printed well before they changed what paperbacks looked and felt like. This paperback, indeed, was reminiscent of one I would find in a beach house. Albeit, this version was in better shape…not battered by ocean water, wind, salt and sand. Any Luanne Rice book that is held in my hands comes from my mother, loved by her before it is passed along to me. I’ve known this book has been with me for awhile; however, I didn’t recall that it has been sitting on my shelf for 14 years…in multiple homes, in multiple states and even different countries. This book has mileage. It was time I read it. After I all it did meet my beach house book blog criteria. I dusted it off and looked at the cover…”Perfect Summer” with its idyllic, peaceful setting of a house sitting on the coast. Just by looking at the cover, I can feel the breeze that would blow through the windows of this house on a summer evening. I can hear the laughter of children run outside to play after dinner before bath time as people sip ice tea or lemonade from a porch. I can feel simple times.

Situations like this prove that I am guilty of judging a book by its cover and being wrong! Perhaps you can imagine my shock and delight as I curled up on my couch, delved into this book, expecting to begin a story just about old friends or an old flame and, instead, I became immersed in a mystery…some unexpected suspense, which ensured I did not put this book down. I devoured the first half of this book one morning over a few cups of coffee. The title of this book is definitely misleading to one that judges a book by its cover, but I promise that you will enjoy losing yourself in this story. The Perfect Summer is set on the coast off Connecticut, and it is about what I originally suspected…old friends and an old flame, but it is also about deception, betrayal, lies, forgiveness, hope, and love. It is a story of a family torn apart by greed, competitiveness and the desire to win at all costs. It is the story of “what if” and the one that got away. It is a story of hope, renewal and happy endings.

I hope you enjoy this one as much as I did. You won’t put it down.

And yes, thank you Amazon...it is still available for purchase as a perfect beach house paperback.

I will Judge a Book by its Cover

Beach House Book #1 – Secrets in Summer by Nancy Thayer

Beach House Book #3 – Truly Madly Guilty by Liane Moriarty

Beach House Book #4 – All the Missing Girls by Megan Mirana

Beach House Book #5 – In Twenty Years by Allison Winn Scotch

Beach House Book #1 – Secrets in Summer by Nancy Thayer

If you’ve ever sat around on a beach or by a pool or in a restaurant and paid quiet attention to those around you…made assumptions or wondered about the lives of those sharing your space than this book is for you. After all, everyone has their secrets.

Secrets in Summer by Nancy Thayer was listed by Coastal Living magazine, in its June 2017 issue as one of the “50 Best Books for the Beach This Summer.” I was immediately intrigued. Who isn’t intrigued when the title contains the word “Secrets”. If this book was listed as the #1 book on Coastal Living’s list of recommendations, well then, it must be the first beach house book for me. I kicked off my beach house book summer, splurging on this hardback, because holding the book and smelling the pages is the only way to begin my escape…in this case, to Nantucket. This story is perfect and light…just right for a chaise on a beach or by a pool. The story has enough depth and intrigue that it keeps you interested, but not enough drama that it tears your attention away from everything else or should I say everyone else around you. If you delve into this gem, you’ll realize that a large part of the story is actually about just that…paying attention to what is going on around you…paying attention to what is going on inside you.

The story revolves around the summertime adventures of the main character, Darcy, and her varying and often complex relationships, including her relationship with her self and her own internal struggle. The story maintains a modern twist on relationships, both Darcy’s and those of her neighbors and loved-ones, emphasizing wisdom and companionship that spans generations. Thayer honestly conveys the various challenges within modern relationships, the impact of our past on our present, our feelings of insecurity in our relationships and acknowledging the impact that we have on others and alas, that they have on us.

Just like me, you can purchase this book easily through this link at Amazon!

I Will Judge a Book by its Cover

Beach House Book #1 – Secrets in Summer by Nancy Thayer

Beach House Book #2 – Perfect Summer by Luanne Rice

Beach House Book #3 – Truly Madly Guilty by Liane Moriarty

Beach House Book #4 – All the Missing Girls by Megan Miranda

Beach House Book #5 – In Twenty Years by Allison Winn Scotch