I Need A Good Book To Read On My Trip

[Kami's pal]

My personal preference is to save the books that I can't put down for days at home when I'm not missing out on anything else.

 

So , for a stand-up-comic in a book, I always enjoy Bill Bryson. I pick him up and read for a while and then put it back down easily. He is a travellin' guy that has a knack for funny observations. Try I'm a Stranger Here Myself.

I was reading In a Sunburned Country but my granddaughter picked it up and then loaned it to her friends. I will buy myself a new copy. He makes me laugh OUT LOUD.

 

Shirley

Just finished Bryson's A Small Island. Did make me want to try a few rambles around United Kingdom myself. He has a quiet, wry humor that sneaks up on one. Thanks for the hint. I too like books that are easy to put down, as I need to read before I can sleep, but don't want to get hooked by a mystery on a destination rich cruise. Anna Quindlen's Loud and Clear was very worthwhile. Enough meat to chew on, enough gengle remenising to evoke the "Ahh. I remember that."

[fellswoop]

My new thing for a cruise is to bring my tape cassette or CD player and listen to books on tape or CD. That way, out at the pool I can continue to people watch at the same time....multi tasking!! Most recent fave was Sandra Brown "Envy".

[Patpcozy]

Hi I tried the cassette player on my last cruise and wound up dozing off, again and again and had to keep rewinding. At least if i doze with a book in my hand ,it falls and hits me on the nose:o

[Wmiller86]

Does anyone know of any good books that take place on a cruise?

[Kami's pal]

Agatha Christie's Nile adventure was a river cruise ship. Murder on the Nile or Death on the Nile or Mystery on the Nile?

 

Would like some more suggestions about fiction books on cruise ships.

 

I deliberately use books on tape to put myself to sleep. I borrow essay type or poetry or self help from the public library. I behave just as I did in my 8 am university lectures. !5 minutes and I'm asleep!

[BeagleMommy]

What a great thread! Reading on vacation is truly one of my favorite luxuries.

I'm a 100% mystery/thriller reader (picked up the habit from my Grandmother), and I tend to stick with series because I like to "keep up with" the characters.

Patricia Cornwell's Kay Scarpetta series is one of my favorites, as are James Patterson's 2 series - Alex Cross ("Kiss the Girls" was made into a movie starring Morgan Freeman, and I think they're working on "Along Came a Spider") and the so-called 'womens murder club' (these are easy - the titles are numbered "1st to Die" "2nd Chance" etc). Both authors have GREAT character development, wonderfully engaging writing. BUT, they are VERY intense reads.

A little more "mystery" and a little less "thriller" would be Grafton's "ABC" series (another easy one to find the order of) and Sara Paretsky's VI Warshawski series. Both are WONDERFUL. And they each have quite a few books, so if you're just starting them they'll last a while. I've also started a couple of fairly new series - JA Jance's Joanna Brady series, and Barbara Parker's Gail Connor series.

(You might have gathered I tend toward female protagonists, with Alex Cross being the exception....)

For lighter reads, though, Janet Evanovich is TOPS. A perfect blend of mystery, romance, and general nuttiness.

Also, I HIGHLY recommend Virginia Lanier's bloodhound series. This is also a WONDERFUL series... one of my all-time favorites. The bummer though is Lanier passed away in 2003 and so what we have is all we get. But they're really great.

Ok, ok I'll stop. Now I just want to go sit and read all afternoon!!! :D

[mems]

Thanks for this thread. As an avid reader I'm always on the lookout for new ideas. For fun reads taking place on a cruise ship try, Princess Charming by Jane Heller and Cruising for Murder by Susan Sussman. These were recommended by other CC members in the past. One of my all time favorite books is First Born by Doris Mortman. Also Knight in Shining Armor by Jude Deveraux. Garden of Lies by Eileen Goudge. The Summer I Dared by Barbara Delinsky. All chick books. And of course, Evanovich, Nora Roberts, Patricia Cornwell. Also try The Other Daughter by Lisa Gardner. Keep those ideas coming. We are doing a transatlantic with 7 sea days soon and I'll need to explore some new authors. mems

[catfcp]

I just finished reading Mystic River and it was awesome. Other good ones are anything by Wally Lamb or Chris Bohjahlian.

 

Cat

[dublin]

This is off the thread but noticed that you were on the Meridian in 1997. Were you on the String Band cruise that left on Memorial Day and hit a storm the next day?

[Patpcozy]

This is off the thread but noticed that you were on the Meridian in 1997. Were you on the String Band cruise that left on Memorial Day and hit a storm the next day?

Hi Dublin,

No we went on the Meridian in July of 97. But we also hit a storm the last night out. It was my 1st cruise and scared the he** out of me , when we came on deck and one of the crew was out there smoking with his life jacket on :eek: Pat

[Kami's pal]

for really fun, different take on the detective genre. He's also written some nonfiction. I liked Running to the Mountain so much I bought it for my own library. His detective is the type of husband we all want.

[dot73]

"Skinny Dip" - it is hilarious. A man throws his wife overboard a cruise ship but she doesn't die and seeks revenge. Great book, easy read, perfect read for a cruise. Just make sure your better half doesn't grab you by the ankles and gives you the heave-ho over the railing.

[hazelson]

Funniest book I ever read was "Skipping Chritsmas" by John Grisham - read it on my Glory cruise in the spring - too funny. Jennifer

[Kami's pal]

Just posted this on the planning thread, but decided it belonged here.

 

Sue Henry has a series set in Alaska. Heroine is a fiesty female detective. There are ten, so we see the character, Jessie Arnold mature. The first is Murder on the Iditarod Trail.

[IllinoisAuthor]

Hi,

 

I thought it might be fun to mention books set on cruises or in places people might be cruising to or from:

 

Murder Walks the Plank by Carolyn Hart--set on a mystery cruise

 

The Marriage Casket by Deborah Morgan--set in Seattle

 

Death Dances to a Reggae Beat by Kate Grilley--set in the Virgin Islands

 

Cruising for Murder by Susan Sussman--set on a Caribbean cruise

 

Don't Drink the Water by Susan Rogers Cooper--set in St. Johns

 

New Orleans Mourning by Julie Smith--Set in New Orleans

 

Happy Reading,

 

Denise Swanson

author of the Scumble River Mystery series

Murder of a Pink Elephant, # 1 IMBA Bestseller

[TrqoisWtrs]

I just finished "An Embarrassment of Mangoes" by Ann Vanderhoof, about a couple that takes two years off to sail a boat to the Caribbean and then "A Trip to the Beach, Living on Island Time in the Caribbean" by Melinda & Robert Blanchard, a true story about a couple (the authors) who decide to move to Anguilla and open a restaurant. Two really good summer reads.

[chazaroo]

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Tolstoy wrote a number of other things:

Anna Karenina

Death of Ivan Ilych

The Devil

Hadji Murad

Kreutzer Sonata

to name a few.

 

A couple of other authors worth reading at sea:

Hemmingway

F. Scott Fitzgerald

[CalicoCat]

Thanks for that, Denise. I went to your web site and intend to add your books to my cruise reading. Looks like they're great fun!

[akur23]

I always try to read something related to the places we'll visit. Last Alaska cruise I read "The Angels will not Care" by John Straley. For the next cruise, I'm looking for a good biography of Sir Francis Drake.

[Bookish Angel]

A great non-fiction book about a young Hmong girl with epilepsy and the East meets West clash that ensues regarding her care and the use of "modern" medicine versus "folk" medicine. A real page turner!

 

Other must-reads:

 

"Anthem" by Ayn Rand

 

"Animal Farm," "1984" and anything else by George Orwell

 

"Frankenstein" by Mary Shelley

 

"American Pastoral" by Phillip Roth

 

"The Essential Confucius" by Thomas Cleary (non-fiction)

 

ANYTHING by the Dalai Lama

 

"Fast Food Nation" by Eric Schlosser (non-fiction)

 

"Tales of the City" by Armistead Maupin

[nikki303]

I just finished reading Can You Keep a Secret? by Sophie Kinsella. Excellent book, I couldn't put it down.

[IllinoisAuthor]

Thanks for that, Denise. I went to your web site and intend to add your books to my cruise reading. Looks like they're great fun!

 

 

Thanks, CalicoCat. I try to write with a lot of humor so I think they'd make pretty good vacation reading.

 

Nikki--I loved the Shopaholic books by Sophie Kinsella. I'll have to look for Can You Keep A Secret.

 

Best,

Denise Swanson

[Backfence]

The Accidental Tourist/Dinner at the Anything by Anne Tyler

Homesick Restaurant/Saint Nobody

 

The Nanny Diaries – A Novel Emma McLaughlin/Nicola Kraus

(hilarious)

 

The Prince of Tides/Beach Music Anything by Pat Conroy

 

The Attorney/Compelling Evidence/ Anything by Steve Martini

The List/Prime Witness (Legal/Suspense Thrillers)

 

Message in a Bottle/The Notebook Nicholas Sparks

 

The Pleasure of My Company Steve Martin

(Very short, but hilarious)

[sissy f]

just ran across this thread & enjoyed your suggestions. If anyone is into Nicholas Sparks - The Wedding is a sequel to the Notebook!

[makeda]

The Chocolate Ship by Marissa Monatelilh