"Three Books..." is a new series in which we invite writers to recommend three great reads on a single theme.

Everyone knows you're not supposed to read War and Peace while sipping a pina colada under a beach umbrella. So it stands to reason that the best time to read it would be in the dead of winter, while sipping tea under a single bulb hanging from a leaky ceiling ...

OK, so maybe there is no seasonally ideal time to read War and Peace. But what makes the perfect beach book if you're the kind of person who gravitates toward the literary? The answer is simple: Books literally about beaches, featuring miles of shoreline.

Here are three luscious books about the beach that you can read on the beach:

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