Our Favorite Books Under The Sun

Best Of The Beach A Weekly Series About Good Living By The Shore

For a different sort of summer reading list, we asked readers for favorite books that capture the feel of sand and sea. Our own favorites include Dune by Frank Herbert, In a Sunburned Country by Bill Bryson and Wind, Sand and Stars by Antoine de Saint-Exupery. Satchel, Larry Tye's new biography of Negro League legend Leroy "Satchel" Paige, also promises the gritty feel of a hot, dusty infield. Here are more reader choices to transport you:

* Before the Wind, edited by David Gowdey. This compilation of 25 true sailing stories covers everything from Joshua Slocum setting out to sail around the world to Ted Turner on racing strategy. (From Lauretta Nagel, Constellation Books, Reisterstown)

* Fisherman's Bend, by Linda Greenlaw. The best-selling author of stories set on the Maine coast tells the story of a former Miami homicide detective who moves north, only to be confronted by the mystery of a missing lobster boat. (Greg Szczeszek, Ivy Bookshop, Baltimore)

* Come on Shore and We Will Kill and Eat You All, by Christina Thompson. The author, an American who married a Maori man, uses her own experience to describe the often tragic cultural clashes between colonists and the Maoris. (MrAndrew)

* 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 former Life magazine reporter writes a love song to the rambling, Cape Cod summer home where his family vacationed for decades. (AMQS)

* Evil under the Sun, by Agatha Christie. This Hercule Poirot murder mystery takes place at a vacation resort off the coast of England and is one of Christie's best books. (Gail Farrelly)

* The Sex Lives of Cannibals, by J. Maarten Troost. An engaging tale written by a globe-trotter who moves with his wife to a tiny island in the South Pacific. (emaestra)

* Arabian Sands, by Wilfred Thesiger. True story of the Brit's mid-19th-century journey through Arabia, where he encountered the vanishing Bedouin lifestyle. (Lisa)

* Notes from the Shore, by Jennifer Ackerman. An exploration of the seacoast's natural rhythms and beauty, based on the author's time in Lewes, Del. (jjlong)

* The Beach, by Alex Garland. A young man's mad race to find paradise along the Gulf of Thailand. (Stephmo)

* Good Dirt: Confessions of a Conservationist, by David E. Morine. Skinny-dipping, poodles and other amusing highlights in preservation, from the man who headed land acquisition efforts for The Nature Conservancy. (sandydog1)