How to Choose the Right Book for Every Summer Trip

Read why road trips, airplanes, beaches, and vacations may inspire completely different reading choices.

When summer arrives, we hear a lot about beach reads and summer reading lists. I love finding new books as much as the next reader, but I’ve realized something about the way I choose what to read when I’m traveling.

For me, it isn’t only about the book.

It’s about where I’m going and the kind of experience I want to have while I’m reading it.

I don’t remember ever sitting down and creating rules for my vacation reading, but somehow the pattern just developed over time. Somewhere along the way, I noticed that certain types of books seem to fit certain places better for me.

Road Trips Call for Love Stories and Drama

If I’m traveling in a car and comfortable enough time to settle in with a book, I usually want a love story or drama.

There’s something about watching the scenery pass by while getting caught up in relationships, family problems, difficult decisions, and other people’s complicated lives that works for me.

Car travel can also include plenty of interruptions, like people sparking up conversations with me, or stopping for food, or simply me deciding to nod off for a bit.

With a good drama or love story, I can put the book down for a little while and return without feeling like I’ve forgotten the clue that could solve an entire murder.

The story becomes part of the road trip instead of competing with it.

Airports and Airplanes Put Me in the Mood for a Mystery

The moment I get to an airport, my reading mood changes.

This is where I grab a mystery.

Maybe airports naturally bring out the people-watcher in me. There are people coming and going from everywhere, families rushing toward gates, travelers sitting alone, and conversations happening all around you.

You can’t help wondering where people are headed or what their stories might be.

That atmosphere definitely inspires an air of mystery.

Once I’m on the airplane, it’s even better. I have a stretch of time when I can settle in, follow the clues, question the suspects, and try to figure out what happened before the big reveal.

And the best part, because I am not a fan of flying, a good mystery can also make a long flight feel a lot shorter.

Even a delay becomes slightly more tolerable when I’m busy trying to decide which character is lying.

At the Beach, I Want Suspense

You might think I’d choose something light and relaxing at the beach.

Not exactly.

Put me near the water with some sunshine and I want a thriller with suspense.

I love the contrast between the setting around me and what’s happening on the page. Everyone else may be swimming, laughing, eating, and enjoying a perfectly normal summer afternoon while I’m reading about someone who has just made a very bad decision.

The beach is where I want a book that keeps me turning pages.

I want tension and that feeling of needing to know what happens next even though I should probably look up and enjoy the ocean once in a while.

Apparently, a little fictional danger goes very well with sunshine.

Your Perfect Summer Read May Depend on the Experience You Want

That’s why I don’t think there’s one definition of the perfect summer book.

Someone else may want romance at the beach, humor on an airplane, or a historical novel during a road trip. Your favorite vacation reading may look completely different from mine.

The better question may be what kind of experience you want from your book.

Do you want something comforting while you relax?

Do you want a story that makes a three-hour flight disappear?

Do you want to laugh during a long road trip?

Do you want suspense that keeps you glued to your chair at the beach?

Do you want to escape somewhere completely different from the place you’re visiting?

Your location and your reading mood can work together.

So, before packing books for your next summer trip, think about more than the titles sitting on your reading list. Picture where you’ll actually be reading them and how you want to feel in that moment.

For me, that will probably continue to mean love stories and drama on the road, mysteries in airports and airplanes, and suspenseful thrillers near the water.

It’s okay to want to choose the story that fits where you’re going.

So now I’m curious. Does your reading taste change depending on where you are, or will you read your favorite genre anywhere?

Explore my Amazon Author page for your next read. Thanks for reading.

Categories: : Bannerman Books, Book Recommendations, Reading, Summer Reading