Summer’s Stock: Angst

THE beach read has become an accepted, even cherished, facet of American culture. When we leap past Memorial Day and sandy shores beckon, even serious readers are allowed to stuff something light in their tote bags. One year it’s the badly written roman à clef by the assistant at Vogue, the next it’s the badly written thriller yoking together international intrigue and arcane history. Nobody is expected to plop down amid the dunes, slather on the SPF 15 and crack open Dostoyevsky.

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/08/01/theater/01isherwood.html?ref=arts