Fitness
4 Idyllic Beach Towns Perfect For Book Lovers
These places are definitely worth building a getaway around.
Aerial view of Pawleys Island, SC
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About 20 years ago, my husband and I went to St. Thomas in the U.S. Virgin Islands. He was teaching a diving class, which left me with the kind of glorious solo beach days that readers dream about — lounging by clear, turquoise water with two novels tucked into my tote. It was bliss ... for a little while.
A few days in, I finished both books and went looking for more. The hotel gift shop had sunscreen and aspirin, magazines and puzzle books. The shops in town had beautiful jewelry, breezy women’s wear, and endless bottles of rum. What they did not have was a bookstore, or even a spinning-rack of paperbacks tucked away in a corner. I spent the rest of the trip flipping through magazines and promising myself I would never again end up book-less at the beach.
Bethany Beach Books in Bethany Beach, DE
Bethany Beach Books
Now I love choosing beach towns where there’s an indie bookstore close enough to rescue me the minute I finish a novel too fast. If you’re like me and never want to run out of reading material, here are four east coast beach towns worth building a getaway around.
Chatham, MA
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Currituck Beach Lighthouse in Corolla, NC
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Chatham, Massachusetts
A view of the rebuilt wooden pier at Palweys Island beach at sunrise.
Alamy Stock Photo
If you’ve ever dreamed of living in a coastal-town version of Gilmore Girls’ Stars Hollow, Chatham on Cape Cod, needs to be on your bucket list. With hydrangeas spilling over white picket fences, weathered shingle houses, sailboats bobbing in the harbor, and evenings cool enough for a sweater over your sundress, you’ll never want to leave. It has that polished, nostalgic Cape magic that makes you feel like you’ve wandered straight into a Nancy Thayer novel.
Where the Sidewalk Ends is exactly the bookstore you’d expect to find in a town this charming: a mother-daughter-owned shop tucked inside a welcoming two-story antique barn, with the kind of warmth that makes you feel like a member of the family. The Children’s Annex, covered deck, and cozy spots for coffee and browsing make it the kind of vacation place you’d pop in to grab the new Emily Henry novel and wind up browsing for an hour.
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Bethany Beach, Delaware
Bethany Beach remains my gold standard for a reader’s beach trip. Known as Delaware’s “quiet resort,” Bethany has a softer rhythm and fewer crowds than many East Coast beach towns. There’s nothing like a morning stroll down the boardwalk, with a coffee in hand or a lazy afternoon in a beach chair. This town is like a good Mary Kay Andrews novel (even though her books are typically set further south in Georgia), inviting the same kind of reflection, reinvention, and long conversations that seem to come naturally by the seashore.
Bethany Beach Books fits perfectly into the town’s peaceful vibe. It’s literally steps from the ocean and has the kind of easy warmth that makes popping in once turn into a daily habit. There is no wasted space in this cute shop and the shelves always seem to deliver exactly what a beach trip calls for, whether that’s the latest women’s fiction or a thriller you’ll stay up too late finishing. Speaking of late — Bethany Beach Books is open until 11 p.m. in the summer. And right next door, Maureen's serves up coffee, pastries, and ice cream all day long, so you can get a treat to go along with your new book.
Corolla, North Carolina
For something more windswept and wild, Corolla offers a completely different kind of beach-reader bliss. This stretch of North Carolina’s Outer Banks is all dunes, sea oats, brilliant blue skies, and those legendary wild horses that make the whole place feel like it's out of a storybook. You can spend the day on a lively stretch of beach or head farther north into the 4x4-only sands, where the crowds disappear and it feels like the edge of the world. This is the beach town for clam digging, kite surfing, lighthouse climbing, and long afternoons with a Kristy Woodson Harvey novel open in your lap on a wide beach-house porch.
With two floors of books to explore, Island Bookstore in Historic Corolla Village is certain to have your next beach read. Tucked just north of the Currituck Beach Lighthouse and beside the Historic Corolla Chapel, this bookshop draws you in with shelves full of beach-bag fiction, Outer Banks history, local cookbooks, and regional titles that make the perfect souvenir or hostess gift. And if your Outer Banks adventures take you beyond Corolla, Island Bookstore also has locations in Duck and Kitty Hawk, so you’re never far from your next great read.
Pawleys Island, South Carolina
I lived near Charleston for seven years. It’s a wonderful city, but if I’m planning a trip down south, I’m heading to Pawleys Island. This Lowcountry barrier island between Charleston and Myrtle Beach is all historic charm with a laid-back vibe. With live oaks draped in Spanish moss, ocean and marsh views, weathered beach houses, and a pace that invites you to slow down and just breathe, it’s the kind of place that makes you want to extend your vacation — maybe forever.
This is Mary Alice Monroe country in spirit, where the setting is as much a character as the women at the center of it, and Litchfield Books is the literary anchor. More than just a bookstore, it feels like a community gathering place, with friendly booksellers who offer personal recommendations and plenty of author book signing events.
What's YOUR favorite city to visit because it has great bookstores? Let us know in the comments below.
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