Active discussions

Please or to access all these features

Talk
What we're reading

Find your new favourite book or recommend one on our Book forum.

Original poster

Help me decide on a book to take on holiday next week

163 replies

RemusLupinsBiggestGroupie · 06/04/2014 15:45

A real, live book - not Kindle. Has to be one I've not read before and has to be big. Ideally it will - be well written without being literary, have either a who-dunnit or historical or dystopian or apocalyptic element to it, or indeed all of those.

Things that would tick those boxes but that I've already read are:
Anything by Wilkie Collins
The Passage / The Twelve
CJ Sansom's Shardlake books
This Thing of Darkness

Don't fancy sci-fi at the moment and don't want anything in the best seller lists.

Thanks in advance.

OP posts:
New posts on this thread. Refresh page
CheckpointCharlie · 13/04/2014 21:15

Have you read The Goldfinch? They will have that in the airport, it is long but very good, epic (as dd11woyld say!).
Did you say if you had read any ken Follett? I bought my first book by him from our actual holiday island, Kefalonia for about 50p 11 years ago, Pillars of the Earth, again, an epic book but fairly manly and will keep you hooked!

Either way have a great holiday!

SerenaJoy · 13/04/2014 20:22

Oh I was coming back to suggest either The Siege of Krishnapur (manly, historical but not that long) or The Tale of Murasaki (not manly at all but thought you might like it if you liked Memoirs of a Geisha).

But I see I'm too late! Have a great trip, hope you're not reduced to reading the in-flight magazine.

Original poster
RemusLupinsBiggestGroupie · 13/04/2014 15:01

Charity shop trip resulted in this but tis v short.

OP posts:
MadamBatShit · 13/04/2014 14:58

Airport lit?! Oh no, stay away from Jumpa Lahiri!
Praying for decent charity shop..

Have a good trip anyway!

Original poster
RemusLupinsBiggestGroupie · 13/04/2014 10:44

It's now got to be either something from the charity shop up the road, or from the airport tomorrow. I have failed. I do have a non-fiction one, but it won't even last out the plane journey, I don't think.

OP posts:
CoteDAzur · 13/04/2014 10:29

Remus - This might be a good moment for you to try Anathem by Neal Stephenson.

Original poster
RemusLupinsBiggestGroupie · 13/04/2014 09:55

Read most of these. Hate Dickens. Trollope is a possibility, as I'm yet to read any of his.

Ursula le Guin doesn't do it for me - too female. I want manly!

Liked, 'Memoirs of a Geisha' a lot.
Read most of John Irving's but don't like him much and, 'Owen Meaney' really, really annoyed me. Hate all the sex stuff in it and it was far too long and repetitive - it would have made a good novella. Also saw the end coming for ages. I did like the car bit!

Read the Maitland, but found her writing a bit clunky. Read Poe.

Pat Barker - quite liked the 1st in the Regeneration series and hated everything else. 'Toby's Room' was one of the most ridiculous things I've ever read, as was, 'The Eye in the Door.' I found them screamingly, embarrassingly stupid.

The Three Musketeers is an inspired suggestion! Am deffo going to read that. :)

OP posts:
TheOtherSideOfSilence · 13/04/2014 09:37

If you like Collins, what about some Edgar Allan Poe stories? Or if you like anything Victorian and huge, any Dickens. Or Trollope.

For historical novels, Margaret George's Tudor novels are huge but fairly easy going.

Fedupnagging · 13/04/2014 00:16

Most of the books I would have suggested have been mentioned.

However, how about Testament of Youth - very long and mostly, very interesting.

Another book I couldn't put down is Cutting for Stone by Abraham Verghese. It's about 600 pages iirc.

cafecito · 13/04/2014 00:13

a million little pieces James Frey

CorusKate · 13/04/2014 00:08

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

CorusKate · 13/04/2014 00:06

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

WickedWitchoftheNorthWest · 13/04/2014 00:03

Company of Liars by Karen Maitland. Both historical and semi-apocalyptic (based in the plague years) www.amazon.co.uk/Company-Liars-Karen-Maitland/dp/0141031913

blueeyedpea · 13/04/2014 00:00

have you tried John Irving? I enjoyed A Prayer for Owen Meany, but it might be a bit love/hate

dingalong · 12/04/2014 23:47

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

LeBearPolar · 12/04/2014 23:45

DH is reading The Three Musketeers. Manly and historical! And it has a picture of the musketeers on the front. Sometimes I just gaze at it Grin

SerenaJoy · 12/04/2014 23:42

This is from my 'to read' pile but what about The Earthsea Quartet by Ursula Le Guin? I don't know if it will fit your 'manly' criteria but it does look good.

I've been wanting to read it for ages but can't stay awake long enough to read at the mo due to pesky non-sleeping babies and toddlers.

[applies matchsticks to eyelids]

dingalong · 12/04/2014 23:41

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

Original poster
RemusLupinsBiggestGroupie · 12/04/2014 22:22

I failed with Jonathon Strange - it just wasn't engaging me and I gave up on it. Maybe should try again, as it is certainly big!

Read and really enjoyed, 'American Gods.'

Read, 'A Million Little Pieces.'

'The Snow Leopard' sounds v good, but really wanting fiction.

Can't cope with Mitchell now! I will deffo give Shogun a try at some point.

OP posts:
heymammy · 12/04/2014 22:16

The Count of Monte Cristo? Great book but I have to say I'd second the Shogun recommendation...it's a damn fine book!

Burmahere · 12/04/2014 22:10

Have you read The Snow Leopard by Peter Matthiesson? Gorgeous wonderful story set in the Himalayas.

I'm also looking for big fat books to take away with me.

Had the Quincunx all ready to recommend but see already dealt with Grin!

Thousand Autumns of Jacob de Zoet? David Mitchell but quite different from Cloud Atlas.

Neil Gaiman American Gods

Have got Jonathan Strange & Dr Norrell recommended on here and in my bag ready to read Smile.

CheckpointCharlie · 12/04/2014 21:57

Not very related to the other kinds of books you like but have you read A Million Little Pieces by James Frey? Its one of my all time faves.

And I have just read two non-fiction books that were brilliant, El Narco by Ioan Grillo and The Gift of Fear by Gavin De Becker.

CheckpointCharlie · 12/04/2014 21:53

No probs! I can send it to anyone actually, if anyone fancies it.

Original poster
RemusLupinsBiggestGroupie · 12/04/2014 21:49

Just looked at the Charlie Parker books. Sounds eerily reminiscent of King.

OP posts:
wizzler · 12/04/2014 21:48

We have similar taste.. I loved the Shardlake books and Wilkie Collins.
My other favourites are

Paulina Simons, the Bronze Horseman
Precious Bane by Mary Webb
Red Leaves by Paulina Simons ( actually... anything by Paulina Simons)
The Serailler novels by Susan Hill ( possibly not spelt like that!)