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Published: November 28 2011

The best beach books should be no different.

Whether you want to curl up with a mystery, soak up some history, or dive into a fantasy, here are some suggestions for your beach book-bag:

Steve Jobs, by Walter Isaacson. Why at the beach? Because everyone should read it. No matter where. Isaacson is a master of biographies, and Steve Jobs can teach us all a lot about believing in ourselves and stretching the limits of possibility. It's uplifting, heartbreaking and inspiring all in one.

The Tiger's Wife, by Téa Obreht. Wonderfully exotic. Breathtakingly eloquent. More than a book, it's a weaving of tales that takes readers down "secret rivers" of allegory, myth, adventure, and love.

State of Wonder, by Ann Patchett. Provocative. Exciting. A woman's journey into the Amazon to solve the mystery of a colleague's death; an exploration of science, ethics and morality.

The Best of Me, by Nicholas Sparks. What would the beach be without a tale of true and enduring love? Sparks insists he doesn't write romance novels; he writes love stories. So be it. In this one, two high school lovers are wrenched apart, only to find themselves thrown together again 25 years later. And, ahem, Sparks (with a capital S) fly!

11/22/63, by Stephen King. The master of horror turns out a time travel thriller – and raises some horrifying questions. Can the past really be changed? Can John F. Kennedy's assassination be prevented? And if it can be, then what?