Summertime is filled with many clichés, but one of my favorites is the concept of a Beach Read. A beach read is a book you read purely for fun and joy. It’s a book designed for reading quickly during long stretches of time.
I’m going to let you in on a little secret –
I only read beach reads.
I don’t save them for vacation. I don’t save them for a special time. I read for joy; why would I save joy for a particular time?
It’s Just Marketing Anyway
Don’t get me wrong, I love the idea of saving something specifically for a special moment. It makes it feel more special and can increase enjoyment. If that is your intent, awesome, wonderful, fantastic!
But if you’re saving it because it feels like it’s the only time it’s okay to enjoy a book like that, in that way, that’s where the issue lies.
The idea of beach reads tends to emphasize that it is not okay or is shameful to enjoy these books at other times in your life. No, it is not saying it explicitly, but it operates from the assumption that the rest of the year you should be reading more serious, less enjoyable things.
I take serious issue with creating marketing campaigns based on things that could hurt us.
It Is All Made Up
We have a podcast called No Shame In The Home Game for a reason – shame isn’t a great motivator. Yes, it works in the short term, but in the long run, you beat yourself down so much that it can be very debilitating.
If we want to live with joy, we cannot be beating ourselves up for the things we enjoy.
Okay, I’m Biased as a Romance Reader
I recognize that this comes from a place of frustration around the stigma of Romance. Romance is the highest-grossing aspect of the publishing industry, yet it still gets put into a box of being bad, not good enough, trashy, or something shameful. Beach reads seem to make it “okay” to read them this one time of the year and then use that shame mindset to market them.
Love what you love with no shame. Love what you love any time of year. There is no reason to postpone your joy.