The 5 Best Books of 2024 to Take to the Beach

There is no greater pleasure than reading a good book while listening to the sound of waves in the background, smelling the salty water, and letting the sun gently kiss your skin. No matter how much it is claimed that everything has already been invented, literature continues to prove otherwise - you don't have to read them all, but there are certainly some essential ones to enjoy before you die. Each year new books come out with new stories ready to become the best travel companions for the most avid readers, just like this 2024.

Reading García Márquez again more than ten years after his death is a gift for any self-respecting reader. His son decided to edit some notes about a short novel that he had stored away in a drawer, resulting in 'We'll See You in August'. It tells the story of a middle-aged woman who visits the same island every year to leave flowers for her mother. What she doesn't know is that this island will completely change her and create a dependency that she won't be able to solve easily.

The author of 'Mystic River', 'Shutter Island', and 'After the Fall' returns with a new story filled with intrigue, political denunciation - focusing on the racism that reigned and continues to reign today - and seasoned with a lot of violence. It takes place in Boston in the summer of 1974, when a young woman goes missing and a Black man is found murdered. Considering both cases, the officers will have to clarify whether they are related.

As the title suggests, this is a highly critical essay against the Russian leader by Finnish novelist Sofi Oksanen, author of 'Purge' and 'The Dog Park'. A country where freedom has ceased to exist, where women are treated as if they are worthless and rape is used as a weapon, humiliating victims and threatening them with reprisals, deserves a bullet like this.

Even older is Eduardo Mendoza, who at 81 continues to publish works of undeniable quality like this one. With it, he travels to 2022, in Barcelona, to tell how several members of a secret government organization face three police cases: the discovery of a corpse in a hotel on Las Ramblas, the disappearance of a British millionaire on his own yacht, and the suspicious finances of a canned goods company. All well seasoned with a good dose of comedy.

Who has already become a living legend of Spanish literature publishes a new book at 75. Although this is not surprising, as he continues to do so every one or two years. In this one, a group of retirees remembers those nearby 90s when a famous actor from their town returns home, now older, to prepare a performance with his neighbors and attract tourists. The goal: prevent depopulation.

Many other titles stand out this year, filled with good literature and hopefully the best beaches, so that we can enjoy them as they deserve. Elvira Sastre, Sergi Pàmies, Sara Barquinero, Albert Espinosa, and Marta Barrio are some of the names resonating in all bookstores and that are also welcome in our summer bag.