Holiday reading recommendations - no chick lit

[BugBearisBugBear]

Imagine you're off to sunny France next month with DH, the DCs and the grandparents for a week. You have little time to read, but because of the gps you are hoping to manage at least a couple of afternoons lounging by the pool. You can only take one book because of weight restrictions. So the book you take must be gripping and not one you will give up on after 40 pages.

What would you recommend?

Am not into chick lit at all. I read the Booker shortlist/literary fiction blah but want something easy to read and non-depressing. It must not be at all challenging.

How about Les Liasons Dangereuse? It's a classic, but I doubt you'll be bored...chock full of aristo scheming and cruelty. I love it.

For hilarious+interesting, I'd recommend French Revolutions by Tim Moore - it's travel writing of the Bill Bryson kind (but much, much funnier) where Moore cycles the Tour de France route. Loads of fascinating info about France and it's fantastically amusing too.

Has anyone read this? is it a good book?

Can you really only manage one book in your luggage? I could not survive. I think you need to be looking at LOTR or War and Peace. We flew to France last summer without any grandparents and I took four books, read them all, plus DH's Harry Potter (the big one that was just out) and the Karin Slaughter I found in the villa and my magazines then went roaming Aigues-Mortes looking for English Language reading material. Found a guide book and that was it. Knew I should have done French a-level.

A big book would be good, but not War and Peace - nooooooooooooo.

Did your DH get time to read the Harry Potter though?

My kids are 3 and 16 months, I don't honestly think I will be able to read more than one book... we're only there for a week. And because the gps are there, we have to sociable in the eves.

The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafon is a perfect holiday read. Entertaining, slightly literary, interesting premise, long enough to keep you going for a week. I loved it.

I think Joshua Ferris would be a let down if it was your only book. Great idea but got quite bogged down in its own cleverness towards the end.

Ah - I think it is that "sociable in the evenings" thing that might be the difference. Yes DH read Harry Potter through, and then so did I. I am a much faster reader than DH though. Our children were 6 and 3 so that bit older than yours. They stayed up late in the evenings (10ish) but that meant that they laid in a bit in the mornings and we made DD have a late afternoon nap and DS have a quiet time (listening to music/reading) when we could lay on sun loungers and read.

Lots of reading on holiday is a big treat for me. But War and Peace was a bit tongue in cheek really.

Oh and we were there for a fortnight....

I'd go with anything by Jonathan Coe, another fan here.

Enjoyed Suite Francais,although I know some found it quite hard to get into...reckon it's worth perserving with...

For a light read that I know will keep me smiling, I'll usually re-read one of the Tales of the City series.Good for easy, lazy reading with a large bottle glass of wine (or three)

Out of Africa, Isaak Dinesen (or Karen Blixen, rather). Gripping, beautiful, poetic, insighful, and broken down into relatively small bites. Perfect!

Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day - Winifred Watson! Such a lovely book!

Half of a Yellow Sun - Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie. Very good and unputadownable

I read Miss Pettigrew when breast-feeding DD1 and stunned by new mumhood. It fitted the bill then, I enjoyed it.

Bozza, introducing 'quiet time' sounds like a good idea. Two weeks would be wonderful . Don't know how DH would like being stuck with the in-laws for that long though!

Keep the ideas coming, loads of these books sound really good - should keep me going throughout the year.

Have you read The Source by James A. Michener BugBearisBugBear? I loved it and it's also another part historical/biblical and fictional novel about a place in Isreal through the ages.
here

What about The Historian by Elizabeth Kostova. Its actually about Dracula. It manages to be educational, totally scary, apsolutely gripping and very very readable all at the same time - with some romance chucked in too. In short, the sort of book I wish I could write myself! I couldn't put it down, and was pretty scared (don't normally do scarey books, but just loved this). Really enjoyed it, and couldn't recommend it enough - I think we have similar taste in books from your comments, so I@m sure you'd love it.

This Book will Save your Life sounds interesting.

The vampire one too, I've seen it around - review on Amazon says it 'drags sometimes'. Did you find this Taffy?

I'm really loving 'Blood River' about the journalist Tim Butcher's trip following Stanley's footsteps down the River Congo.

I'm really enjoying it, he's a bit of a moaner but that's part of the pleasure, watching him suffer!

Have you read any Robert Harris or William Boyd? Both good and easy to read imo.

Ipanemagirl, I'm reading 'Blood River', too. It makes Nigeria seem the height of sophistication. I'm thoroughly enjoying it and yes he does whinge, but not half as much I would in the same circs. The plight of the Congolese is so though.

Suedonim, I'm so surprised that I can't put it down, I normally find that kind of book unreadable but I think he writes so well, he's in proper peril most of the time, it is fascinating history that I knew almost nothing of and it presents a bit of African history that is graspable. Brilliant combination!
I cannot believe how awful life must be for the Congolese, what a terrible history of abuse the whole country has suffered from outside and inside!

(Sorry to OP, I'm feeling a little impassioned about this book!)

Suedonim, one more thiing. I loved it when his ego was hurt by that French UN or ICRC woman referring to him as "An Adventurer" he hated that so much didn't he! Very funny!

And also I think it sucks a little that he tells us all about these noble motorcyclists who take him with them at great personal risk and then in the photos he doesn't name check them. Just "Author en route" sort of thing. That sucks imo!

Any of the following:

"The war of Don Emmanuel's nether parts" by Louis de Berniere. Brilliantly written, gentle send-up of magical realism novels.

"England, their England" Archie MacDonnell. Written about 80 years ago. Affectionate send up of the british. still laugh-out-loud funny today. (And a very tiny book so you have room for another as well)

"Freakonomics" for some non-fiction fun

Year of Wonders is sad but inspirational in many ways - i couldn't put it down and i am an early to bed kind of bird. I agree on the Red Tent too - amazing book, liked Alias Grace as well, heop you have a good holiday

Ipanemagirl, I finished Blood River last night. It is an amazing insight into the Congo, where I noted on the BBC yesterday there is still so much fighting going on.

I rather thought the book fizzled out a bit toward the end, hitching a helicopter ride and driving in a jeep to Boma. I think because he juxtaposed his experience with Stanley's I felt TB also should be doing the trip on foot, hacking his way through jungle, fighting off giant snakes and carniverous lions etc!

IKWYM about the 'adventurer' bit. There was a whiff of 'I am doing this for YOU!' self-sacrifice about the book when in fact he's done it for no one but himself.

I thought the photos very poor! It does say there are pics in his website so, African internet allowing, I'm going to have a peek.

Blood River Not all the links seem to work, though.

Ok, they do work but load v-e-r-y slowly for me!

Message withdrawn