Dirty books for summer
With summer upon us, it’s time to start assembling a list of the Best Dirty Books. Not that kind of dirty. I mean books meant to be read outdoors because they carry a whiff of salt spray or the grit of sand. For me, they’re the perfect read for a summer vacation. Here are a few classics that meet the standard. If you have other recommendations, let me know.
Dune. Frank Herbert’s science fiction tale, which started a trilogy and led to several lesser works by other authors, takes place on a planet covered by sand. Makes O.C. seem like a sandbox.
In a Sunburned Country. Bill Bryson, one of my favorite comic authors, describes in hilarious detail his travels around Australia, dodging the continent’s evolution-challenged and surprisingly lethal animals. You could read A Walk in the Woods, but this is a far sight better, mate.
Wind, Sand and Stars. Antoine de Saint-Exupery is more famous for Le Petit Prince, but his prose offers vivid descriptions of life as an airborne mail carrier in the 1930s, including a desert crash.
Desert Solitaire. Edward Abbey captures the beauty and grandeur of an unspoiled West as few people can. He voices awe for nature’s power and anger at those who try to tame it. One of the best books about nature ever written.
The Perfect Storm. If you can forgive Sebastian Junger for giving rise to one of our generation’s worst cliches, you’ll appreciate this gripping story of the Andrea Gail’s tragic 1991 trip fishing for swordfish. I read it one summer as we visited Gloucester, Mass., the boat’s home port, and was chilled by the memory.
The Summer Game. Roger Angell has always been my favorite baseball writer, and it really doesn’t matter which of his books you pick up. Each one will make you feel the rush of a hard slide that kicks up dust, the whump of a fastball hitting the catcher’s mitt.
While she always preferred The Hardy Boys to Nancy Drew, 
Comments
"Life on the Mississippi" is my favorite Mark Twain book. It's such a good combination of history, storytelling, and descriptions of what it's like to navigate on the river. I was absolutely amazed to learn about how steamboat pilots had to learn so much about all the ins and outs of just about every inch of the river. I was thinking of this book earlier this year when Sully landed his plane in the Hudson River!
"Evil under the Sun" by Agatha Christie is a Hercule Poirot murder mystery that takes place at a vacation resort off the coast of England. It's one of Christie's best books. The 1982 movie starring Maggie Smith, Diana Rigg (she plays the victim), Peter Ustinov, James Mason and lots of other famous stars is good too, especially with the Cole Porter music in the background.
Oh, and if you're bored this summer, why not just swap houses for two months with someone across the ocean? That's just what the two main characters (one from Dublin and one from Connecticut) do in the novel "Tara Road" by Maeve Binchy. Both women have undergone recent tragedies in their lives, and each ends up having a unique summer. I don't like all of Binchy's books (some seem kind of boring and repetitive), but this one I did like. Excellent characters and plot. And it's fun to see the contrast between the Irish and American lifestyle and culture.
Posted by: Gail Farrelly | May 31, 2009 1:36 PM
I'd suggest Jennifer Ackerman's Notes from the Shore, and for fiction - this is probably too obvious - how about something by Jimmy Buffett? Tales from Margaritaville or A Salty Piece of Land... true beach reading.
Posted by: jjlong | June 1, 2009 2:52 PM
Not to be too obvious - but The Beach by Alex Garland or Beach Music by Pat Conroy.
Posted by: Stephmo | June 1, 2009 3:01 PM
Well, it's not beach dirty, but A Walk in the Woods by Bill Bryson was good, dirty fun for me!
Posted by: fasciknitting | June 1, 2009 3:07 PM
This one is an all-time favorite of mine, because (1) I have a MBA and (2) a love the mission of the Nature Conservancy: Good Dirt
Posted by: sandydog1 | June 1, 2009 3:08 PM
If you want sand between the sheets pages, I don't think you can improve on Seven pillars of wisdom. Except possibly with Beau Geste...
Posted by: thorold | June 1, 2009 3:09 PM
I think you'd have to include The Shipping News, and also Thousand Acres, and The Road. Gritty, all three.
Posted by: toreadtonap | June 1, 2009 3:11 PM
The Big House: A Century in the Life of an American Summer Home by George Howe Colt -- the summer home in question is on Cape Cod.
The Summer Book by Tove Jansson -- vignettes of a grandmother and granddaughter during a summer spent together on an island in the Gulf of Finland.
Posted by: AMQS | June 1, 2009 3:13 PM
The Sex Lives of Cannibals is not about what the title implies - it would be a perfect beach read.
Posted by: emaestra | June 1, 2009 3:15 PM
Come on Shore and We Shall Kill and Eat You All - perfect for a boating holiday.
Posted by: MrAndrew | June 1, 2009 3:16 PM
Arabian Sands by Wilfred Thesiger is a great true story of the desert. And if you need to cool off, I suggest Four Against the Arctic: Shipwrecked for Six Years at the Top of the World by David Roberts. It's about an amazing story of survival, but it's also about the journey of the man researching their story. He travels all over the world to find information on them and eventually visits their island. Terrific reading.
Posted by: Lisa | June 1, 2009 4:56 PM
Oh! I would also suggest "Gone Bamboo" by Anthony Bourdain. A fun spy story on a tropical island - plus, you get to see what Tony was doing before the TV Food Network.
Posted by: Lisa | June 1, 2009 4:58 PM
aah, Dune ... one of my all-time favorites!
Posted by: Heather J. | June 1, 2009 11:21 PM
Gearing up for vacations and travel, I just started Lost on Planet China by Troost. His Sex Lives of Cannibals made for a good summer beach read and/or sitting-out-on-the-porch-with-a-beer read.
Posted by: Heather | June 5, 2009 12:31 PM