Beach book request…

LaCar is leaving for the beach and requested a book. Having asked a few compelling questions about setting, type character, etc. to see what she might like, she answered saying:”Just a page turner…”
Hmmm … a page turner. The search was on, the game was afoot…

I know from reading enough books and enough lists and responses that we may all agree on a book or two but one man’s “stall” is another man’s “rush.” Nevertheless, I skimmed over the shelves last night, looking for a beach read. NO to The Devil Wears Prada or any Marian Keyes. NO to Maeve Binchy.  NO to Jay McInerny. NO to Jennifer Weiner; just not a fit for LaCar.

Page turner, page turner, page turner…  I guess I don’t do a lot of them. Rather, we don’t own them.  Nevertheless, I made a selection and called her.
“You need to make a choice,” I said.
“Oh, sounds good!”
(This was sort of like shopping to both of us. Shopping is GOOD.)
“OK, here’s the list,” I said and narrated about each as I went along:
    TARA ROAD – Maeve Binchy
    GIRL WITH A PEARL EARRING – Chevalier
    DIVINE SECRETS OF THE YA YA SISTERHOOD – R. Wells
    FORTUNE’S ROCKS – Anita Shreve
    WIDEACRE – Philippa Gregory
    THE MANY LIVES AND SORROW OF JOSEPHINE B – Guilland
(Clearly I was unsure about what LaCar likes to read; and you have to work with what’s on your shelf. I did consider one of Plum Sykes tinsel-y books, though and yes, I own two of them!)

And the winner was?
WIDEACRE.  It’s tawdry. It’s odd. The ”interesting” thing in terms of its writing is that the main character is evil. Not magic, wizard evil. It’s her character. Bad.  You’re supposed to like the main character in some way, right? Oh, this is a tawdry novel. And it’s told in the first person so that you wonder how can this work out? Yes, I’m trying to dress up a semi-pot-boiling-Brit steamy book that is NOT my usual cup of tea. In fact it doesn’t even go with tea.

But Gregory has page-turning talent. We’ll see what LaCar thinks. I have always sworn that I wouldn’t bother to lend the book to anyone much less let anyone know I even read it. Well, mark it down as “entertainment.” Possilby a beach read. Ain’t nothing wrong with that. What would you have recommended to her?