Ole Posted July 12, 2011 Share Posted July 12, 2011 I am going to my parents for 3 weeks and they are really great with my toddler which means I will have time to read (yipee!!) but I haven't got time to browse the library or bookshops so I need some suggestions please! I am a medical journalist and editor and I read lots of heavy going technical stuff for work, so I want to give my brain a rest and avoid anything dense, but I get bored with over-the-top chic lit. Any ideas for favourite books? Link to comment https://www.eastdulwichforum.co.uk/topic/18375-holiday-read/ Share on other sites More sharing options...
jollybaby Posted July 12, 2011 Share Posted July 12, 2011 I've just got back from holiday and quite enjoyed The Slap by Christos Tsiolkas Link to comment https://www.eastdulwichforum.co.uk/topic/18375-holiday-read/#findComment-454007 Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vickster Posted July 12, 2011 Share Posted July 12, 2011 One Day by David NichollsTime Travellers Wife by Audrey NiffeneggerThe Secret History by Donna TartThe Kite Runner and A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini (preferred the latter personally) Link to comment https://www.eastdulwichforum.co.uk/topic/18375-holiday-read/#findComment-454008 Share on other sites More sharing options...
alieh Posted July 12, 2011 Share Posted July 12, 2011 I was going to suggest One Day too. Just read it on holiday myself and loved it. Link to comment https://www.eastdulwichforum.co.uk/topic/18375-holiday-read/#findComment-454014 Share on other sites More sharing options...
amyw Posted July 12, 2011 Share Posted July 12, 2011 also 'room' is good and i quite liked 'my last duchess' although i cant decide if its a bit chick lit or not Link to comment https://www.eastdulwichforum.co.uk/topic/18375-holiday-read/#findComment-454016 Share on other sites More sharing options...
curlykaren Posted July 12, 2011 Share Posted July 12, 2011 I also thought The Kite Runner and A Thousand Splendid Suns were excellent, The Slap, was however, just very annoying. Link to comment https://www.eastdulwichforum.co.uk/topic/18375-holiday-read/#findComment-454030 Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vickster Posted July 12, 2011 Share Posted July 12, 2011 I have my eye on Caitlin Moran's How to be a Woman. I think she is very funny Link to comment https://www.eastdulwichforum.co.uk/topic/18375-holiday-read/#findComment-454031 Share on other sites More sharing options...
womanofdulwich Posted July 12, 2011 Share Posted July 12, 2011 i would specifically not read the slap- it is a depressing book, with no characters to like. Link to comment https://www.eastdulwichforum.co.uk/topic/18375-holiday-read/#findComment-454054 Share on other sites More sharing options...
mrs.lotte Posted July 12, 2011 Share Posted July 12, 2011 American Wife - totally absorbing, brilliant readDiplomatic baggage - well written, really interesting and laugh out loud/continuously quoting to bored husband funny.Sister - annoying characters but good storyWinter in Madrid - bit more highbrow than the above but a proper gripping yarnThe Help - expect to do some cryingEnjoy. Link to comment https://www.eastdulwichforum.co.uk/topic/18375-holiday-read/#findComment-454058 Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pickle Posted July 12, 2011 Share Posted July 12, 2011 The Road - Cormac McCarthy - one of the best books I have read for a long long time, highly recommended. Link to comment https://www.eastdulwichforum.co.uk/topic/18375-holiday-read/#findComment-454061 Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maki Posted July 12, 2011 Share Posted July 12, 2011 Very recently i have read both 'Sister' and 'The Wood Cutter' and found them both un-put-down-able! Reading 'The Slap' at the moment, haven't got into it yet but think that's because I've just discovered Angry Birds on my new swanky phone and am a little bit addicted!Other easy reading books I love are 'The Road' Jack Keroac, 'On the Road' Cormac McCarthy, 'Charlotte Grey' Seb faulks, 'The Book Theif'.Pls excuse spelling and grammar - I'm sleepy now - about to take Ovaltine and Angry Birds to bed :) Link to comment https://www.eastdulwichforum.co.uk/topic/18375-holiday-read/#findComment-454065 Share on other sites More sharing options...
ladyruskin Posted July 12, 2011 Share Posted July 12, 2011 I second The Help. It was well written and an easy read - I actually miss the characters. Link to comment https://www.eastdulwichforum.co.uk/topic/18375-holiday-read/#findComment-454068 Share on other sites More sharing options...
BellendenBear Posted July 12, 2011 Share Posted July 12, 2011 I also love Kite Runner and Thousand Splendid Suns.The Help is a great holiday read, looks really big but a real page turner.I hated The Slap. So did the rest of my book club. Awful. All of the characters deserved a slap. Really hated it!If you really will have lots of time then Wild Swans is worth a read. Link to comment https://www.eastdulwichforum.co.uk/topic/18375-holiday-read/#findComment-454069 Share on other sites More sharing options...
ClaireClaire Posted July 12, 2011 Share Posted July 12, 2011 Hi,I recommend:A Case of Exploding Mangoes by Mohammed Hanif - a Sydenham author who was shortlisted for the Booker 2008Also, some older ones in case you missed them when they came out - all easy reads but still engagingWe Need to talk about Kevin, Lionel ShriverWhat was Lost, Catherine O'FlynnThe Tenderness of Wolves, Stef PenneyNotes from a Scandal, Zoe HellerIf you like Harry Potter type fantasy, don't forget the Bartimaeus books by Jonathon StroudQuite a girly book but by no means chick-lit is I Capture the Castle, Dodie SmithEnjoy your holiday!Claire Link to comment https://www.eastdulwichforum.co.uk/topic/18375-holiday-read/#findComment-454074 Share on other sites More sharing options...
Polly D Posted July 12, 2011 Share Posted July 12, 2011 Maggot O'Farrell's The Hand That First Held Mine. Link to comment https://www.eastdulwichforum.co.uk/topic/18375-holiday-read/#findComment-454078 Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yak Posted July 13, 2011 Share Posted July 13, 2011 David Mitchell's books are great for holiday reading- Cloud Atlas and One Thousand Days of Jacob de Zoot are all very readable but a nice good length. I thought The Help and One Day were good, too. I love reading Kazuro Isiguro on holiday too - his prose is beautifully sparse and it's lovely to savour when you have the time.A bit different but The Suspicions of Mr Whitcher (about a real life murder mystery in 19th century middle class provincial England) gets you thinking. Slightly trashy but real page turners are the millennium series (the girl who kicked the hornet's nest) by Stig Larsson. Link to comment https://www.eastdulwichforum.co.uk/topic/18375-holiday-read/#findComment-454109 Share on other sites More sharing options...
jollybaby Posted July 13, 2011 Share Posted July 13, 2011 Ole you're welcome to borrow my copy of the slap if you want!! Link to comment https://www.eastdulwichforum.co.uk/topic/18375-holiday-read/#findComment-454113 Share on other sites More sharing options...
catjo13 Posted July 13, 2011 Share Posted July 13, 2011 Would agree wholeheartedly with:The HelpOne DayThe Hand that First Held MineAmerican WifeOne Thousand Days of Jacob de ZoetOn my last holiday I read and lovedThe Corrections - Jonathan Franzen. As well as being a wonderful character study it is quite chunky and took me about a week.Also recently read and liked:The Postmistress by Sarah Blakeand the latest Kate Atkinson book Started Early, Took my Dog. Link to comment https://www.eastdulwichforum.co.uk/topic/18375-holiday-read/#findComment-454116 Share on other sites More sharing options...
HollieES Posted July 13, 2011 Share Posted July 13, 2011 A Million Little Pieces by James FreyMy Friend Leonard (follows the above) by James FreyFreedom by Jonathan FranzenBest books I've read in a long time. Link to comment https://www.eastdulwichforum.co.uk/topic/18375-holiday-read/#findComment-454121 Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lochie Posted July 13, 2011 Share Posted July 13, 2011 The Life of Pi - Yann Martell - great holiday read, think won booker prizeCloud Atlas - David MitchellNorwegian Wood - Haruki Murakami - excellent and easy to readNever Let Me Go - Kazuo IshiguruAnother vote for A Thousand Splendid Sunsoh how i wish to be able to sit down and read a book!!ENJOY!!! Link to comment https://www.eastdulwichforum.co.uk/topic/18375-holiday-read/#findComment-454124 Share on other sites More sharing options...
claire101 Posted July 13, 2011 Share Posted July 13, 2011 How to be a Woman - Caitlin MoranI've just read it on holiday (bliss, not to be reading baby food books or textbooks...) and thoroughly enjoyed it. I'd also vote for the Kite Runner, A Thousand Splendid Suns and I've enjoyed all the Maggie O'Farrells Link to comment https://www.eastdulwichforum.co.uk/topic/18375-holiday-read/#findComment-454142 Share on other sites More sharing options...
alieh Posted July 13, 2011 Share Posted July 13, 2011 Oh yes, definitely Freedom by Jonathan Franzen. Link to comment https://www.eastdulwichforum.co.uk/topic/18375-holiday-read/#findComment-454179 Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ruffler Posted July 13, 2011 Share Posted July 13, 2011 Another big thumbs down for The Slap - don't waste your precious reading time!I also loved The Kite Runner and Thousand Splendid Suns and enjoyed The Help and The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot. I've recently joined Audible.com and loved the audio version of We Need to Talk about Kevin.I'm now going to add One Day to my list of holiday reads! Link to comment https://www.eastdulwichforum.co.uk/topic/18375-holiday-read/#findComment-454183 Share on other sites More sharing options...
Belle Posted July 13, 2011 Share Posted July 13, 2011 American Wife is one of my favourite books, think it is beautifully written and absorbing. I've been getting into Scandi crime lit recently - just read a good one called 'Hypothermia' by Arnaldur Indridson. Think 'the hand that first held mine' is Maggie O F's best novel yet, absolutely wept reading that one on holiday last year. Also read Sarah Waters 'The little stranger' - bit of a thriller/ghost story - recently, pretty good. Not as good as the one she wrote before that, 'the nightwatch'. Think all of these wd be good holiday reading. Link to comment https://www.eastdulwichforum.co.uk/topic/18375-holiday-read/#findComment-454187 Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dodo1 Posted July 13, 2011 Share Posted July 13, 2011 I would hurry up and read One day as the film comes out in Aug!I would recommend Alone in Berlin. Link to comment https://www.eastdulwichforum.co.uk/topic/18375-holiday-read/#findComment-454188 Share on other sites More sharing options...
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