Beach season has officially arrived, and I'm already two down on my standing Sunday beach date. These involve me, a chair, a towel, a good (or at least mindless) book - the current pick is Under the Tuscan Sun, my SPF arsenal, artistic tan-line avoidance and, hopefully, a friend or two. Or 10. Last Sunday, just three of us braved the elements, which included a bit of a breeze, which made the sand fly around. We left with a nice coating of it on pretty much everything, so it's now all over the floors in the apartment, which will need to be swept AGAIN. Beach season means that the broom never sleeps. We came home, showered off and settled in to watch Slumdog Millionaire, which was every bit as good as everyone said it would be. I'll have to add the book to my summer reading list. Currently in the works/in the queue?

- The Piano Teacher by Janice Y.K. Lee (a book club pick, and I'm loving it)

- Katherine by Anya Seyton (another book club pick)

- The Amazing Adventures of Kavelier & Clay by Michael Chabon

- Trading Up by Candace Bushnell

- Three Cups of Tea by Greg Mortenson and David Oliver Relin

- Mother of Pearl by Melinda Haynes

- Hey Nostradamus! by Douglas Coupland

- My Horizontal Life by Chelsea Handler

- The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver

That's a lot of beach hours.