Best Books to Read on Break

There are many moments while on vacation that beg for the perfect book. The quiet time when you’re curling up before the fire in the evening with the scent of fresh air lingering in your hair. Watching the kids hurl themselves off the end of the dock and into the lake. Floating in the middle of the lake on a boat while someone else fishes. Just what are the best books to read on break? Read on!

Ten of the Best Books to Read On Break

Maybe you can relate: you love reading, but normal life gets in the way so you only have time to really get lost in something or actually finish a book while on vacation. Or maybe you’re in a reading slump, and are looking for the perfect book to pull you out of it.

We recently chatted about our favorite books as a family and thought it would be fun to share them with you all! However, since most of our family are avid readers, the original list we made was way too long; lucky you, you get three posts full of book recommendations!

I’m Olivia, the newest member of the Sams family, married to the oldest son of Heather and Brian, Elijah. Click HERE if you want to see photos of our lakeside wedding at the resort! As both an avid reader and nature lover, one place you’re sure to find me is in a lounge chair or a swing down by the lake with my nose in a book. I’ve got some pretty full shelves with a lot of five-star reads, so I hope you enjoy my review, below!

Olivia’s Vacation Reads

We’ve all been there. You book a getaway at a place out in nature, perhaps by a lake, with a beautiful porch where you can see yourself enjoying a cup of coffee as the sun rises and casts dancing lights through the morning mist. Oh, how the perfect book would add to that moment. But which book to pick? Now, that’s the real question.

Not to fret, my dears! I have compiled a short list of books of various genres and various lengths for your humble consideration. Others may disagree, but I consider the following some of the best books to read on break. If one catches your eye, don’t forget to pick it up before you hop in the car! Who knows, if you aren’t driving, that may be the perfect time to start reading.

Best Fantasy Books to Read on Break

For lovers of fantasy, we recommend Tress of the Emerald Sea by Brandon Sanderson. Hop aboard the Crow’s Song and sail the spore seas as Tress searches to find her beloved, Charlie, who was supposedly lost to the sea. Sanderson wrote it for his wife, inspired by a conversation of what could have happened if Buttercup went after Wesley in The Princess Bride. It’s a lovely, cozy novel that doesn’t lack in character, world, or plot and is one of my favorite books to read on break.

Or, if you’re looking for an older title, one often less-known and markedly shorter than Tress, we offer to you The King of Elfland’s Daughter. Author Lord Dunsany wrote what is often considered the first true fantasy novel, and it’s not only short but beautiful. Join Lirazel in her journey moving from the fae world to the mortal, desperate to discover what life is like outside her father’s realm frozen in time.

Want something a little less stressful and entirely cozy, with all the vibes of a D&D party’s happy epilogue? Pick up a copy of Legends and Lattes by Travis Baldree. Viv has lived her whole life as an adventurer when she finally quits and does one thing no one ever expected an orc to do: open a coffee shop. Full of warmth and love, this one became a bestseller within weeks of its release, and for good reason! It’s one of the best books to read on break.

Best Sci Fi Books to Read on Break

Not into fantasy? Sci-Fi, maybe? The Martian is a fantastic option. Mark Watney has become the first man to walk on Mars, but he may also become the first man to perish on Mars. After being stranded by a dust storm, he has to use all the skills he has in order to survive long enough to get off the big red planet and home to earth. Andy Weir’s story is gripping, hilarious, and showcases the indomitable human spirit in a beautiful, raw way.

Looking for something more obscure? Already read Weir’s masterpiece? Why not give A Canticle for Leibowitz a try! Set in a post-apocalyptic America, you get to follow a sect of cloistered monks in one of the last Catholic monasteries left and experience the rebirth of civilization after such destruction. The world is cyclical, as are its events and issues. The author, Walter M. Miller Jr., expresses them in such a captivating way, you’d be remiss not to at least give this book a shot.

Best Romance Books to Read on Break

Oh, I understand, how about some romance? Nothing better than curling up with a cup of tea and listening to waves break in the crisp spring air than blossoming love connections. Do be warned, the following books include topics and scenes for the 18 and older crowd. Read at your own discretion!

Beach Read by Emily Henry is a fantastic novel about a romance author who moves in to her deceased father’s beach house, only to find out her neighbor is a literary fiction author–and her arch nemesis. In a classic rivals-to-lovers, you’re sure to find not only romance, but healing, growth, and the love only exhibited by women in community. With a plot like that, this book is one of the best books to read on break at the beach!

Not really into the modern, contemporary romance? Why don’t you check out one of the best selling series of all time: Outlander, by Diana Gabaldon. Travel with Claire Randall from the mid 1950’s all the way back to Scotland in 1743. Experience the political intrigue of the Jacobite Rebellion and the personal intrigue of one Jamie Fraser, the charming Scots highlander who not only saves Claire’s life, but enables her to save others.

Best Nonfiction Books to Read on Break

Okay, we hear you. Fiction isn’t your thing. That’s totally fine! How about philosophy? Try How to Think by Alan Jacobs, a book that talks about how we aren’t able to think as well as we expect. This guide teaches us how to think better, and what reconnection with our brain, and the way we even approach thinking, can mean for us and our lives.

Or maybe a cozy self-help book like The Little Book of Hygge by Meik Wiking, where we learn the importance of creating comfortable, mindful spaces, moments, and mindsets in our lives! Introduce yourself to concepts like fika, the importance of candles, and how to find hyygelig even when trekking through the elements!

For readers who enjoy the macabre and unusual, check out From Here to Eternity: Traveling the World to Find the Good Death by mortician Caitlin Doughty. Doughty compiles her experiences of traveling the world and exploring how other cultures view death. Through sharing her observations, she encourages the American public to take a closer look at their own relationship with death and death traditions.

Summary

So, did any of these best books to read on break peak your interest? Perhaps a few did! Perhaps none did! If you found a few to add to your Goodreads shelf, we’re so glad we could help! And if none of them caught your attention, well, then we apologize. If you are vacationing here, maybe you’ll find a book you like in our free library at Campfire Bay Resort. Regardless, we hope you find your next best book to read on break. And, when you revisit it in years to come, may you not only fall back in love with the story, but the memories you created when you were first reading it.

Happy travels, both in this world and in the wonderful worlds we find on our bookshelves!