Let Vacation Reading Get You Where You Want to Go
Beyond Beaches connects vacation reading with places to go, so curious readers can roam through plot twists and novel settings, never running low on books to read or places to go.
Whether you want to inspire an adventure, enrich a visit, or simply feel like being on vacation, reading lets you escape wherever you are…and gets to where you want to be.
As any Literary Cat can tell you...
Once you open a book's cover, the story inside whisks you away quicker than an airplane takes flight.
Hi, I’m Susan – a reader and traveler who enjoys visiting places first explored in books. Two Literary Cats and I share our curiosity about places nearby with ties to literary stories on Beyond Beaches.
We don’t review books—we invite you to experience reading them for yourself.
Spill the Beach Vacation Beans
It’s no secret, fortune places Literary Cats on crystal-white beaches, smack dab in the middle of a Gulf Coast beach vacation paradise.
Where else would a Literary Cat read?Gosh! With beaches this beautiful, you’ve no limit on how far you can travel beyond beach books and bestsellers.
No limit to what you can read on a beach!
White-sand beaches and a good book belong together, but...
Our obvious secret is — neither you nor your vacation (or book) needs to stay only on the beach.
Because, as any local person (or Literary Cat) will tell you, Gulf Coast stories stretch far beyond our sand, connecting readers to the Heart of Dixie, where nearly every story told about the South is only a short trip away.
If you love pairing books with beautiful coastal escapes, this is where to search.
Explore Gulf Coast beach reading →
Poke Your Nose into Southern Settings
Southern stories don’t live only on the page — many unfold in real places.
Court House from To Kill a Mockingbird, now a museum in Monroeville, AlabamaFrom courthouse squares to small towns shaped by history and hospitality, these settings weave texture into the stories you love, and they beckon you to experience the South beyond the soft sandy shores.
Some settings you’ll recognize from well-known books; others not as familiar, from authors lesser-known but write tales just as meaningful.
Boldly Go Where You Have Only Read Before
Ever closed a book and thought, “Wow — I want to go there”?
Boldly go where you’ve only read before!
Some stories just jump off pages, sparking curiosity and tickling imaginations…and then some quietly grow into vacation journeys.
Literary Cats call these trips to places you first meet in a story Inspired Vacations.
If a book’s setting has ever called your name to visit an irresistible destination, jump into action.
Explore Inspired Vacations →
New Here? Start with Southern Settings
Some of the South’s most memorable stories unfold just beyond the beach — in small towns, courthouse squares, and places rich with history and heart.
If you love discovering real locations through the books that brought them to life, Southern Settings is the perfect place to begin.
Explore Southern Settings →
Happens to us wherever we read, on vacation or not.