Good book for long flight
 

I will be traveling to Europe in 2 weeks. I have been unsuccessful in upgrading my ticket to a more comfortable seat so I would love any recommendations of a great book or two that would keep me spellbound during my flight. I love to read and like all types of books - I would prefer a paperback. Please help keep me occupied. Thanks

Jean, just topped one of my favorite threads for you. See "a really fabulous fiction book".

Jean,<BR><BR>Do a search under "Suggest small book" for some great suggestions.<BR><BR>Gerry K

I read all 1457 pages of Vikram Seth's "A Suitable Boy" whilst on holiday. It was stunning

I read a paperback by John Case on the roundtrip to Italy. The title is "The Genesis Code". I found it to be one that you can't wait to read the next chapter. Good reading.

I'd second "A Suitable Boy" - my copy is now very well-worn after taking it to Greece a couple of years ago. (It also got me some impressed glances at the size of my book! :-)) Other books I've taken as holiday reads have been: "The Famished Road" by Ben Okri, "Long Walk to Freedom" Nelson Mandela's autobiography,"White Teeth" by Zadie Smith and AS Byatt's "Possession". My purchases for this year's trip are "Atonement" by Ian McEwan, and Stella Rimmington's authobiography (she was the first female head of MI5, and a former graduate of my University, so thought it sounded interesting!) These are all maybe more 'British', though, but maybe worth taking a look at on Amazon, to see if they look your sort of thing!

jean: If you are going to England or interested in English History, try "The Children of Henry the VIII" by Alison Weir. It is based on actual documents and letters the times. The intrigue, relationships, emotions are just fascinating. Read it on our trip to Belgium in May and could not put it down. My wife kept saying "let's go" and I kept answering "just let me finish the page". It is available in paperback. Have a great trip.

Two that I've had out on loan to various friends most of this summer are The Lovely Bones (Alice Sebold) and Bel Canto (Ann Patchett). I read the first in two sittings, it was fabulous. The second took a bit longer, but I couldn't put it down either. I only wish I'd saved them for my next long flights!

"A Fine Balance" by Rohinton Mistry - I couldn't put it down - highly recommended.

Another vote for "Possession." What a page-turner! I could not put that book down!

Try Seabiscuit. Was terrific and nice and long.

What a great list! Just the sort of information I was hoping for. I'm off to the bookstore and then on to southern France. Thanks so much - jean

Off to Southern France; might I suggest a copy of Hemingway's "A Moveable Feast". A light read that gives one an appreciation of Hemingway's skill, entertains, has no plot so you can follow in airline disjointed readings and has the added benefit of making you appreciate the addiction of European lfe. Enjoy.

What about GONE WITH THE WIND? It's still a great read even if it's not politically correct.<BR>Try THE ASPERN PAPERS by Henry James- very, very, very similar to Byatt's Possession, yet I don't remember her crediting James when she won the Booker!

Nicholas Shakespeare's extensive biography of Bruce Chatwin is a fantastic book to bring on a trip. The hardbound copy is a big large, but worth it. Interesting and fascinating man, Chatwin, and he's been given a beautifully written bio by Shakespeare. A must read.

Whereas not &quot;great literature&quot;, David Ellis' courtroom thriller, Line of Vision, is a super airplane book. It's a real page turner; I couldn't put it down. Available in paperback.

Hi Jean<BR> Try Mark Twain's &quot;Innocents Abroad&quot;.

Where is that thread when you need it?, the one titled &quot;A really fabulous fiction book&quot;.

With a looong winter here in NY, I have catch up with some reading. Highly recommend &quot;The Lovely Bones&quot;, &quot;The Nanny Diaries&quot;, &quot;Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood&quot;, &quot;The Hours&quot;, &quot;Atonement&quot;. A favorite of mine, which is also a strong rec is &quot;The Pillars of the Earth&quot;. I read it about 11 years ago, and remains one of my favorite books. Then again &quot;A Hundred Years of Solitude&quot; is magical in many ways, including spellbinding..

I would add &quot;The Secret Life of Bees&quot; to my favorites this year: &quot;The Lovely Bones,&quot; and &quot;Bel Canto.&quot;

I've become a big fan of audio books, and they're particularly good on a plane, because they shut out all the background noise. I subscribe to a service where you can download mp3 files onto a tiny player, which holds 17 hours of content (and can be expanded). The unabridged books are the best value and the most enjoyable. On my last trip I listened to a beautifully read version of Pride and Prejudice, and I got more out of it than on the occasions when I have read it.

Just finished the DaVinci Code and recommend it highly.

I agree with the others who suggested &quot;A Suitable Boy&quot;. Note that you can buy it in 3 segments (easier to carry, and then you can offload the sections you've finished). I committed a terrible gaffe a few years ago recommending this book to a colleague. We were sitting at a table full of colleagues and he told me he was travelling to India for the summer. I blurted out &quot;You must take A Suitable Boy with you&quot;, just as the conversation around us died. He blushed, and then said quietly, &quot;Actually, I was thinking of taking a suitable girl ...&quot;

I second the suggestion of The Da Vinci Code. If I had it to read on the flight, the flight would not be long enough!

I second the Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold, excellent book. I also just finished a trilogy by Nora Roberts the books were called jewels of the sun, tears of the moon and heart of the sea. It is based on a Irish family and i couldnt put them down. My friend had the third one and had left it at her work place. When i finished the second one i made her go back to work to get my book because i just had to have it for the next day train ride! Fabulous!

I loved &quot;Bel Canto&quot; and &quot;The Secret Life of Bees&quot;, but you'll eat them right up! For a longer read, I second the recommendation of &quot;Pillars of the Earth,&quot; especially because it is full of wonderful history about the building of the cathedrals in England in the middles ages (??--forget exact time frame. Very relevant for traveling in Europe AND a great read.

And for a low(er)brow but page-turning change of pace, anything by Elmore Leonard, my author of choice for airplane reading.

I am also a Nora Roberts Fan. In addition to gally's suggestion there is another trilogy called
Born in Fire
Born in Ice
and born in Shame.
Stuff is great for a long plane ride!

If heading to Italy, I can't think of a better book than &quot;A Soldier of The Great War&quot; by Mark Helprin. One of the best books I've ever read. It's a portrait of a man's life as he tries to see the beauty in it, despite the onset of The Great War.

For light reading, especially for those who enjoy dining out, &quot;Kitchen Confidential&quot; by Anthony Bourdain. Learn why you should never order the fish special on Sunday night.

We really enjoyed Kitchen Confidential, too. Husband was reading it on recent trip to Paris, but I told him to forget about all that stuff and just enjoy the food! Bourdain has another book about his eating experiences around the world -- most appropriate for starting off a trip.

MFK Fisher's, &quot;Two Towns in Provence&quot;or maybe &quot;Long ago in France&quot;

Salman Rushdie's &quot;Midnight's Children&quot;

Non paperback, I'm reading Jaques P&eacute;pin's The apprentice, my life in the kitchen.

Has anyone read &quot;Round Ireland with a Fridge&quot;? It sounds hilarious (but maybe you don't want to giggle all the way to Europe).

When going to Italy, esp. Venice, take several paperbacks of the Commissario Brunetti mystery series by Donna Leon.

LOVELY BONES and DA VINCI CODE are both good recommendations. You may also want to try a Ridley Pierson paperback CABINET OF CURIOSITIES. Nice thriller with surprise at the end. I enjoyed it on trip to Australia.

&quot;The Two Mrs. Grenvilles&quot; by Dominic Dunne. Read it in one night during a miserable winter in a miserable unheated apartment in Barcelona. It had everything - scandal, smut, mystery, etc. and it made me forget about how I longed to be back in the land of the big thermostat.

I loved A Fine Balance Too. A Cook's Tour might be fine if you like Anthony Bourdain as the book is about Bourdain's travel adventures. A great (long) book if you like mysteries is Fingersmith. Very engrossing. Perfect to have with you for the long flight.

'Blindness' by Jose Saramago.
'The World According to Garp.'
'The Sheltering Sky.'
'Atonement.'
'Geek Love.'

What a great thread....now I can't wait to be on the plane to start reading. I'm usually not afraid of reading, and even though I have flown to Hawaii and Tahiti, for some reason the long flight over the Atlantic has me a little nervous (flying through NYC, and I hate to admit it, but I think the images of the planes and the Towers are embedded in my brain). Anyway, reading a good book will ease the nerves.

Not sure if it's available worldwide but the best book I've read in the last 5 years is &quot;Goulds Book of Fish&quot; by Richard Flanagan, an Australian author. FWIW, my all time favourite is &quot;The World According To Garp&quot;.

Without Reservations by Alice Steinback - not terribly long or what I would call a page turner but it was a nice read about a woman who takes a year off from work and travels to Paris, England and Italy.