Holiday reads.....what would you say was this year's 'must read'?

[Earthymama]

I'm taking loads as usual, some by C J Sansom, Lionel Shriver's latest, Barbara Kingsolver's Prodigal Summer, Andrew Taylor. I've got a couple by Iain Banks, Owen Sheers, Jodie Picoult.

One holiday I read David Mitchell's Cloud Atlas, another time, Meg Rosoff's How I Live Now...and really loved them.

So what should I take this year that would have the unputdownable factor?

PS does anyone else read loads if they get the chance? I read really quickly and DO talk to DP, but feel really guilty as everyone says, disapprovingly, ' Don't you do anything but read?'. I love the chance to just lie on the beach for a few hours and read without interuption. Of course there's the coach to the airport, the wait to board, the flight, journey to resort......so there's at least one book under my belt. So I NEED to take lots......

bump

I loved David Mitchell's Cloud Atlas too. Have you tried Margaret Attwoods Oryx and Crake. Another apocalyptic tale, very well written, but totally different to Cloud Atlas.

I read too much too and read pretty much anything. Chick lit, crime, booker prize winners, kids books...if it comes under my radar it gets read. And sometimes I feel guilty and sometimes I just enjoy myself

A good one I read was Diane Settlerfield's 13th Tale. It was kind of old fashioned, almost Jane Eyre-ish, and intriguing, though it's not an intellectual book at all. A kind of frappaccino of a book rather than an espresso.

I love these threads. Can't get enough of 'em.

Squilly, I'd add Playing with the Moon (Eliza Graham)to that category--frap lit! Good term.

Bridie3...you are so clever.

Frap lit will get changed to crap lit, unfortunately, by the literati on here...but I love it! I may use it from now on for all my frothy books...

And I'm off to get playing with the moon now. Amazon here I come!

Squilly and Bridie - more suggestions pls. I seem to have similar (eg if it moves read it) tendancies so keen to hear more of your must reads!

You might enjoy some Jasper Fforde, The Eyre Affair is prob the best to start with if you're not familiar with his stuff.

I read all the time and love almost anything from Robertson Davies (literature) to Diana Wynn Jones (kids' stuff). Enjoy yourself.

OOhhh....I love Jasper Fforde. He's tops. I also like a little sci-fantasy (Tad Williams and Robin Hobb) and recently got into an embarassing genre of non-human chick lit. A woman called Kelley Armstrong wrote a book called Bitten which was the start of a series of science fantasy chick lit type books. Werewolf related, in case you weren't sure . I've now read the entire series and am looking forward to the next one!!!

I'm reading Cornelia funke's Inkheart, after loving Dragonrider (I know it's for kids, but this stuff is so easy to slip in around the housework/kids) and Memoirs of a Geisha (for the second time as part of a bookclub thing).

I love Diana Wyn Jones too and I've read a couple of Boris Akunin books, which are odd, but strangely compulsive.

I've also bought a couple of Sebastian Falkes books (he's mentioned on book threads a lot) and am looking forward to reading them next.

I love Jodi Picoult books!

I also love any crime reading stuff, my collection includes Patricia Cornwell, Karin Slaughter, James Patterson, Mark Billingham, Kathy Reichs, Harlen Coben, Lee Child, Elizabeth George, Tess Gerritson, Val McDermid, Ian Rankin, Mary Higgins Clark.... plus a few others I can't remember the name of!

My DP thinks I must have been a serial killer in another life because I love reading these types of books and watching these types of programmes!!!

I have read and enjoyed most of the books on this thread, so am going to suggest the temeraire series by naomi novik, which I recently read my way through

books.google.co.uk/books?as_auth=Naomi+Novik&sa=X&oi=print&ct=title&cad=author-navigational&hl=en

I'm quite enjoying Testament of Gideon Mack - I like its conscious contemporariness, none of that Vaseline-filtered retro setting stuff. It's dense, though, so a few pages at a time does me: so maybe not a settle-down-for-hours holiday read.

I'm tempted to read Barack Obama's memoir - I suspect if there's a book masses of people are getting outside in the next few months it's that.

Otherwise (and non-current-publishing-list-wise) I feel something is saying it's Faulkner revival time.

I read and enjoyed Engelby a few months ago. Was quite suprised by it, but was good, absorbing read.

Another vote for the 13th Tale. Also if you haven't read the Giles Waring Haters Club, that's v good too and funny.

Oh, and "Lottery!", sorry can't remember author.

Dh bought me the new James Patterson book on Friday. DD1 is visiting for the weekend and read it cover to cover from 10pm Friday until the wee small hours then finished it yesterday afternoon.

I started it last night around 7.30pm and finished it at midnight, Couldn't put it down.

I only realised how long I'd been sitting in the same position when I tried to look up and found my neck locked for a few seconds

Robert Harris's GHOST.

Blardy funny and very clever too.

Have just finished the Outcast by Sadie Jones. It is amazing.

You lovely people....last time I looked no-one had responded and I thought you had all thought..boring and gone somewhere exciting!!

And now I find lots of ideas Thank you all!!

Squilly I think you might be me...I love Tad Williams and Robin Hobb, but...
a) have read them all and
b) DP will refuse to put them in the suitcase as they are too big (we had to pay £40 excess once and I'm never allowed to forget it)

I need a mix of books so keen to try Frap-lit too.
Cheers EM

Just finished Testament of Gideon Mack.

It gets the formal Bink Seal of Approval - a properly good book. About five a year (out of innumerable candidates) get that.

Ds (9) asked what it was about: I said "Scotland and superstition" - if you find those things (plus atmosphere, literary tradition, small-town-cast ensemble characterising) interesting, go for it. (There's a marvellous bit of a poem, a really good bit of poem [also a rare thing], as the epigraph too - Andrew Young, will be following that up.)

oooh - I LOVED testament of Gideon Mack.
another good book is the reluctant fundamentalist (I devoured it in a night I think!)
and the book thief.

have you looked at richard and judy's book club - strangley enough, all of the books I have read on there have been good, though I cant stand R&J personally!

I really enjoyed Gideon Mack and Reluctant Fundamentalist too.

For this year - I would say In the Wood by Tana French and Child 44 by Tom Smith if crime is your bag at all.

Have just realised I read the Andrew Taylor...before we go away

Am sortinf definite list this afternoon, it's so hard to choose!

I'm reading Suite Francaise which is extraordinary.

I loved Suite Francaise nkf
I read French so will look out her earlier novel David Golder when over there this summer, I'd like to see what her prose is like in the original IYSWIM
For our hols I also have

yiddish Policemen's Union

I used to know that

1066 and all that

Whatever makes you happy

and

The Rest is Noise, which I have bought for three other people but only dipped into so far

Must now go off and investigate Gideon Mack!

Am reading and loving Engelby by Sebastian Faulks atm

I really enjoyed 19 minutes by jodi picoult recently. I also read the kite runner, a thousand splendid suns, the bookseller of kabul - all of which were excellent.