Six unlikely beach reads

Beach reads don't have to be guilty pleasures, argues Ryan Britt at The Barnes & Noble Book Blog. They can be welcoming, relatable, and fun. One recent title that fits the bill:

Mastermind, by Maria Konnikova

In this nonfiction, Gladwellian approach to Sherlock Holmes, smarty-pants Konnikova owns the conversation on how the most famous fictional detective of all time is so psychologically important. Part literary exploration, part how-to manual, this is one you’ll fly through even if you have just a passing interest in Sherlock, Elementary, or the Robert Downey, Jr., incarnations of Holmes. What Douglas Coupland did for Marshall McLuhan with You Know Nothing of My Work!, Konnikova has done for Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. (And though this book came out new in paperback at the end of 2013, it’s still recent enough to warrant a look!)

Read about the other books on the list.

The Page 99 Test: Mastermind.

--Marshal Zeringue