Looking for a few good books to read....any ideas?

Parent Cafe
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<p>Looking for a few books to take on a vacation in a couple of months. No Harlequin romance novels for me please.</p>

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<p>Have you looked at the “one of the best books I’ve read in the past six months…” thread? Granted, it’s REALLY long, but there are lots of books of all genres recommended in that thread, and it’s constantly being updated.</p>

<p><a href=“One of the best books I've read in the last 6 months is . . - Parent Cafe - College Confidential Forums”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/parent-cafe/403424-one-of-the-best-books-ive-read-in-the-last-6-months-is-p1.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

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<p>Where are you going? I like reading books that are related to my destination. For example, before my vacation to the southwest, I read Walks Away Woman, Tony Hillerman’s Skinwalkers, and Death Comes for the Archbishop.</p>

<p>Also, what kind of genre are you interested in?</p>

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<p>A superb memoir, The Hare with Amber Eyes. It’s about art, family, history - beautifully written and endlessly intriguing. </p>

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<p>Thanks Scout I will look there. Thanks katliamom sounds like one I will like so will look it up.
All different genres… love memoirs but read a huge variety just not romance novels.
Going to Mexico for a 2 week vacation so I tend to read lots of books on the beach.
Just to name a few books off the top of my head that I have enjoyed I immediately think of A Prayer for Owen Meany(Owen is probably my favorite book character of all time) Glass Castle, Atlas Shrugged, Unbroken and I could go on and on. </p>

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<p>I pick vacation books by their size, it sounds crazy, but I want a small, thin paperback to carry with me. I enjoy lighter reads on the beach. Some of my favs that are easy to carry and don’t require focus and effort to read are Skipping Christmas by John Grisham, The Christmas Train by David Baldacci and A Redbird Christmas by Fannie Flagg. If you can’t handle a christmas story on vacation, then try A Walk in the Woods by Bill Bryson.</p>

<p>If you like thrillers, David Baldacci is really known for his suspense novels. The Christmas Train is a completely different type of book. Same goes for Skipping Christmas…not your normal John Grisham plot. Be warned, and do not start a Baldacci suspense novel late in the day, you will stay up reading all night!!</p>

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<p>It’s always fun to read books set in whatever country you’re in. Since you’ll be in Mexico, I’d recommend two favorites</p>

<p>Stones for Ibarra
Like Water for Chocolate</p>

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<p>Like Water for Chocolate is great, but make sure you have lots of snacks!
( it will make you hungry)</p>

<p>I’d recommend Boys in the Boat, and Girls of Atomic City, ( going by Unbroken, both are non fiction on my ereader although I haven’t read them yet.)
If I was going to have a beach read vacation, ( which I have never had- I’m so envious!) I would look at an ereader, maybe a water resistant one like the Kobo aura h2o, so I could have a ton of books with me.</p>

<p>I assume you’ve read John Irvings other novels? I especially liked The Cider House Rules & Garp.</p>

<p>You might also enjoy Tracks by Robyn Davidson as a companion to Walk in the Woods( both are fast reads).
<a href=“Tracks: A Woman's Solo Trek Across 1700 Miles of Australian Outback by Robyn Davidson | Goodreads”>http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/78895.Tracks&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

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<p>If you liked The Glass Castle, then Half Broke Horses, the story of Jeanette Wahls grandmother, would be something you’d enjoy. I also love memoir, and Fenton Johnson’s Geography of the Heart, anything by Abraham Vergese, and The Road to Corrain by Jill Kerr Conway are what comes to mind. City of Thieves by David Benioff was a recent very impressive fictional read about the siege of Leningrad. </p>

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<p>Where are you going? I love to read books set in the place I am visiting; it adds depth and richness to both experiences.</p>

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<p>Very timely thread for me. Any specific suggestions as I get ready for my Rhine River cruise next week?
Starting in Amsterdam, through Germany, ends in Switzerland? I’d LOVE to read something relevant to the area so would love your recommendations…</p>

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<p>I think Patrick O’Brien’s Aubrey-Maturin sea stories (beginning with Master and Commander) are a good blend of cerebral and action-oriented writing.</p>

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<p>@curiouser‌ For the Rhine trip, I’d recommend Jerome K. Jerome’s Three Men on the Bummel, the comic tale of a (mis)adventurous cycling trip (mostly) across Germany. Think Wodehouse on wheels. Commonly regarded as inferior to its prequel Three Men In A Boat (which recounts a Thames boating trip), but I find it every bit its equal.</p>

<p>Also, on a more serious note, Patrick Leigh Fermor’s A Time Of Gifts, part one of one of the all-time great travel memoirs. Fermor walked the length of pre-war Europe from Holland to Constantinople, and this first book covers his journey from Holland through the Rhineland to the Danube. </p>

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<p>My husband always brings gigantic serious books to the beach. A few years back he decided he should actually read Darwin. I second Hunt’s suggestion. (#11) I’m not a big memoir reader, but Vera Britain’s Testament of Youth is a classic if you haven’t read it. (About being a World War 1 nurse and its aftermath.)</p>

<p>German novels are all so depressing! I do like Friedrich Durenmatt’s The Judge and his Hangman. It’s set in Bern, Switzerland.</p>

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<p>The solution for too-heavy-to-carry books is a Kindle (or other e-reader) :wink: </p>

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<p>Yes I typically have my Kindle on vacation and a book or two. Still prefer books over the Kindle. I read half broke horses. Couldn’t remember what it was about a month after reading it so wasn’t a winner like Glass Castle for me.
Oh and going to Puerto Vallarta and Sayulita.</p>

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<p>@riverbirch‌ For the Mexican Pacific coast, the obvious choice is Tennessee Williams’ The Night of the Iguana.</p>

<p>I’m not aware of any of his books being set in that specific region, but Carlos Fuentes is phenomenal if you want to read a Mexican author. I’m partial to The Crystal Frontier (a good beach reader since it’s an episodic novel in the form of short stories) and his debut novel Where The Air Is Clear. </p>

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<p>Curiouser…Heidi. ; )</p>

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<p>Barbara Kingsolver…The Lacuna (for the Mexico bound)</p>

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<p>For a long book, try Stephen King’s 11/22/63. It is not a horror novel but a time travel story. For a funny book try The 100 Year Old Man who climbed out the window and disappeared. </p>