Top Ten Books or Covers That Make Me Think of Summer Vacation

Top Ten Tuesday was created by The Broke and the Bookish in June of 2010 and was moved to That Artsy Reader Girl in January of 2018. It was born of a love of lists, a love of books, and a desire to bring bookish friends together.    

Welcome to the first Tuesday in June. It's been nearly a month since a Top Ten Tuesday was posted here, so we are overdue. 

June used to be a hectic month and the time when our schedules changed. The girls had end of the school year events and sports wrapped up for the season. Now that the Lil' Diva is working full time, and the Lil' Princess ends her school year in May, the only thing that has remained the same is our summer vacation. We leave the last Friday in June for the Outer Banks. I can't wait! 

With this week's topic of books or covers that feel/look like summer, I already knew what I would do. Here are my...

Top Ten Books or Covers That Make Me Think of Summer Vacation

We stay in a house one mile from the Wright Brothers National Memorial. We've visited the museum a couple of times and climbed the hill to the monument. 

Though the fictional town of Cedar Cove is based on Port Orchard, Washington, like the Outer Banks, it has a lighthouse. Well, the OBX has several. We have been to most of them, and the girls climbed the Cape Hatteras Light with their dad. 

Duffy Brown's Consignment Shop mysteries are actually set in Savannah, GA, but the OBX has several thrift and consignment shops along 158, which is the main highway going through the Outer Banks.

The Moonlight Harbor series is set on the Washington coast, but it makes me think of Manteo. They have many beautiful spots, some areas are a bit rundown, but they both attract people who love the more peaceful way of life. 

The fictional Belle Isle in Mary Kay Andrews' story of a woman who is waiting by the ferry dock for her husband's arrival when she is served papers, is based on Bald Head Island in NC. We travel by ferry to Ocracoke Island off the Hatteras coast. This also ties into Wilmington for us, because Bald Head is on the east side of Cape Fear River Basin, which contributed to Wilmington's development as a port community.  

I have always wanted to spend winter on the OBX, especially Christmas. The family isn't into it, but I am so down if they ever change their minds. 

This is a post Civil War novel set in Nags Head, which is an OBX resort village. The author grew up in Virginia and visited the Outer Banks many times throughout her childhood and into adulthood. She has written three books in this series. Nags Head is the village down the highway from where we stay in Kill Devil Hills. Nags Head is known for a lot of things, but we like their hammocks.

This is a dual timeline novel. A young woman is the sole survivor of a shipwreck off the North Carolina coast in the late 1880s. Then, 130 years later, a young widow moves to the Outer Banks to start a new life. After that, the lives of these women become intertwined. We have been to Cape Hatteras more than once. They have a wonderful Graveyard of the Atlantic Museum, which is currently undergoing renovation. 

Like many booklovers, I enjoy visiting bookstores across the country. It's probably no surprise that bookstores come and go, so we try to support them as best we can. Downtown Books in Manteo is a yearly visit. We also visit Books to be Red when we make it out to Ocracoke. 

Eva Gates set her Lighthouse Library Mystery on Bodie Island on the Outer Banks. We have been there more than once. One of my favorite photos of the girls was taken there. This is one of those series I will probably never catch up on, since she is already 10 books in. 

So, what did you think of my list? Have you read any of these?