Books coming off the shelves and onto the beach

LYNN – Are you wondering which books to toss into your beach bag this summer? Mystery, suspense, romance and young adult are among popular genres floating off the shelves, according to Saugus Barnes & Noble manager Kathleen Murphy.”A lot of people are looking for something light and fluffy in the summer,” said Murphy.For the popular chain store, a rise in book sales during the summertime is a shore thing.”Some people want to read something light,” said Murphy. “Other people tend to migrate towards the classics that they’ve probably already read and cherish.”It’s funny how many people browse around the summer reading tables,” she said.One of the most popular best sellers this year is psychological suspense and crime thriller “The Girl On The Train” by Paula Hawkins. It was instantly number one on the New York Times Fiction Best Sellers of 2015 list and remained there for 13 consecutive weeks.The book has been compared to Gillian Flynn’s psychological thriller “Gone Girl,” which was made into a movie starring Ben Affleck and Rosamund Pike in 2014. The film received various Academy Award and Golden Globe nominations.Ladies are snatching up copies of E.L. James’ “Grey” in waves, said Murphy. “Grey” is the new installment of the “Fifty Shades” series told from the perspective of Christian Grey.”All The Light We Cannot See” by Anthony Doerr is “a deeper read” but also a popular one this summer, according to Murphy.It’s the historical-fiction story of a young girl living in Paris when Nazis invade, and she is forced to flee alongside her father. She meets Werner, an orphan who is being used for his intelligence by a Hitler Youth academy.As with many previous years, “people are looking for a lot of summer and beach-themed books,” said Murphy.Sue Pigulski, of Peabody, who said she only has the opportunity to read occasionally, enjoyed “The Summer Wind” by Mary Alice Monroe at Lynn Beach on Thursday.”It’s a great beach book,” Pigulski said.The book is the second in “The Lowcountry Summer Trilogy” about three sisters and their grandmother, who tries to help the girls remember their southern roots and family bonds. Each girl faces a different set of challenges when returning home for the summer.Judy Judge, of Burlington, was reading Lori Wilde’s “Love at First Sight,” a steamy romance novel about a girl who falls in love with an ex-navy SEAL in a small town called Cupid.”I love reading ex-military love stories and mystery romances,” said Judge. She also recommends authors Christine Feehan and Karen Roberts.Kim Mace, of Watertown, was reading Pulitzer Prize winner “The Goldfinch” by Donna Tartt.All John Green books are popular for young adult and teen readers, said Murphy.”I hear a lot of bartering between parents and kids,” she said. “They agree to do their summer reading and their parents agree to get them a John Green book too.”One of his books, ?Paper Towns,’ was turned into a movie, and it’s coming out soon,” she said. The young adult mystery is about a girl named Margo who goes missing and leaves her friends Quentin, Ben, Radar and Lacy on an adventure to find her. The film will be released July 24.Green is well-known for his novel “The Fault In Our Stars,” which topped the New York Times children’s best seller list for several weeks. The novel was later made into a film in 2014.Also popular among teens and young adults is the post-apocalyptic “The Testing Trilogy” by Joelle Charbonneau.”For teens, almost everything is postapocalyptic,” said Murphy.Whether you like to read about zombies or love stories, there are plenty of opportunities to have your nose in a book and toes in the sand this summer.