Author’s Note: There are few pleasures in life as simple as reading on the beach. Limited “inbox” distractions, passing sailboats, salty air breezes, sand between your toes and ample sunshine, comforts the senses. Whether under the shade of an umbrella or while drying in the warm sun after a dip, flipping through a book, magazine, even newspaper, is a recipe for relaxation.
With the calendar turning from July to August, many of us will seek that “sand and shore therapy” over the next few weeks. So pack a cooler, towel, and beach chair before picking that spot on the sand- 15 feet from anyone else of course – to enjoy your next summer read.
2020 Cape Cod Summer Reading List
Last summer, one of my posts featured books I recently read that are about, or took place on, Cape Cod. I’m once again sharing a similar genre of books; fact, fiction, historical fiction, etc, about this special peninsula. Two quick notes about the list; 1) these books are not newly published in 2020, and 2) I am not a literary critic in any way, shape or form. Just someone who enjoys reading about Cape Cod and eager to share that information with others who feel the same way. Without further ado, below is your 2020 Cape Cod Summer Reading List.
Last Best League, Jim Collins, 2004
Spend an entire summer baseball season (2002-Doc Brown’s time machine need only go back 18 years) with the class of the Cape Cod Baseball League, the Chatham A’s. Now known as the Chatham Anglers due to Major League Baseball (MLB) enforcing trademark law forcing them, and other teams, to change their names, this book celebrates a century and a half of America’s past time on Cape Cod. For those who enjoy the journey of player development, this is the book for you. This non-fictional account of an entire summer collegiate baseball season of the Chatham A’s, focuses on three players, two of which were pegged to be stars, and another that grew into the role over the course of the 44-game season. Former players, coaches, locals and many volunteers, who provide the foundation that keeps the league producing major league ready players, are also interviewed. The amount of generosity, planning and flexibility that goes into providing “free” summer evening baseball is truly remarkable. The reader may feel as if they are part of the Chatham A’s family by the end of this story.
The Old Cape House, Barbara Eppich Struna, 2014
If you like alternative chapters that span 300 years, then this is the book for you. The Old Cape House, a historical fiction, tells the tale of the infamous pirate Sam Bellamy, of which many Cape Cod streets and buildings are named; and Maria Hallett, another popular Cape Cod family name and legend in her own right. The present day storyline follows a family that recently moved from the midwest to the Cape, and unbeknown to them, now live on the same property where a critical moment in the historical saga took place. The story builds slowly, but quickly intensifies; shocks and surprises. The modern day story could happen to any of us, especially those who have a soft spot for buried treasure.
The Outermost House, Henry Beston, 1928
After a visit to Coast Guard Beach (then known as Eastham Beach) in 1924, 36-year old Henry Beston was so overcome with the magnificence of the natural surroundings, he bought 50 acres of duneland on the barrier beach. In short order, he drew up architectural plans and had a one and a half room cottage built on the sand, two miles south of the current red and white life saving station at Coast Guard Beach. Intending to spend just two weeks in that remote solitude, Beston could not pull himself away from the “beauty and mystery of earth and outer sea” and lived on the beach an entire calendar year (September 1926 to September 1927). He documented everything; waves of three, shipwrecks, a stranded (but saved just in the nick of time) deer in icy waters, ghost ships emerging from collapsing dunes, herring runs, a walk from the Atlantic Ocean across “the forearm” to Cape Cod Bay and lots of birding. Beston subtly points out that modern society’s problems are partly explained by our separation to, or lack of appreciation of, nature. A beautifully written account of raw nature in all four seasons few people ever see or experience.
Paddling Cape Cod, Shirley and Fred Bull, 2000
A list of places to “put-in” for the avid, passive or novice paddler. The authors – who offer paddling tours through their company Cape Cod Coastal Canoe and Kayak – share their favorite paddling spots. As the authors’ state, “Paddling is an ideal way to reconnect with nature, escape the crowds [more important than ever these days], and explore long-forgotten parts of the Cape.” While boaters need to be aware of changes to (the depths of) waterways, inlets, and harbors thanks to shifting sand, a paddlers awareness rests with the changing tides. While this book was written for paddlers of the canoe and kayak type, a few hold up for the well balanced Stand-Up Paddleboarder.
Happy summer reading!