What to Read in Key West: Insider Picks from Local Bookstores
Key West's literary legacy runs deep. Most famously, Ernest Hemingway wrote 70% of his life's work here. The playwright Tennessee Williams transformed a Duncan Street property into his creative compound, complete with a dedicated writing studio where he penned some of his most celebrated plays. Pulitzer Prize winners Wallace Stevens and John Hersey found inspiration here. Elizabeth Bishop crafted poems on White Street. Truman Capote wintered at the Pier House. Shel Silverstein wrote songs and poems drawing from the island's quirky charm.
The literary tradition continues today. Judy Blume didn't just move here—she co-founded Books & Books @ The Studios of Key West. Ann Beattie, Philip Caputo, and Meg Cabot (yes, the Princess Diaries author) have all added their names to Key West's impressive roster of resident writers.
Why does this tiny island attract so many serious authors? Maybe it's the light. Maybe it's the anything-goes attitude. Maybe it's that when you're at the end of the road, there's nowhere else to run—you might as well write.
This sun-drunk island has never believed that "beach read" means merely lightweight or disposable. So we asked Key West's independent bookstore owners and local insiders what they're recommending right now. Here's what made their lists.
Books & Books @ The Studios of Key West
Located in a renovated three-story Masonic temple, Books & Books celebrates banned books and independent thinking. Several well-known local authors co-founded this nonprofit bookstore, intentionally creating a community center for both readers and writers.
When we asked the staff for “beach read” recommendations, one bookseller (who wished to remain anonymous) offered this philosophy: "You can take anything to the beach."
With that liberating mindset, here are her top picks:
- "The Nix" by Nathan Hill
"I can't put it down," she told us, and after reading it, you'll understand why. This sprawling, ambitious novel follows a failed writer who discovers his long-estranged mother on the news, accused of assaulting a conservative politician. What unfolds is part political satire, part family saga, part meditation on how we become who we are. At 600+ pages, it's the kind of book that demands—and rewards—your vacation attention. Hill writes with wit, empathy, and a keen understanding of how the past shapes the present.
- "Mary Jane" by Jessica Anya Blau
Calling this "the perfect summer read," our bookseller nailed it. Set in 1970s Baltimore, it follows a 14-year-old who takes a summer nanny job for a chaotic rock-and-roll family—the polar opposite of her own buttoned-up life. When a famous rock star and his movie-star wife move in to get sober, Mary Jane's carefully ordered world explodes in the best possible way. Blau writes about music, first love, and finding yourself with such joy and tenderness that you'll finish the last page and immediately want to start over. It's funny. It's moving. You’ll remember what summer felt like when you were young and everything seemed possible.
Key West Island Books
This cozy bookstore has been feeding Key West's reading habit since 1984. Smaller and more intimate than its neighbors, Island Books feels like a good friend's living room—assuming your friend has impeccable taste and zero judgment about how many books constitute "too many books" (hint: there's no such number).
Island Books owner Suzanne Orchard shares a deep knowledge that comes from decades of matching books to people. When we asked for her recommendations, she lit up, suggesting four books with local ties:
- "The Woman at the Light" by Joanna Brady
“One of the best books I've ever read," Suzanne said, adding, "One of my top 10." Based on the true story of America's first female lighthouse keeper, it's historical fiction that brings the isolated beauty and brutal challenges of Keys life into sharp focus. The novel follows Emily Lowry, a widow who becomes keeper of the Florida Reef Lighthouse in the 1840s after her husband drowns. Brady writes about resilience, motherhood, and survival with prose as clear as the waters surrounding the reef.
- "Green Flash at Sunset" by Nic Shuck
Suzanne recommended this thriller from Florida-based author Nic Shuck as perfect beach reading with a local twist. Set in the Keys, it follows a woman whose idyllic island life shatters when secrets from her past resurface. Shuck writes taut, atmospheric suspense that captures both the beauty and the danger lurking beneath the surface of paradise. It's the kind of book you read in one sitting, glancing up occasionally to watch for your own green flash as the sun dips below the horizon.
- "The Last Train to Key West" by Chanel Cleeton
Historical fiction fans, this one's for you. Set during the 1935 Labor Day hurricane—the most powerful storm to ever hit the United States—Cleeton weaves together the stories of three women whose lives intersect as disaster approaches. It's meticulously researched (Cleeton specializes in Cuban-American historical fiction) and utterly gripping. Reading about the Overseas Railroad while standing where it once ran adds an eerie, powerful dimension to the experience.
- "One Brilliant Flame" by Joy Castro
Set against the backdrop of Key West's devastating 1886 fire, this historical novel explores the island's vibrant Cuban exile community during the fight for independence from Spain. Author Joy Castro follows six young friends—all harboring secrets and ambitions—whose lives intertwine in Key West's cigar factories, cafés, and revolutionary circles. It's a novel about politics, passion, class struggle, and the power of literature itself. The fire is a historical mystery: Was it an accident or arson? Castro's thriller-writer instincts shine as she builds toward the conflagration that changed Key West forever.
What Guests Are Reading at Margaritaville Beach House Key West
Erika Gaus, Event Manager at Margaritaville Beach House Key West, notices what guests are reading by the pool. One name repeatedly pops up: Colleen Hoover.
This author has become a cultural phenomenon, and it's easy to see why. Her books tackle serious subjects—domestic violence, grief, addiction—while delivering the emotional gut-punches that keep readers glued to every page. Two titles worth packing:
- "Verity" by Colleen Hoover
It's becoming a feature film in 2026, so if you make it your beach read of the year, you can say you read it first. In Verity, a struggling writer accepts a job completing the remaining books in a successful author's series after she's injured in an accident. But when she discovers an unfinished autobiography hidden in the author's office, everything she thought she knew comes into question. It's Hoover's darkest, most suspenseful book—part psychological thriller, part romance, wholly unputdownable.
- "Hopeless" by Colleen Hoover
A 2012 classic from Hoover's earlier work, this one follows a 17-year-old senior who meets a mysterious neighbor boy and begins questioning everything about her past. It's raw, emotional, and tackles difficult subjects with sensitivity and respect. Hoover's ability to write characters dealing with trauma while still finding hope and connection is on full display. Keep tissues handy.
What Guests Are Making a Pilgrimage Towards
No Key West reading list would be complete without a nod to the works of Earnest Hemingway, aka, “Papa” whose house museum on the island draws in readers and writers alike.
Try these Hemingway novels for a fresh take on beach reads:
- "For Whom the Bell Tolls"
If you want the full Hemingway experience, bring his doorstop Spanish Civil War epic. It demands sustained attention, which vacation provides. Reading it while sitting in Hemingway's backyard (literally—you can tour his house and gardens) feels like closing a literary circle.
- "To Have and Have Not"
But if you want the Key West novel, read this one. It's set here. It captures the island's economic desperation during the Depression. It's rawer and angrier than his more famous works. And it's shorter—you can finish it in an afternoon, then spend the rest of your trip spotting the locations Hemingway describes.
The real pilgrimage isn't just about reading Hemingway in Key West. It's understanding why so many writers (and songwriters!) have been drawn here for over a century. Something about this place—maybe the light, maybe the water, maybe the sense of being at the edge of everything—makes people want to tell stories.
Your Beach, Your Book
Key West has always understood this: beach reads aren't a genre or a quality judgment. They're whatever you want to read when you finally have the time and space to read properly. That might be a 600-page literary novel, a thriller set during a historical fire, or the story of a woman running a lighthouse in the 1800s.
The island attracts people who refuse easy categorization—writers who won't stay in their lanes, readers who think "guilty pleasure" is an irrelevant concept. The best books are the ones you can't put down, regardless of whether they win literary prizes or trend on BookTok.
So grab whatever speaks to you. Visit these bookstores—the owners know their stuff and will share amazing reads with you. Then head to the beach with your paperback and settle into the story. Let the waves provide the soundtrack. Be utterly transported on vacation.
That's the real magic of reading in paradise. You're already in paradise! A good book simply multiplies the possibilities while you take a healthy break and escape from reality.
Ready to plan your Key West reading retreat? Start by booking your accommodations at Margaritaville Beach House Key West—the perfect home base for your literary adventures. Be sure to check out our special offers and start building that vacation reading list. Stop by our front desk and let us know what you're reading!
