Every body is a beach body, and every read is a beach read if you want it to be. We鈥檒l let you look elsewhere if you seek the usual trashy fiction or romantic mysteries, which we fully endorse. But here, for your reading pleasure, are a handful of reads that stretch the genre. Some are literally about the beach and beach creatures (human, animal, or otherwise). Others are about mortality or beavers. All will keep you riveted when it鈥檚 time to get out of the water.
鈥楾he World in a Grain鈥 by Vince Beiser
How much do you think about the actual beach? After air and water, sand is the natural resource we consume the most of. Vince Beiser鈥檚 new book, , looks at the history of humans using sand and why that use has ramped up sharply鈥攚here do you think all those chips in Silicon Valley come from? Turns out sand is a great analogy for our ripping through resources without regard for the future. The book is both serious and illuminating鈥攜ou might never look at a stretch of beach the same way again.
鈥楴atural Causes鈥 by Barbara Ehrenreich
You could call this the anti-self-help book. In , Barbara Ehrenreich lays into the medical and wellness worlds, arguing that we worry too much about prolonging our lives at the expense of actually living our days. Not to mention, we鈥檙e easily suckered by the snake oil of fad diets, the wellness industry, overzealous doctors, and inconclusive science. It gets a little wonky when she goes deep into biology (Ehrenreich has a PhD in cellular immunology), but it鈥檚 a fascinating, detailed send-up of the ways we try to take care of ourselves and how Americans are prone to trusting any voice besides their own when it comes to their health.
鈥楨ager鈥 by Ben Goldfarb
Ben Goldfarb, a longtime fisherman and paddler, became a beaver believer, as he calls it, after a scientist at an otherwise boring conference showed him that beavers were the architects of all his favorite habitats, from Oregon鈥檚 salmon streams to dry southwestern creeks. Goldfarb then spent years crossing the country, exploring beaver habitats to look at the ways the animals sculpted the American landscape, how their extirpation by way of the fur trade drastically changed waterways, and how bringing them back could save water and slow climate change. I can鈥檛 explain it better than he does in : 鈥淭rying to mitigate floods or improve water quality? There鈥檚 a beaver for that. Hoping to capture more water for agriculture in the face of climate change? Add a beaver. Concerned about sedimentation, salmon runs, wildfire? Take two families of beaver and check back in a year.鈥
鈥榃elcome to Paradise, Now Go to Hell鈥 by Chas Smith
If you liked surf writer Chas Smith鈥檚 acerbic voice in his new book, Cocaine and Surfing, pick up his first book, , which is even trashier and more raucous. It鈥檚 a gossipy, skewering look at life on the North Shore of Oahu, and, as Smith says in Cocaine, he wrote it in part to try to burn his bridges with the surf industry. Smith spares no one, including himself, in his relay of the violence, partying, and cronyism of the surfing world, which makes for gleeful, raw reading about a slice of sports that鈥檚 often sterilized and idealized.
鈥楢 Thirsty Land鈥 by Seamus McGraw
It鈥檚 hard to write about the slow creep of environmental crises like drought without resorting to shock tactics or getting lost in the weeds. In , Seamus McGraw鈥檚 look at the state and future of the water in Texas, he draws out the conflicts in compelling ways by drilling into the plight of individual water users. Even if you feel no connection to Texas, these stories are relevant to every part of the country.
鈥楥ampfire Stories鈥 Edited by Dave and Ilyssa Kyu
If you want a chunk of quick reads, Dave and Ilyssa Kyu have compiled writings by diverse voices about six different national parks that are perfect for telling out loud. The snack-sized readings in include Terry Tempest Williams鈥 musings about Zion, Isabella Bird鈥檚 letters to her sister after becoming the first woman to climb Colorado鈥檚 Longs Peak, and Wabanaki poems about Acadia. It鈥檚 a great summer skimmer.
鈥极耻迟濒颈苍别鈥 by Rachel Cusk
Rachel Cusk鈥檚 most recent book, , the third in her trilogy about the travels of a writer named Faye, just came out to . But the first book in the series, , in which Faye goes to Greece for a writing retreat, is the gold standard of smart summer reading. Cusk nails the fuzzy, disconnected feeling that comes from exploring a new place with new people you don鈥檛 quite understand.