A Week at the Beach: 100 Life-Changing Things You Can Do by the Seashore

Rating:
Summary: Week at the beach?? or a week anywhere?
Review: First, I am fiftyish and intend to retire in northern Minnesota where summer is short and winter is deep and long. Still the message here is applicable to that environment. Beaches have the reputation for soulful activities outlined in this book, but the lessons can be applied anywhere you feel comfortable with the nature around you. I found the trivia informative and the thought behind the activities to be provoking. I highly recommend it.

Rating:
Summary: Week at the beach?? or a week anywhere?
Review: First, I am fiftyish and intend to retire in northern Minnesota where summer is short and winter is deep and long. Still the message here is applicable to that environment. Beaches have the reputation for soulful activities outlined in this book, but the lessons can be applied anywhere you feel comfortable with the nature around you. I found the trivia informative and the thought behind the activities to be provoking. I highly recommend it.

Rating:
Summary: You Must Be Kidding
Review: I, too, live by the beach and appreciate the fun and beauty and solace it offers beyond measure. And while I'm sure that the Hubals are wonderful people, this book is unbelievably trite and oozes with over-the-top sentimentality. For example, #88 titled Cry or #93, "Make a wish and write in the sand with a feather." Entries also lean to the bizzare: #87 "Let a child take pictures of you"--the Hubals suggest "borrowing a child from a friendly family" if you don't have a child of your own. And #83--I agree watching dogs play at the beach is entertaining, but the mention that your dog will be delighted that there are "dead things to smell"is just too too much. And #79: "Give some money away" never even mentions the beach or the ocean--were editors sleeping during this tangent? For those of you who are Saturday Night Live fans, this book puts "Deep Thoughts" to shame. Unless you're looking for a good laugh or enjoy the sappiest of sappy books, pass this one up.

Rating:
Summary: You Must Be Kidding
Review: In "A Week at the Beach", the Hubals have captured the essence of the sun and sea. Some of the suggested activities took me back to childhood experiences -- things I did in youthful innocence and had long since forgotten. Bits of wisdom, obscure facts, silly puns and occasional challenges are nestled between the mix of fun and inspirational activities. (Do you know the history of the bikini or why the Peruvians call the warm Pacific current El Nino?) Inspiring and well-written, this book will be a permanent part of our beach trips as I look forward to re-creating some of those childhood memories!!

Rating:
Summary: The Perfect Beach Read
Review: The Hubals' book could easily be subtitled "How to Get the Most Pleasure, Joy, Growth, and Unadulterated Fun Out of Your Beach Vacation." It is really three books in one: 1) a guide to making any beach vacation the vacation of a lifetime, 2) an entry-level self-help book that focuses on fun, and 3) a collection of funny, fascinating, sometimes useful, and sometimes wonderfully bizarre beach trivia. Buy it and read it (it takes perhaps an hour) twice a year: once when planning your beach vacation, and again when you first arrive at the beach and kick off your shoes. At worst, this book will make for a better vacation; at best, it will change your life.

Rating:
Summary: The Perfect Beach Read
Review: The Hubals' book could easily be subtitled "How to Get the Most Pleasure, Joy, Growth, and Unadulterated Fun Out of Your Beach Vacation." It is really three books in one: 1) a guide to making any beach vacation the vacation of a lifetime, 2) an entry-level self-help book that focuses on fun, and 3) a collection of funny, fascinating, sometimes useful, and sometimes wonderfully bizarre beach trivia. Buy it and read it (it takes perhaps an hour) twice a year: once when planning your beach vacation, and again when you first arrive at the beach and kick off your shoes. At worst, this book will make for a better vacation; at best, it will change your life.