Just finished the DaVinci Code and recommend it highly.

I agree with the others who suggested "A Suitable Boy". 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 "You must take A Suitable Boy with you", just as the conversation around us died. He blushed, and then said quietly, "Actually, I was thinking of taking a suitable girl ..."

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 "Bel Canto" and "The Secret Life of Bees", but you'll eat them right up! For a longer read, I second the recommendation of "Pillars of the Earth," 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 "A Soldier of The Great War" 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, "Kitchen Confidential" 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, "Two Towns in Provence"or maybe "Long ago in France"

Salman Rushdie's "Midnight's Children"

Non paperback, I'm reading Jaques Pépin's The apprentice, my life in the kitchen.

Has anyone read "Round Ireland with a Fridge"? 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.

"The Two Mrs. Grenvilles" 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 "Goulds Book of Fish" by Richard Flanagan, an Australian author. FWIW, my all time favourite is "The World According To Garp".

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.