Beaches by Iris Rainer Dart

Heartwrenching and funny, this is a story of a friendship between two very different women. One is a loud, outgoing, aspiring actress and the other is shy, meditative homebody. They meet in the 50’s, then reunite periodically throughout their lives – at beaches in Florida, California and Hawaii.

Summer Reading by Hilma Wolitzer

Centered around a summer book discussion group in the Hamptons. Young socialites struggle to impress each other and, in the end, are influenced by books such as Madame Bovary and Jane Eyre that are assigned in their book club.

Killer Summer by Lynda Curnyn

Set on New York’s Fire Island, three 30-something friends share a house for the summer. Each character is given a chance to narrate and give their own point-of-view, as their plans for a fun escape are derailed when a dead body is found on the beach.

Mary Emmerling’s Beach Cottages

What is more relaxing than flipping the pages of one of our many decorating books and remodeling the house in your head? Cheaper and easier than actually going to Home Depot.

Beach Boys Classics CD

Need some music to get in the mood to get to West Lake beach or at least the back yard? How about “Don’t Worry Baby,” “Busy Doin’ Nothin’ and “The Warmth of the Sun?”

There is something about water, the ocean in particular, that draws people. We want to explore it, watch it, live near it. With Memorial Day past, and summer unofficially here, now is a great time to plan/fantasize about that vacation home on the beach.

You might want to start with Mary Emmerling’s Beach Cottages. Filled with gorgeous photos, the houses featured range from formal to casual, historic to modern with a wide variety of decorating styles. The common denominator throughout though is water – crystal, sparkling blue water. It’s not hard to imagine the gritty feel of sand underfoot, the salty tang of the ocean in the air, the call of gulls overhead.

It’s almost as good as being there.

Japan, with it’s dramatic history and exotic culture, has always fascinated Westerners. Catch a glimpse of Japan through these books.

The Tale of Murasaki by Liza Dalby. This brilliantly imagined memoir of Murasaki, author of the world’s first novel, is filled with details of 11th century Japan and the intrigues and politics of court life. Dalby successfully introduces and makes familiar a very distant, very foreign time and place.

Autumn Bridge by Takashi Matsuoka. Rich and vivid, this novel, set during the waning days of Japan’s feudal age, follows the story of a clan whose members can see into the future. An epic tale of swords, sorcery and honor.

Memoirs of a Geisha by Arthur Golden. Long-time favorite of book clubs everywhere, Memoirs of a Geisha follows the life and fortune of a girl who became a geisha, set at the end of the golden age of geisha. Filled with fascinating details of the private world and hardships of a geisha, it is also a beautiful love story.

The Strangeness of Beauty by Lydia Minatoya. Etsuko returns to 1930s Japan with her orphaned neice after having lived in the United States for several years. This book follows three generations of women living in a country on the brink of war.

December 6 by Martin Cruz Smith. Just days before Pearl Harbor, Harry Niles is making plans to leave Japan on the last flight to Hong Kong, but first, there are some loose ends to tie up. An evocative snapshot of a unique time and place, and a hero that hides a sentimental heart under a shield of cynicism.

American Fuji by Sara Backer. Fired from her beloved teaching job at Shizuyama University, American Gaby Stanton makes ends meet selling fantasy funerals to the rich. She agrees to help Alex Thorn search for clues to his son’s death. This modern-day culture clash brings contemporary Japan vividly to life.