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Aug.4,2016Beach Reads: A popular term as we begin the summer. But not for me. (If you’ve ever read The Real Me, you’re not surprised.)
I don’t like beach reads because I don’t like beaches for more than 5 minutes.
Early in my California residency, I decided to try the beaches west-coasters always talked about. The ones in Hawaii.
First, why not? They were so close. Just off the coast of Los Angeles, right? At least that’s what all the maps pictured.
Imagine my surprise!
After a loooooong plane ride, which could have taken me to Coney Island instead if I’d made a quick U-turn, we were on a serious island. Maui. One with no skyscrapers nearby. No Edward Hoppers as far as the eye could see. Unlike Manhattan, which is an isle of joy.
The “vacation” turned out to be the longest 2 weeks of my life. Several times, I thought of leaving early, but we’d paid in advance, and maybe it would get better.
There was no bookstore (not then, anyway, early 1980’s) in case I did want a “beach read.” There wasn’t an activity in the tour book where you could wear a decent pair of pumps.
Beach reads? Nah, I’ll take subway reads any day. Or, maybe the term should be Bleacher reads. Picture this: the bleachers in Times Square. Now there’s a comfy reading corner.
A perfect place to read.
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I haven’t been to the beach in decades, but still think of it fondly, despite being burned to a crisp and getting sand in all the wrong places. I love the water and the smell and breezes most of all. And I hate wearing pumps.
I think there are people who genuinely consider lying in sand (dirt) relaxing and reading adds to that enjoyment. Maybe they’ve never had an umbrella fall on them, or a bug ruin their lunch, or maybe they just don’t care!
A mystery: What is the real purpose of beach reads? To feel like we are accomplishing something when what we really want to do is flake out in the sun for a few hours? To be able to discuss the latest popular book with friends when we return from vacation (and not waste valuable time at home reading something we wouldn’t otherwise read)? To engage the mind when flaking out is too boring?
You nailed it, Miss Merry! We could go on, couldn’t we — like sand in our sandwich and all the things we forgot, like tissues and a pencil. 🙂
I find I like the concept of travel much better than actually traveling. I love to imagine sitting in a beach chair with a large umbrella, an iced drink and a good book, but real life tends to be muggy and buggy with my umbrella collapsing, children crying and the wind ruffling my book pages while my nose sunburns!