If you’re dreaming of salty air, screened porches, lobster rolls, and the hum of cicadas in the distance, this booklist is your passport to a perfect New England summer escape. Whether you’re stretched out on a beach towel or simply craving that sun-drenched, coastal charm from home, these novels and nonfiction gems are steeped in the kind of seasonal magic that smells like sunscreen and nostalgia. From the bittersweet intimacy of Happy Place and Summer Sisters to the elegant unraveling of family secrets in The Paper Palace and Eden, each title transports you to windswept shorelines, clapboard cottages, and the messy beauty of love, loss, and reinvention. Add in evocative nonfiction like The Outermost House or The Big House, and you’ll find yourself wandering Cape Cod dunes or peeking into the soul of a summer home that has seen generations come and go.

If you’re yearning for a literary vacation—or the next best thing—these books promise a sunlit escape that lingers long after the final page. Explore the full list, or stop by to see our curated book selection on the shelves of the first-floor Bow Room.

See a title you’d like to read? Select the link to visit our catalog where you’ll find the call number to locate the book yourself, or simply choose “Pick up at Circulation,” log in with your last name and six-digit member ID, and we’ll have it ready for you!

Every morning our librarians pull requests bright and early to keep your reading list moving. If you’re placing a hold later in the day and hoping to grab your book by lunch or after work, just give us a call at 617-720-7626. We’ll do everything we can to get it ready in time.

Set in New England

Non Fiction

  • The Big House: A Century in the Life of an American Summer Home by George Howe Colt F72.C3 C57 2003
  • The Outermost House: A Year of Life on the Great Beach of Cape Cod by Henry Beston Cutter IZ64C .B468 .ou

General Beach Reads