Welcome to a new weekly post here at Bibliotica: a list of five books on a theme, each Friday. This week, to usher in August, I’m sharing five of my favorite beach books.

While some people think of beach reading as anything light that one might read at the beach, for me, beach reading involves books that are set at or near the shore. Here are five of my favorites, alphabetically by author:

Beaches, by Iris R. Dart
We all know the movie, but the novel it was based on is richer, as novels tend to be.

The Mermaid Chair, by Sue Monk Kidd
Vivid imagery, and an excellent depiction of a coastal town.

Suzanne’s Diary for Nicholas, by James Patterson
A quiet, sweet, sentimental little novel. The movie (direct to DVD, I think) couldn’t approach it in tone or poignancy.

Three Sisters Island Trilogy, by Nora Roberts
These three novels, Dance Upon the Air, Heaven and Earth and Face the Fire all take place on a cute and charming fictional island, with each novel focusing on one woman, though their stories are interwoven. It has everything I love in novels – a cafe/bookstore, the beach, and romance.

Up Island, by Anne Rivers Siddons
Actually, Ms. Siddons has written many beach books – Colony, Low Country, and Outer Banks are three others – she’s amazing at capturing the Carolinas, and the Gullah culture, as well as just general beachiness.

Your Turn: What does “beach reading” mean to you? What are some of your favorite beach books?