R&R

In a mere three weeks' time, TOH and I will be packing and prepping for a (much-deserved, in our opinion) holiday to somewhere warm and sunny far, far from here. We are both tremendously excited. Of course, I have to fret about something, so now the fretting begins: What to read? NPR has published a list of 200 books that it wishes to whittle down to the 100 Best Beach Books Ever. Some of them are great and, indeed, I've read them while on the beach / on a lounger in close proximity to a pool: Cryptonomicon, Kavalier & Clay, The Moonstone are just a few examples. But some of these just seem... weird. I give you:

• The Brothers Karamazov
• Lush Life (rarely have I read a book more rooted in its place - so unless you're at the Water Taxi Beach, probably not a good choice. Who would want to take hipsters with them to invade their imagination when they leave NYC?).
• The Unbearable Lightness of Being - really? because an existential crisis goes so well with a tan?
• War and Peace - because you'll have so long to actually sit down and read it?

On the other hand, although it is a thriller, I could not have predicted that The Moonstone would be such a perfect accompaniment to early mornings sat overlooking a beach in northern Brazil. So I'm not going to count these out, necessarily. As for us, I'm not sure what we're taking, but definitely the new Zoe Heller, the new Sarah Waters (and Tipping the Velvet). Suggestions?