What book will you take to the beach?

by Roger Sutton
May 19, 2015 | Filed in Articles & Opinion
OnTheBeachIn my fantasy world, as I say in my introduction to the Horn Book's annual summer reading recommendations. kids (and grownups) could read whatever they like while on their break. Wouldn't that be GREAT? While I remember exhortations from teachers to read over the summer (not like I or probably you needed any encouragement) there were no lists and certainly no required reading. Those were the days.

I don't yet have anything planned for my beach reading this year. I am not at all sure I will even see a beach, but in case I do, can anyone offer a recommendation?
Roger Sutton
Roger Sutton

Editor Emeritus Roger Sutton was editor in chief of The Horn Book, Inc., from 1996-2021. He was previously editor of The Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books and a children's and young adult librarian. He received his MA in library science from the University of Chicago in 1982 and a BA from Pitzer College in 1978.

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Roger Sutton

I've read READY PLAYER ONE and enjoyed it, and about three-quarters of THE MAGICIANS--which I also was greatly enjoying, but that thing happened where you put a book down for some reason and then never quite get back to picking it up again. That happens to me more and more frequently! If you liked READY PLAYER ONE, I can think of two other beach books with a similar high-tech hero's journey, Neal Stephenson's REAMDE and WHISKEY TANGO FOXTROT by David Shafer. I'm thinking of trying DR. ZHIVAGO again--I think i was too young when I read it as a teen, expecting it to be like the movie, but I'm just finishing Peter Finn and Petra Couvée's THE ZHIVAGO AFFAIR, a fascinating history of the book's publication and so want to give the novel another whack.

Posted : May 21, 2015 03:53

Rachael Stein

I can't remember if you've mentioned whether you've read Ready Player One or The Magicians, but I love both of those.

Posted : May 21, 2015 03:32

Monica Edinger

I'm enjoying a return to Discworld starting with the Watch books. Some I'm listening to and some reading. Reminding me how incredibly well-read Pratchett was. One of my favorite little bits in The Fifth Elephant is a very clever play on Chekhov's Cherry Orchard.

Posted : May 21, 2015 09:46

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