With the unofficial start of summer happening this weekend it is time to start thinking about your summer reading list. I find that during the colder weather I mean to read but instead, I tend to do more binge-watching. Once the warm weather hits, I find myself craving a shady spot or a sunny beach and a book.

Summer reading has been a vacation tradition for years. Many groups put together summer reading lists. Your local library is a good place to start because they often feature local authors such as the Hudson Valley's own Carol Freeman a cozy mystery writer with a number of books ready for your summer list.

Hudson Valey Summer Reading List

The New York Times has actually comprised an awesome list of books not just for your summer reading list but for your reading list in general. It included topics such as 1001 Books You Must Read Before YOu Die and 365 Books to Read This Year Or Else. My favorite category though is 50 Books Everyone has Read but You.

Good House Keeping has also compiled a list that they consider awesome for the summer. Grab a hammock and this list for some fun summer book club fun. I recently ran into a group of friends that actually had a book club weekend. Between drinking and snacking they finished a book over a weekend and can't wait to do it again. Not a bad idea for a weekend chilling with friends of course you would all have to agree on the book and that may not be easy.

Book Stores in the Hudson Valley, NY

Hudson Valley Bookstores with More

Book stores are more than just books. Some offer coffee, some offer beer and others have thrift shop items on the shelves. Here are some great places to find books and more in the Hudson Valley

Best Beaches for Reading Books

LOOK: Here are the 50 best beach towns in America

Every beach town has its share of pluses and minuses, which got us thinking about what makes a beach town the best one to live in. To find out, Stacker consulted data from WalletHub, released June 17, 2020, that compares U.S. beach towns. Ratings are based on six categories: affordability, weather, safety, economy, education and health, and quality of life. The cities ranged in population from 10,000 to 150,000, but they had to have at least one local beach listed on TripAdvisor. Read the full methodology here. From those rankings, we selected the top 50. Readers who live in California and Florida will be unsurprised to learn that many of towns featured here are in one of those two states.

Keep reading to see if your favorite beach town made the cut.

More From WRRV-WRRB