Off to the beach this summer?
Heres some suggested geek-skewed reading to accompany your sunburn.
A beach read, were informed by glossy lifestyle magazines, should fulfil several criteria.
ReadingJawson a beach is brilliant.
Every paddle and sand-castle takes on a new layer of thrilling menace when you readJawson a beach.
Read it in one sitting.
Then dont go in the water.
Traditional folk tales blend with fear and paranoia to make a strange, mesmeric story.
If youre more into theatre than the movies, go forWyrd Sistersinstead.
Weve two words for you: angry bears.
If youre after a recommendation from a more august source than us, then Neil Gaiman is a fan.
On Twitter in 2012, he called itthe best e-book hed read.
Or the best e-book hed read in 2012.
And thats another thing.
Its also rather lovely.
JH
The Princess Bride William Goldman (1973)
On a beach.
In a space shuttle.
Its one of the most self-indulgent bits of loonery Ive ever read.
There wasnt a likeable character in it, let alone one you cared anything about.
The ending was as annoying as the rest of the book.
Avoid at all costs.
PS A lot of the other reviews refer to the fact theyd seen the film before reading the book.
Thats us told then.
Perhaps thats because the dark places he takes you to spring naturally from music too.
Rowan wrote a story a week for a year, each one inspired by a tune chosen randomly.
Its not filled with sunny emotions, but that makes the contrast all the sweeter.
So begins the kind of adventure that sounds like make-believe.
AW
Those are our suggestions to get things started.
What can you recommend we pack into the suitcase?
