A Book for Every Season

One author I know spoke proudly about her book as a perfect beach read and celebrated the expectation that it would sell well during the summer. Another author, however, had the opposite reaction when someone suggested she present her book as a beach read. “No way,” she shot back. “My book has substance.”

Neither of these authors was wrong. Beach reads mean different things to different people, and our conception of what constitutes a beach read has evolved over time.

The concept can be traced to the late nineteenth century, when the rise of a middle class who could afford to enjoy summer vacations led to the popularity of what was known as “summer reads.” The term beach reads wasn’t coined until more than a century later, in 1990, when the publishing industry grabbed onto it as a marketing strategy. While beach reads weren’t directly inspired by the emergence of self-publishing and aren’t considered a genre, their success coincided with efforts to distinguish subcategories of books within an exploding marketplace.

So what exactly is a beach read, and should you aspire to write one?

The obvious literal meaning is a book to be read at the beach. Duh! Of course not everybody has access to a beach, so the concept can be taken to mean any book that allows readers to kick back, relax, and escape. Though not tied to a genre, beach reads were traditionally associated with romances and cozy mysteries. In other words, we’re talking about a book that is neither stressful nor particularly thought-provoking—one you wouldn’t want to read twice and therefore could leave behind at the beach (or pool or mountain cabin or airport). These days, you might just delete it from your e-reader’s library.

More recently, the marketing of beach reads has expanded to include a wider range of genres, such as thrillers, memoirs, and nonfiction. You might wonder why some books are sold as beach reads if just about any book could be considered one. That’s a fair question. I think it comes down to the added value we continue to place on books whose primary purpose is to provide a means of escape. And we do this even while describing many such books as fluffy, frivolous, or otherwise unsubstantial.

When I look around during this current cultural moment, I see a strong inclination among people to escape. For one person that might mean turning off the news and watching sports. For another it might mean spending time in nature, practicing yoga, or . . . sitting down with a book that allows them to forget about the state of the world.

All of that is understandable. No one would argue that the world isn’t stress-inducing or that we don’t need to decompress and engage in some self-care. If anything, we should probably feel less guilty when we do find and enjoy moments of escape.

Personally, this marketing trend doesn’t resonate strongly with me. That’s because, as much as I value self-care, I feel a responsibility to bring readers’ attention to the pressing issues of our time and to inspire them to think more deeply, learn something new, and balance their need for escape with a need to engage and to contribute to the world we live in. I do this through social impact fiction, which allows me to tell a serious story while also entertaining readers. You could say I want my fiction to pair escapism with engage-ism.

Does this element of engage-ism preclude my books from being sold as beach reads? Considering the current definition, perhaps not. However, when someone recently mentioned their potential as beach reads, I found myself cringing.

I immediately realized that despite evolving definitions, beach reads still carry a stigma. It was a real ouch moment. Throwaway, expendable, less than, lacking gravitas were some of the judgments that came to mind.

Yes, I always welcome the prospect of more sales, but my books don’t deserve to become Cinderella reads after Labor Day. Nor would it help to say they’re “winter reads” or “snow reads.” My books belong to all seasons.

As a writer who is either aspiring to write a beach read or considering marketing a book as one (because I think writers tend to come to beach reads after the fact), here are some questions you might ask yourself:

• Do I feel any stigma associated with beach reads?

• What expectation does labeling my book—whether fiction or nonfiction—a beach read set for readers?

• Does that expectation align with what the book delivers?

• Do I wish my book to be viewed or used as an escape?

• Is the stigma of a beach read (if I feel it), something I need to avoid or is it not a big deal?

• Am I giving up anything by labeling my book a beach read?

Ultimately, tagging a book as a beach read is a marketing decision. But it is an especially consequential marketing decision because it has the potential not only to impact sales but also to reflect on the perceived quality of your book.

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