Five books for my holiday

[ArthurMcAffertyhastwocats]

Help! I wandered around Waterstones today and came away empty handed. Ideally I'd like a mix of classics, non fiction and modern fiction, but I want them all to be the sorts of books you lose yourself in totally. Can you help - what would be your five top take away on holiday recommendations?

I'm reading Mr Mac and Me by Esther Freud and am loving it. Recommended :)

Graham Norton's memoir The Life and Loves of a He Devil is good fun if you like him, which I do. Wake by Anna Hope is next up. I like novels about WW1 and have a thriller The Devil in the Marshalsea after that. Can't remember author's name right now though.

1. The Old Man and the Sea : Ernest Hemmingway as a classic that is poetic, beautiful, tragic and enthralling all at once.

2)A Man called Ove (give it a couple of chapters...it's a grower) Fredrick Backman as a current, modern novel with both pathos and humour

3)Still Alice by Lisa Genova if you haven't seen the film or Elizabeth is Missing by Emma Healey (it's a who dunnit but guessable....best for getting inside the character) or The memory book by Rowan Coleman. All address memory loss in a different way...thought provoking, current and good characterisation if you can bear the subject matter of losing one's memory.

4. The Happiness Project by Gretchen Rubin....thought provoking look at her year of trying to improve her own happiness as a way to improve the happiness of others around her. not usually my sort of thing but did make me consider the blessings of my life and maximising the benefit of good and happy for all...light touch so not too preachy.

5. The god of Small Things by Arhundati Roy (might have spelt that wrong...sorry)

If you are robust and able to stomach it I am trying to find a time to read "The Narrow Road to the Deep north" By Richard Flannagan....documenting the building of the Burma railway in WW2 through the memories of his father who was a POW on the railway and died a couple of years ago.

HTH

Life after life by Kate Atkinson - completely absorbing read.