Perhaps you like Nora Roberts, Philippa Gregory, Ann Tyler, Anita Shreve and Margaret Atwood or always choose the latest James Patterson, David Baldacci or Tom Clancy novels. Whether you bring books by Ian McEwan, A.S. Byatt and Hilary Mantel, decide to reread the classics or are hooked on the escapades of one “traditionally built” lady detective from Botswana, recently the subject of a HBO series, the beach is the place to drift off and set your imagination free. Even if you have your own favorite authors, here are some more ideas.

The Color by Rose Tremain. Gold casts its fatal spell in this tale of 19th-century prospectors in New Zealand.

Random Acts of Heroic Love by Danny Scheinmann. Two stories of love and loss and a journey of discovery.

Pompeii by Robert Harris. A tale of love and adventure in the famous Roman city doomed to destruction by the eruption of Mount Vesuvius.

Notes from a Small Island by Bill Bryson. An American writer travels through the United Kingdom and this is his funny and affectionate look at the island and its people.

Sea of Poppies by Amitav Ghosh. A rich saga of 19th-century India at the time of the Opium Wars. A ship sets sail for Mauritius with a motley crew of sailors, coolies and convicts, including a bankrupt Raja, a widowed opium farmer and a French runaway.

Suite Française by Irene Némirovsky. A moving insight into human frailties, nobility, vanity, courage, love and hope. The story of a group of French citizens fleeing the Nazi invasion and of a community as it endures occupation. Tragically, the author perished in Auschwitz in 1942.

The Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd. A story of remarkable women in the South, a girl’s search for truth and how she finds a family.

If you do happen to run out of books during your vacation, there are two secondhand bookstores in the Cancun area with a good selection of English language titles: Needful Things, Coba Ave., Downtown Cancun and the Alma Libre Bookstore on the main square in Puerto Morelos. Finally, the Royal Resorts all have shelves in the lobby where you can leave the books you have finished and exchange them for others. Why not let us know about some of your favorite beach books?