Beach Reading?

Once again I'm asking you, my friends, for help. It's amazing to me that anyone even reads this blog, but since a few of you do, I'd love to get your input on a very important topic.

Beach Reading

We are heading to the beach in a couple of weeks and I'm looking for a good book to take with me. Not just any book, however.

See, going to the beach with small children does not allow for extensive reading (or sometimes any reading at all). Thanks to the presence of grandparents I know I can at least accomplish a bit of reading between glances at my son (who may or may not be eating sand) or my daughter (who may or may not be giving her brother a sand makeover).

Now I have plenty of books I could take. I'm actually in the midst of reading 4 right now (which drives my husband crazy...it's just so exciting to start a new one!). But none of them are light reading.

So my question--can you recommend a book (fiction or non) that will be an easy, light read, but not necessarily a "guilty pleasure read" ? Something easy to read in bits and pieces, but that might still teach me something along the way?

Hope I'm not asking for too much ;).

Thanks, friends, for reading and for your input.