Spring Break. You’re either going to the beach with your friends, enduring a road trip, going to a not so beachy spot (while you fake it and say you’d rather not lay on the beach for a week and instead go ski a sloshy mountain freezing your bum off), or staying home working (lying to others that making money at the local snow cone stand feels better than spending it on a fun vacay with your friends). All of these options are great, some better than others, but all of them require a book to go along with the down time. Or the up time, you know, the time you’re sprawling out on the beach. For your sandy reading pleasure, here are my top three picks for what to read during Spring Break.
The Talented Mr. Ripley by Patricia Highsmith
This classic quickly became a favorite of mine and I cannot stop recommending it to everyone; once reading I could not put it down and I finished it in what felt like minutes. Highsmith has the rare talent of causing the reader to side with the killer, making him simultaneously the protagonist and antagonist of the novel (if you love the Netflix series, “You”, then you’ll love this). Taking place on the hot Amalfi coast, this perfect thriller is filled with beautiful characters that will keep you metaphorically on your toes while your body is being blistered by the sun. What’s even better is that they made it into a movie featuring the two hottest male actors of the 90s.
City of Girls by Elizabeth Gilbert
This fun and captivating read follows a young twenty-something Vivian Morris who has decided she doesn’t love the idea of college and wants to move to New York City with her eccentric aunt. Her aunt owns a playhouse filled with beautiful and “experienced” women, all goddesses to Vivian. She uses her skills to design and sew together their costumes while taking advantage of the opportunity to learn from their more mature lifestyle. This novel takes you around 1940s New York, following Vivian throughout her “Sex and the City” esque life, discovering that you don’t have to be a “good girl” to be a good person. I loved reading this and wish I could unread it so that I could read it again and again.
Tender is the Night by F. Scott Fitzgerald
The classic novel of the 1930s takes place on the magical and sexy French Riviera. It follows a young actress on the road to stardom and her relationship with a wealthy American couple. She loves the husband and the husband loves his wive’s money. This novel gives an inside look into the everyday minds of real people and real relationships. Though the narrative is fictional, it leaves you wanting to check up on the characters as if they were your friends and lovers, too. And what could be better than the sunny south of France??
So there they are, my favorite Spring Break reads. As always, when you buy your next book go to your local independent bookstore! Au revoir and happy reading!
URBAN FLEUR 