Can anyone recommend some holiday reading both DH and I would like?

[DitaVonCheese]

We are going away at the start of May and being skinflints frugal are only taking hand luggage so plan is to take two books each and read each other's. I seem to read nothing but parenting/bfeeding (training to be an NCT BFC) books at the moment so would like something gripping. Will read almost anything except chicklit/romance type stuff.

Both love Christopher Brookmyre, though he rather rudely doesn't have anything out new in paperback at the moment. DH is also fond of Neil Gaiman but will generally read most literary fiction type things.

I love Rose Tremain, Kate Atkinson, Anne Patchett, Kasuo Ishiguro, Donna Tartt, Joseph Heller, that kind of thing. Recently read The Help and loved it, currently struggling though The Long Song but not really gripped me plus it's a hardback so too heavy to take Also adore well-written trashy thrillers along the lines of Harlen Coben or Sophie Hannah.

Any suggestions for me? Will probably raid my mum's library as she's a book fiend and we have similar tastes, though might take a sneaky pop at Amazon as well ... Ta :)

Have you read The Book Thief?
I bought the second one by the woman who wrote Time Travellers Wife and haven't read it yet but my husband is loving it
We both really like Patrick Gale books, would recommend Rough Music and Notes from an Exhibition

Lee Child
Dennis Lehane
Mark Billingham
Robert Crais

Thanks :)

Have (both) read the Book Thief. I think it might have made us cry

Loved TT'sW, will check out the second one. Actually bought TT'sW for DH while we were courting, don't think he's read it yet

Will check out the others, ta :)

We both liked The Time Traveller's Wife / The Book Thief / The Kite Runner / Never Let Me Go / Winter In Madrid / The Woman In White / The Moonstone / Girlfriend In A Coma.

I lied about Never Let Me Go - I HATED that and have no idea why I wrote it.

jeffrey deaver
harlen cohen
lee child
karen rose
sheila quigley

We both loved: Shantaram, Water for Elephants, Birdsong, Time Traveller's Wife, Room.

Ooh forgot to say we both like Douglas Coupland so will see if there are any I haven't read yet. My mum has Room so will nab that. Also like Sebastian Faulkes but think I have read all of them.

Recently re-read Never Let Me Go and still liked it but am lolling at your miscreant fingers Colonel

Thanks for all the suggestions, should keep me going for a while

The hunting season by Elizabeth Rigbey. Unputdown-able.

C J Sansom the Shardlake series (he also wrote Winter in Madrid). I'm just finishing the 4th book and they've all been fantastic!

The series goes:
Dissolution
Dark Fire
Soverign
Revelation
Heartstone (I think)

They're really well written who-done-its (perfect for holidays) set in Tudor times. Cannot recommend them enough - I've been telling everyone about them.

carl hiassen if you want something fairly light but well written

Michael Cordy is in a sort of Harlan Coben/Dan Brown vein. Actually was going to suggest Coben as the ultimate holiday trash, great stories, but you've already read them! Bill Bryson is also great if you like something you can pick up and put down.

Books DP and I have both enjoyed:

Life of Pi
Holes
American Gods (gaiman)
Curious incident of the dog in the nighttime
Early Discworld stuff
JPod (Coupland) - DP declared this his discovery of the holiday (which I though was a bit harsh on the charms of Tuscany!)

I enjoyed Shantaram, have recommended it to DP, but he has turned up his nose so far (think it's the thickness - he is a slooow reader)

Carl Hiassen is a bit on-off for me, the promise is always better than the reality

Ooh yes to Holes - dp liked it too - and the film is brilliant as well.

No one has mentioned Raymond Chandler yet.

These books have been a revelation to me, they are the original 'hard bitten' detective novels about the private investigator Phillipe Marlowe. Written and set in the 1940's they are...amazing. Funny: "it was a nice walk if you like grunting", gripping and of their time, they can be read by either sex (IMO) and are totally readable.

Definitely great reading if you are fans of murder mysteries.

We both liked The Mortdecai Trilogy by Kyril Bonfiglioli very funny.
Also if you've not read the the Jeeves and Wooster stories.

Ooh yes to Chandler. Also, we both love Evelyn Waugh. I really like the Shardlake books but dp doesn't.

DH and I have both enjoyed loads of the books you've mentioned - in fact we shared books on our honeymoon (inc TT's W and the Book Thief) and it was sort of lovely.

Other ones we've both loved since then (of you fancy some classics) are The Great Gatsby, The Go-Between, Brideshead Revisted and Brighton Rock.

my ex read the back pages of newspapers so he could read about bloody football!! so doubt we would have shared any books!! thats because hes a thick illeterate twat and also why an ex!!!!

Well my DH rarely reads but he's sat infront of me now reading "The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo". I (suprised myself) liked it too.

We also both enjoyed the Kite Runner, and Jonathon Coe (The Rotters Club, the Closed Circle, House of Sleep, Oh What a Carve Up).

Other than that DH is partial to a spot of Martina Cole. Both badly written and full of incest, domestic violence. a joy!!!

Also would recommend Life of Pi
The Tortilla Curtain and Bell Canto are also good reads.
Girl with the dragon Tatoo?

The room I really enjoyed. DH couldn't read it as it upset him too much.
I would recommend George Orwell, really well written and interesting.

Thanks again for all the recommendations. I have read quite a lot of them - Wodehouse we got into a few years back, think we've read most Graham Greene (realise this we thing is starting to sound a bit mental, it's more of a natural crossover type thing than synchronised reading).

I am intrigued by the Girl with the Dragon Tattoo etc but it is enormous I think so may tip us over our paltry baggage allowance

Think I've read all Orwell as well and most TC Boyle (Lolly would recommend Drop City if you haven't read that - loved it but makes me want to run away and live in a commune ). Actually, having just looked at Amazon that is a lie about TC Boyle ...

Love love love Bel Canto and read all her others too. I have read Life of Pi but think DH hasn't - he wanted to but we couldn't find my copy - so that could be a goer as could deffo re-read.

Am going to raid my mum's book stash tomorrow ...

Lee Child
Nora Roberts writing as JD Robb - I love her futuristic crime 'In Death' series

Henning Mankell's Wallender series is excellent detective fiction. Ian Rankin's Rebus series is also great if you haven't already read them. It was a sad day for me when I finished the last one of those.