The surf, sun and sandy beach just got hotter with these five irresistible reads. Grab your beach chair and prepare to be entertained.

The Official Filthy Rich Handbook

By Christopher Tennant (Thomas Allen Publishers)

They've got the money, honey! That message rings out loud and clear in Christopher Tennant's tongue-in-cheek ode to North America's über-wealthy.

Just as "The Official Preppy Handbook" taught yuppies how to be wonderfully WASP in 1980, Tennant's book does the same for today's ridiculously rich. From properly naming your mansion(s) to how to buy a giga-yacht, where to party in Sardinia or St. Tropez, and why the filthy rich swim naked, this plutocrat primer reveals every outré diversion billionaires indulge in.

This rarefied turf is one Tennant knows well. He previously chronicled the rich and infamous as a gossip writer for the New York Post's "Page Six" column. Tennant also co-founded Radar, an influential pop culture magazine, in 2003.

Filled with endless name-dropping, shopping and sharp wit, "The Official Filthy Rich Handbook" separates the "Nerdling" rich from today's "Raiders" and "Grande Dames." As American author Tom Wolfe says, Tennant's savvy into this scandalous universe makes readers feel like they're indulging in "12 Baked Alaskas in a row."

The Beach House

By Jane Green (Viking Canada)

Lost love, troubled lives and an old lady's determination to keep her Nantucket home make "The Beach House," Jane Green's 10th novel, a moving summer read.

Nan Everett, Green's eccentric, 65-year-old heroine, lives alone in a house atop the Nantucket bluffs. Alone since her wealthy husband died 20 years ago, "Nan" has watched her beauty fade and her children leave her. Her only refuge, aside from skinny dipping in neighbours' pools, is her beloved home "Windermere."

Then one day bad news arrives. After making several disastrous investments on her behalf Nan's financial advisor announces that her money is almost gone. Forced to take in lodgers, this screwy fighter faces the harsh new reality of her life. But as she does her empty house and life become alive again with laughter and tears.

Full of complex characters facing their own personal struggles, Green's "Beach House" comforts anyone who enters. And when an unexpected visitor arrives to turn everyone's lives upside down, Nan's wisdom is an inspiration for those who lack hope in their own lives.

Crucified

By Michael Slade (Penguin Canada)

For his 13th thriller author Michael Slade conjures up a Christian's worst nightmare: Unravelling how Jesus Christ escaped from his ancient tomb.

Referred to over the centuries as the Judas puzzle -- the Achilles heel of the New Testament --Slade's slick whodunit about this historical mystery is full of twists and turns reminiscent of "The Da Vinci Code."

Starting in present-day Germany, the trouble begins when a construction site bulldozer uncovers the remains of a Second World War bomber who vanished on a secret mission. Liz Hannah, the pilot's granddaughter, hires New York lawyer Wyatt Rook to investigate. Rook's inquiries, however, soon lead the pair into a shadowy world of religious secrecy that involves Christ's crucifixion at Golgotha, the Inquisition and Satanism.

With nothing but a painting and a map as clues, Rook and Hannah embark on a perilous quest to solve three puzzles locked away a bomber, a U-boat and in history itself. But blocking them at every turn is the Legionary of Christ, a modern Crusader who will stop at nothing to silence the sleuths and keep the Bible's biggest religious riddle safe.

The Answer: Grow Any Business, Achieve Financial Freedom, and Live and Extraordinary Life

The Answer: Grow Any Business, Achieve Financial Freedom, and Live and Extraordinary Life

The Answer: Grow Any Business, Achieve Financial Freedom, and Live and Extraordinary Life

By John Assaraf and Murray Smith (Atria Books)

"The Secret," 2006's runway best-seller by Rhonda Bryne, turned millions of readers and Oprah Winfrey onto the "Law of Attraction." The intriguing concept described how to retrain the brain to attract everything we want from the universe into our lives.

Now business coaches John Assaraf and Murray Smith show entrepreneurs the way to unlimited abundance in "The Answer."

Explaining the "Law of Attraction" in terms of quantum physics and neuroscience, this enlightening journey of self discovery is filled with case studies, interactive visualization exercises, affirmations, meditations and the authors' firsthand experiences in the business world.

San Diego's Assaraf, for example, was a featured teacher on "The Secret" DVD and has personally built four business empires over the last 20 years. Torontonian Smith has launched 13 successful businesses. Together they founded OneCoach, the world's fastest-growing franchisor of small-business-growth services.

Readers will find no platitudes among "The Answer's" six steps to neural reconditioning. Instead the book sets out real guideposts to reprogram the brain for business success. All readers have to do is follow the rules to find their own unique answer.

Soul Shift: Finding Where the Dead Go

Soul Shift: Finding Where the Dead Go

Soul Shift: Finding Where the Dead Go

By Mark Ireland (Random House Canada)

A father's unbearable loss of a son and his frantic search for proof of "life after death" grips readers in "Soul Shift: Finding Where the Dead Go."

Author Mark Ireland plunged himself into the world of psychics and mediums after the tragic death of his youngest son. It was a world he knew. His father, Dr. Richard Ireland, was a celebrated spiritual minister and medium who counted Mae West among his Hollywood clients.

Unlike his "psychic to the stars" dad, Ireland passed on the paranormal to become a businessman. That changed after his son's death. Abandoning his career, Ireland embarked on an all-consuming quest to prove that communication with the dead was scientifically possible.

Presently engaged in "consciousness survival" research experiments, Ireland's quest takes him to some of the world's most respected scientists, among them theorist Dr. Don Watson, developer of TES (Theory of Enformed Systems). Ireland recounts his work with Allison Dubois, the psychic behind the hit TV show "Medium." His paranormal investigations also throw Ireland into a single-blind lab experiment with medium Laurie Campbell, a mind-blowing event filmed for a Discovery Channel feature.