5 Thoughts I Had While Reading 'Beach Read' by Emily Henry

The True Power of Art

After forcing myself onto a strict phone diet — surprise, surprise— I’ve found myself with more time to read and an idea for a new series called 5 Thoughts While Reading…. which, as the name implies, is a jot down of 5 random thoughts that crossed my mind while reading a book.

Last week I was in the mood for a good Romcom (when am I not?) so let’s start the series off with:

Emily Henry’s ‘Beach Read,’

a book about two writers, one literary the other romance, who tackle the messiness (and juiciness; it’s a romcom after all) of love. If you want to read dialogue with really good chemistry, read this one. Emily is a master of witty dialogue.

1. Representation matters.

On page 45 of the soft cover edition, the character had a moment that basically could have been pulled from my everyday life.

I was aiming to write fifteen hundred words that day. I only made it to four hundred, but on the bright side, I also won twenty-eight consecutive games of cider solitaire before I stopped to stir-fry some veggies for dinner.

Story of my life. But for once I was thrilled. There’s someone else out there who writes or better said— who doesn’t write like me. Does it count that they’re a character from a novel? Yes. Of course it counts.

2. There’s surface level creating, and then there’s creating from a place that’s deeper— creating from flow or from the zone.

I have a theory: When a writer writes from this deep place, it touches the deep place in her readers. And— like magic— all kinds of ideas unleash themselves.

Therein lies the power of the artist and the true power of art.

This happened to me on pg. 47. There I was happily reading along, when out of the blue it seemed, although I suspect as my theory states that it wasn’t out of the blue at all, an idea unleashed itself.

Write the ‘Vilsafia going to the house chapter’ in Chester’s POV, it said.

Before you get too befuddled with my thoughts, allow me to explain. Vilsafia is the name of the novel I’m currently struggling with/writing. Now, it’s a middle grade novel about a tiny vole who discovers a magic garden, something so far from the spicy romcom I was reading, it may as well have been a different art form altogether. Nevertheless, I present to you a classic case of zone unleashing zone. And also the importance of bathing in a lot of art while creating art of your own.

Thank you, Emily Henry, I’ve been faffing around with this chapter for quite some time.

3. Finally! It’s the first time I’ve seen someone other than myself with a puke phobia.

National Book Award nominee Augustus Everett was vomit-phobic, and had been ever since a girl named Ashley in his fourth grade class puked on the back of his head. found on pg. 126 of the soft cover edition

4. Was Emily Henry thinking about attachment styles as she crafted these characters? I’m getting classic attachment style conflict vibes here.

(came to me on pg. 171)

What a brilliant way to craft a character— by assigning them an attachment style. Why haven’t I thought of this device before? And while we’re on attachment styles, what about love languages?

5. Is this the big conflict/break-up?

On pg. 256, waiting for the big conflict between the main characters to hit, I thought I got a spark of what it might be. When Gus and January go to the party his aunt is throwing, they’re going to see January’s dad’s lover there. That was my theory. It will turn out that Gus knew her all along and never told January. A huge betrayal! And how would they ever crawl out of that one?

Wonk, wonk, wonk… I was wrong. I had just created a whole conflict that would never transpire. That’s what I get for trying to be a book detective. But I kind of wish it had. I love reading about how characters crawl out of back-breaking situations.

---

Thanks for reading my 5 random thoughts on Emily Henry’s Beach Read. I’m currently devouring Real Americans by Rachel Khong, so that’s going to be the next 5 Thoughts on book. If you aren’t already subscribed, can I tempt you to do so now, so you won’t miss out?

Until next time,

XO Ingrid