I used to be an avid reader. “Used to” as in I was an avid reader through grade school, and virtually stopped reading for pleasure when high school started. Sure, I’ll go through spurts when I make time to read and fall back in love, but these are short lived. Life feels too busy and I’m too much of an extrovert to spend my time doing introverted things. However, I’ve found that the week my family spends at the beach (almost) every year is a way to get hours of uninterrupted reading under my belt to make up for lost time.

I tried to pick a mix of books to read this week. The bottom row of books above was chosen based on my historical beach reads rule of “pick the most feminine book cover,” which usually means the lightest, easiest, and most romantic reads on the shelf. (The feminist in me just cringed.) In all this time I’ve almost run out of Sophie Kinsella and Emily Giffin books that I haven’t read, so the fact that I managed to find two more is impressive. The selection for light reads on the shelves at Half Price is slimming. Perhaps I should find a new vacation genre.

I’m a bit prouder of the top three. The House at the End of Hope Street was chosen by my mom on our trip to Half Price Books for my light reads. It looks more enriching than my other choices, and I have some pressure to read it quickly because I think she wants it next. I’ve been partway through Gillian Flynn’s Sharp Objects for ages now. I spent about a month reading regularly back in February and March when I was taking the train to and from work, had just seen Gone Girl, and was hooked on Gillian. I read Gone Girl and Dark Places first and while Sharp Objects hasn’t hooked me as much as the others did, it’s still an enticing read. Finally, top middle: I’ve been meaning to read Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close for ages now. Like before the movie came out…which apparently was in 2011. As I said, I’m behind on my reading.

Now, you’re probably thinking: six books in one week seems a tad ambitious. Just remember I started one book long before the trip and the light reads basically count as half books. With hours on hours spent reading this vacation, I have confidence in myself that I can get it done!

What are some books I should add to my lengthening reading list for next time I rekindle my passion or for next time I hit the beach?