How To Pick A Good Book For Your Vacation

Stop bringing the long, boring books you've been meaning to read for three years with you on your tropical vacation. Here are some tips to avoid caring empty weight in your suitcase and instead bring your favorite read of the year. Spoiler Alert: if you wont start it before you leave, you wont read it on vacation.

Reading on vacation is UNDER RATED!!! So many people give up on their vacation books with the excuse, "i'm on vacation, why should I force myself to read??" Because if you do it right, it can be one of the most restful parts of your trip.

"Like a good book or an incredible outfit, being on vacation transports you into another version of yourself." -Emily Henry, The People We Meet on Vacation

We've all brought books on vacation that have bookmarks on page 10...or 2. Even the most avid readers fall victim to bad vacation-read picks. This guide will help you select a book that you will actually want to read on the beach.

1. Take a trip to a good indie book store before you leave

This might be blasphemy to some readers, but I always go for a booksellers pick. Don't get me wrong, I'll spend six hours in a bookstore to find that hidden gem, but not everyone has time for that. Especially when you have professionals that have done it for you and put some great reads on a big table in the front.

So if you don't know where to start when it comes to picking a book, check out your nearest bookstore. Booksellers are great at helping find the book for you, and at worst, you'll walk out with one of the best rated books of the year. If you don't want to speak to a bookseller, most of the time the stores website will have each sellers bio and favorite genres. I always look for the person who has the same taste as me and look out for their picks. :)

Also, when I say "indie book store" I don't mean Barnes and Noble. I repeat, do not go to Barnes and Noble. Thou shall not go to monopoly holding book chains like Barnes and Nobel is the second commandment given to readers on the top level of Powell's book store. It is followed only by the first commandment, Thou shall resist Amazon at all costs. Bottom line, not only do chain stores like this use tactics like Amazon to hurt smaller bookstores,

they also just don't understand what it means to be a bookseller.

2. Stick to your favorite genre: especially if it's a guilty pleasure

I know what it is like to try and convince yourself that you will enjoy a nonfiction book, or that book that everyone has been talking about. I'm sure it's a great book, and there's definitely a time and place for a good non-fiction read, but especially if you aren't a big reader...stay with a genre you love. Remember, you're going to be sitting on a beach, or at a gorgeous café, or in a lovely big city, your book should naturally fit that scene.

This is not to say you have to have a happy book, just a book that makes you happy.

For non-readers, go by your favorite movie genre! If you love Romantic Comedies, try Beach Read by Emily Henry or The Ex Talk by Rachel Lynn Solomon. Horror? try Pet Semetary by Stephen Ki--actually, please don't read that book on vacation-- maybe The Institute by King, The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson, or Mexican Gothic by Silvia Moreno Garcia. Coming of Age? Normal People by Sally Rooney. Mystery?Where'd You Go Bernadette by Maria Semple or We Were Liars by E. Lockhart. Adult Fiction? Writers and Lovers by Lily King. Young Adult Fiction? The House in the Cerulean Sea by TJ Klune.

There are so many good books out there in your very favorite genre that you'll LOVE if you give them a shot. This next tip will insure that one of these amazing picks does not end up collecting dust on your shelf.

3. Start it the day before you leave!

Starting books is hard. I can't even count the books i've started, thought I wouldn't really like up to one hundred-something pages in, and ended up loving. Most of the time, books start "slow".

This does not mean the beginnings are "boring" !!

Exposition can be difficult to start on the beach, but it is also exactly what will hook and keep you reading. So, commit to reading the first 50 pages before you leave, meet the characters and set the scene before packing it. To be clear, I'm not suggesting you start it as to decide if it is interesting or not, just to get you to a point where it's about to get really interesting.

To be clear, I'm not suggesting you start it as to decide if it is interesting or not, just to get you to a point where it's about to get really interesting. 

These are three simple tips to picking a great book to pack in your suitcase.

Seriously guys, reading on vacation can be really relaxing. These are the few opportunities we have to not have any textbooks, emails, or documents to read and just pick up a good book. I hope these tips help you, and make sure to let me know what book you chose to take with you on vacation!

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