Beach Reads for Ski Bums
Chick Lit
L’Affaire by Diane Johnson
Amy Hawkins is a beautiful noveau-riche Californian dot-com entrepreneur. She vacations at a posh ski resort in the French Alps as part of her plan for cultural self-improvement. When publisher Adrian Venn is killed in an avalanche, Amy pays to have him sent back to his native England. Her humanitarian gesture backfires. Venn’s two grown English children, his illegitimate French daughter, his new, much younger American wife and their infant son become entangled in a classic scenario of quarreling heirs. Johnson’s modern comedy of manners is reminiscent of Noel Coward. The cultural clashes between the Brits, French and an airy chick from L.A. make for fun reading.
Tall Poppies by Louise Bagshawe
Follow the saga of Nina, a poor Brooklyn girl who becomes a brilliant businesswoman and Elizabeth, a rich girl from England who becomes a champion ski racer. The plot contains lots of sex, conflict and female cat fights. Ski addicts will skip to the racing scenes.
Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason by Helen Fielding
Although the Edge of Reason is not set at a ski area, there is a rather hilarious scene at a ski resort. Novice skiers will have empathy with poor Bridget, as she makes a fool of herself on the slopes in front of her significant other’s “other woman.”
Mountain Betty by Hannah McCouch
After completing her expensive liberal arts education, Betty winters defies her wealthy Connecticut parents and moves to Jackson Hole to become a ski instructor. While she loves the fresh powder, awesome bump runs and Jack, her hottie boyfriend, she’s not too happy about teaching for slave wages, moonlighting as a cocktail waitress, and Jack’s wife. When Betty decides to try out for an Extreme Skiing video, her life is turned upside down.
Thrillers and Mysteries
The Lions of Lucerne by Brad Thor
On a ski trip to Deer Valley, the president of the United States is captured, while under the watch of secret agent Scot Harvath. Follow their adventures as they travel from Utah to the top of Switzerland’s Mount Pilatus.
The Sigma Protocol by Robert Ludlum
Investment banker Ben Hartman thought he was going to Zurich to enjoy a ski vacation. By chance, he meets up with Jimmy Cavanaugh, an old college buddy, who takes out a gun and tries to kill him. Cavanaugh and some innocent bystanders end up dead. Instead of enjoying a good run, Hartman ends up on the run.
Snow Waste by Michael Bemis
Set in a fictional small mountain community in Western Maine, the plot of Snow Waste resolves around the conflict between ski- resort snow makers and environmentalists.
Author Michael Bemis used the expertise of a professional snow maker for the technical aspects of this book. The novel’s conflicts arise between three main characters: the resort owner, the chief snow maker, and the environmentalist who opposes the resort’s expansion.
The Secret Agent by Francine Mathews
Although this book has received mixed reviews, skiers will enjoy the way Mathews, a former CIA agent mixes plot with “inside education” about ski equipment,
The back story of The Secret Agent centers on Jack Roderick, a former member of the OSS. After WWII, he became a silk merchant and art collector in Thailand. He was rumored to be a foreign spy. One night he walked into the jungle and disappeared.
Now his grandson Max, who is a former world-class competitive skier and currently a ski designer, wants his father’s Thai fortune, but governmental red tape is blocking his goal. Max hires Krane & Associates, a security firm, to help him with his quest. Krane assigns his newest employee Stefani Fogg to the case.
Dead Men Don’t Ski by Patricia Moyes
The setting is the Italian Alps. Henry Tibbett and his wife Emmy are on a ski vacation from Scotland Yard. Their hopes for a holiday die when Henry uncovers an international smuggling ring involving some of the hotel guests. Then, a fellow guest who is alive when the ski lift leaves the top of the mountain is found dead when the lift touches bottom.
Acts of Malice by Perri O’Shaughnessy
When Jim Strong, the manager of one of Lake Tahoe’s ski resorts is charged with the murder of his brother, he hires attorney Nina Reilly to defend him.
Perri O’Shaughnessy lives in Tahoe. Lake Tahoe is the setting for most of her mysteries.
Young Adult:
My Life as a Ski Bunny by Kaz Delaney
Jo, a California surfer girl has no interest in accompanying her father and his girlfriend on a ski trip to Colorado. While trying to keep herself upright on skis, she meets Hans, a handsome European. Perhaps the ski trip was not such a bad idea after all!
True Stories that Read Like Novels
A Moveable Feast by Ernest Hemmingway
Post World War I Paris, European Skiing and Relationship angst a la Hemmingway. What more could you ask for?
Ski the World by Arnie Wilson
In 1994, Arnie Wilson and his French girlfriend Lucy Dicker skied every single day, earning them a place in the Guinness Book of Records. Warning! This is a devastating story!
Online Reads
Loveland: Reflections in the Snow
Keepitcoming.net features serial novels. You can subscribe on a monthly basis, and receive two issues a week. If this sounds weird, keep in mind, Charles Dickens began as a serial novelist.
Loveland: Reflections in the Snow, tells the story of Mariel, a New York City physical therapist who loses her father, a former member of the 10th Mountain Division, in the 9/11 tragedy. In the years that follow, she only comes out of her depression when she is skiing in Colorado where her father trained during his 10th Mountain Division days. When her husband sees a physical therapy clinic for sale, he buys it for her. He decides to remain in New York until they are sure that the business will be a financial success.
Complications arise when Mariel becomes infatuated with her ski instructor. Can they maintain a professional relationship, or will they give in to their attraction to each other?
The plot thickens when Mariel’s brother sends her a package of letters written by one Kate Springfield, a married WAC who her father had an affair with during his training days at Camp Hale Colorado.
Mariel’s father had always been an enigma. A French Jew whose family left Paris before the Nazi occupation, he grew up skiing the slopes of Chamonix. Upon moving to New England, he meets Charles Minot Dole and John Jay, two of the men who were influential in forming the 10th Mountain Division. When the United States enters the war, he joins the 10th. Although he falls deeply in love with Kate, he respects her marriage, and refuses to let her leave her husband, who is stationed in the South Pacific. He eventually marries Catherine, a USO performer, but lives his life with a secret sadness. When Mariel meets Kate, they develop a deep bond as they share Mariel’s memories of her father.
Ski Fiction Websites
Skitales.com features ski fiction for children and adults.
Aspectjournal.com features stories written by their forum participants.
Just think: By the time you finish all these books ski season will be here!
