INTRODUCING SHANECO’S “THE MOST POPULAR BEACH READ IN EVERY U.S. STATE”
If you’re looking for a recommendation for one of your final beach reads of the summer, I’d like to share with you a study created by ShaneCo, a jewelry company that also features lifestyle information, including important book titles.
After collecting a lengthy list of book titles from roundups they’d seen around the internet, including Vogue, Reader’s Digest and Reese’s Book Club, the ShaneCo team used Google Trends to evaluate where the book titles were most commonly being purchased and read.
And so, “The Most Popular Beach Read in Every U.S. State” was born! But while there are 50 states, there are not 50 book titles to choose from.
Among the titles were some old favorites, like John Steinbeck’s East of Eden (Penguin Classics) and Amy Tan’s The Joy Luck Club (Penguin). A few recent titles were Casey McQuiston’s Red, White and Royal Blue (St. Martin’s), Anna North’s Outlawed (Bloomsbury) and Amanda Eyre Ward’s The Jetsetters (Ballantine).
Each of these titles were favorites in multiple states, with a total of 28 favorite titles in the country.
After completing their study, ShaneCo released this graphic of the most commonly sought-out reads in each U.S. State. Take a look to see what your state’s favorite beach read of 2022 is!
We were floored by this study and wanted to do some investigating of our own into what made a beach read particularly attractive to each U.S. State. Keep reading for our theories.
How do you like to choose your next read? If you prefer books that have received awards, are geographically specific, classics, trendy, or tropey, maybe you’ll find the next book to add to your TBR in this list!
LOCATION-SPECIFIC PICKS (10 STATES)
Some books hold strong ties to certain locations, and that was no less true for some of the top beach reads this summer.
The most popular beach read of the summer, for example, was Delia Owens’ Where the Crawdads Sing (G.P. Putnam’s Sons), which is set in North Carolina and steeped in Southern imagery and landscapes. It seems fitting that the book is the most popular in Summer 2022 in the southern states of Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, and South Carolina.
Another great example of a geographically-chosen pick could be John Steinbeck’s East of Eden (Penguin Classics), which was set in Salinas Valley, California. Simultaneously, it was the most popular beach read in California this year.
Chanel Cleeton’s Next Year in Havanna (Berkley) is a historical romance that was set in two locations, including Havana, Cuba, in 1958, and Miami, Florida, in 2017. It seems fitting that it was the most popular beach read in Florida this year.
Like Cleeton’s novel, Laura Esquivel’s Like Water for Chocolate (Anchor Books) might find itself right at home in the rich cultural landscape of Arizona.
Similarly, Miranda Cowley Heller’s The Paper Palace (Riverhead Books) is an intriguing example of women’s fiction and is set in Cape Cod in Massachusetts in the summertime. This title was surely an easy choice for readers in Massachusetts.
Another possibility could be Emily Henry’s People We Meet on Vacation (Berkley). Perhaps because of books we’ve read and movies we’ve seen, some of us go on vacations with the expectation of making a new friend or finding new love. It seems only fitting that this would be the favorite read in Hawaii.
OLD FAVORITES (8 STATES)
There are certain classic reads that readers find themselves either coming back to or feeling the pull to read for the first time during the summer.
One great example of this is John Steinbeck’s East of Eden (Penguin Classics). While he was a Nobel Prize winner and the author of more than 30 books, Steinbeck insisted that East of Eden was his best work, and beach readers seem to agree. In addition to its California ties, it makes sense that it would be a most popular read elsewhere, as well — this year in Alaska.
Agatha Christie is a long-time favorite of detective fiction and clever whodunnit tales, and her mystery, Murder on the Orient Express (William Morrow), is no exception. This is one story that unsurprisingly could reappear every summer as a different state favorite, and this year, it was preferred in West Virginia and Wyoming.
Though Amy Tan’s The Joy Luck Club (Penguin) was written in 1989, which means it isn’t that “old” of a pick yet, its popularity is still longstanding and impressive, and for it to be the top beach read this year in five states — including New Mexico, Nevada, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania and Tennessee — speaks volumes about its quality.
THE POWER OF TRENDS (15 STATES)
While word of mouth is still a powerful way of sharing information about great books, another method that is creating an impressive uptick in book sales is the use of social media trends.
In 2021, Kevin Kwan’s Crazy Rich Asians (Anchor Books) was trending on TikTok (BookTok) and is this year’s most popular beach reach in Montana and North Dakota. People We Meet on Vacation (Berkley) by Emily Henry was similarly popular that year and was the top pick in Delaware, and as previously mentioned, Hawaii.
Three additional examples from this year are Casey McQuiston’s Red, White & Royal Blue (St. Martin’s Press), which was a favorite in Arkansas; The Jetsetters (Ballantine Books) by Amanda Eyre Ward, which was the top pick in New York, New Jersey, and Texas; and finally, Anna North’s Outlawed (Bloomsbury Publishing), which was the favorite read in five states, including Indiana, Kentucky, North Carolina, Ohio and Oregon.
While it seems Where the Crawdads Sing (G.P. Putnam’s Sons) by Delia Owens was popular based on the setting of the story, it was also an immensely popular read on social media in anticipation of the film, which might explain why it was also a favorite beach read in South Dakota and Utah.
Finally, author Andrea Bartz is proving the difference a writer can make in their own writing careers by making the most of their social media platforms. Bartz has proclaimed in multiple videos that her sales have dramatically increased and has her audience to thank for that, and her latest novel, We Were Never Here (Ballantine Books), was the top beach read in Wisconsin this year.
TROPES, ANYONE? (12 STATES)
Tropes are most definitely in, and we think that they had something to do with some of these books’ popularity on the beach this summer!
For readers who like books about books (and so much more), read The Other Black Girl (Atria Books) by Zakiya Dalila Harris, which was the top beach read in Maryland.
For lovers of coming-of-age stories, The Scent Keeper (St. Martin’s Press) by Erica Bauermeister was the top beach read in Missouri.
For readers who are interested in mythology, folklore, and superstitions, Diana Gabaldon’s Outlander (Bantam Books), which was a favorite in Vermont, and Yangsze Choo’s The Night Tiger (Flatiron Books), which was a popular read in Michigan, would both be excellent choices.
For gripping and twisting mystery thrillers, readers should look no further than Colorado’s pick, The Last House Guest (Scribner) by Megan Miranda; Washington’s top beach read, The Thursday Murder Club (Penguin) by Richard Osman; Kansas and Minnesota’s pick, Not a Happy Family (Penguin) by Shari Lapena; and Rhode Island’s top choice, The Guest List (William Morrow) by Lucy Foley.
Finally, for readers who love strong female characters and progressive feminine movements, May Cobb’s The Hunting Wives (Berkley), which was picked in Iowa; The Whisper Network (Flatiron Books) by Chandler Baker, which was the top beach read in Illinois; and Idaho’s top read, The Giver of Stars (Penguin) by Jojo Moyes would all be quality choices.
Will you read your State’s top read?
And if you already have, which of these titles do you plan to read next?
This data was originally published in an article by Anna Gionet for The Loupe.
RELATED POSTS:
9 Beach Reads that Seriously Deliver on the Sisterhood Vibes
‘Beach Read:” They Don’t Need Fate to Write Their Happily Ever After
Tall Poppy Review: Not-So-Typical Beach Read Redefines Family
