kellib

and what is it about?

rex

Oh, the saga that this brings to mind...

See http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...amp;tid=102351

and

http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...p;tid=34449236

and

http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...mp;tid=1375677

Best wishes,

Rex

rex

Oh, and by the way... the best thing to do on the plane to Italy is SLEEP. It is night, you know. It will be morning when you get there, and you will have been robbed of at least six hours of sleep when you arrive, under the best of circumstances.

I suppose that the question is valid for the flight HOME...

ira

Any of the "Rumpole of the Bailey" books.

marcy_

OK, Rex, or other techies--

I found the thread on "a really fabulous fiction book" And tried to post a reply to it.
But every time I tried, the cursor would not appear in the "Reply" box, I couldn't even use the "back" or "refresh" functions, and I would have to close the browser and start all over again.
I haven't had this problem replying to any other thread. Could it have been due to it being such a long thread, or do you have any idea why that was happening?
I finally gave up and started a new thread of my own, which has since been buried.
("Great airline reading&quot

Thanks for any help,
Marcy

Grasshopper

Marcy, If a thread gets buried you can always bring it up (as long as you've contributed to it) by clicking on your name.

For Italy, read Angels and Demons. You can't put it down and it takes place in Rome and Vatican City.

Rex, not everyone is lucky enough to be able to sleep on a plane.

rex

That thread - - and maybe two month's worth of other threads fell into some kind of "black hole" of indexing in the database; they cannot be located by searching, only by knowing their URL's, and I would be equally clueless what kind of glitch is behind the problems you describe.

Not lucky enough, grasshopper - - and in some cases, maybe not trying. It doesn't mean that I cannot or should not advise what I think is the BEST thing a person should do.

Grasshopper

You know Rex, you can come across incredibly smug sometimes. I fly to Europe 3 to 5 times a year, for business and pleasure. And from the West coast it's a trek. Believe me, I have tried EVERYTHING (including Ambien) to sleep and it just doesn't happen. Maybe the anticipation of the journey is greater than the effect of the drug, the wine, the staying awake the day before the flight....

I'm sure you'll be back with the last word here so ....be my guest.

hightide

Hands-down BEST book to read en route to Italy: The Da Vinci Code - the trip will FLY by (no pun intended!) You'll be begging the pilot to circle one more time so you can finish it...

Also: best sleep-inducing Rx: night-time cold tablets. Wake up with no sinus congestion and/or hangover from bad airline wine.

rex

If it sounded like it was directed at you specifically, grasshopper, then it must have indeed have sounded smug. My only final word would have to be: I apologize.

dln

I have to say I agree with grasshopper on the sleeping bit! I rarely fall asleep on an airplane, even with the help of Ambien. And it's not for lack of trying, either! Let's see, last flight to Italy, lousy bulkhead seats, elderly passenger two rows down with major headcold, snorting every five minutes, constant stream of similarly sleepless passengers milling about the aisles...if it weren't for the good book I brought with me, I'd have gone bonkers!

Kellib, I bring two paperbacks with me on long overnight hauls. One is a fluffy book. Doesn't require a lot of brain power that I don't have when I'm pulling an involuntary all-nighter. The other is a more serious paperback. The former is what I read first in the early hours aboard the plane. The latter is the one I pick up when I look enviously at all those Rex-like passenger snoring away to beat the band. I read the boring book in hopes that it, too, will lull me to sleep.

suze

I'm an avid reader + an unfortunate non-sleeper-on-planes. I bring an easy paperback, nothing serious, also maybe a magazine or short stories. Although I like the distraction of reading, I find I can't really concentrate on the type of books I would normally read. Honestly, what saved me last trip was those fabulous back of the seat TV screens on BA, I watched all 3 movies!

rickmav

Some of my favourites aren't necessarily about Italy, so hope that's okay.

Have just read 'Dissolution' by C.J. Sanson. Very good. A mystery that takes place in an English monastery at the time Henry VIII assumed role as head of the church. Reminds me a bit of 'Name of the Rose' by Umberto Eco, this does take place in Italy and was made into a good movie with Sean Connery.

Have also just discovered 'The Cazalet Chronicles' written by Elizabeth Jane Howard. Four part trilogy, first book is "The Light Years". About an English family from 1937 on. Got on to them having just finished her memoir 'Slipstream' with is also quite good (she slept with everyone in English literature - including Laurie Lee (Cider With Rose and As I Went Walking One Morning - two more good ones), Kingsley Amis, Arthur Koestler (Darkness at Noon), and Cecil Day-Lewis (father of Daniel and Poet Laureate of England). Another good memoir is 'Basil Street Blues' by Michael Holyrood.

I often read Somerset Maugham's short stories on flights, I love the way he writes and his stories transport me to another place. For fun, James Thurber (remember My World and Welcome To It with William Windom?) is also great, although you'll probably find yourself bothering the other passengers with your laughter.

Any of the mysteries by Ian Rankin are good (take place in Scotland), and I personally love the Maigret mysteries that mostly take place in Paris written by Georges Simenon. Iain Pears' 'An Instance at the Fingerpost (I think I've got that right) is also thick and good.

If you want something heavy and mind-blowing try something by Joseph Campbell (like 'A Hero With a Thousand Faces') or fascinating and sad - 'Desert Queen' about the female explorer Gertrude Bell.

(And I can never sleep either. I always have this feeling I may have to take over flying the plane if something happens to the pilot. And I don't fly.)

Have fun on your holiday.

stormygirl

For Italy it's got to be "The Agony and the Ecstasy" it's all about Michaelangelo and it is a fantastic page turner. Plus it gives you some good lessons in Italian history. It's by Irving Stone and comes in paperback!

Underhill

Any of Donna Leon's mysteries set in Venice; my current favorite is The Death of Faith, which involves Opus Dei. Her books aren't easy to find, but they're absolutely superb.

Scarlett

Oh Lordy, I wish I could sleep on those overnight flights!! I am exhausted, and ready, have my own little pashmina, pillow and have had no caffeine, but there is someone on that plane talking with a light on ~ LOL
I read sometimes, but I get vertigo, sort of like reading in the car, so I can't even do that for long.Mostly, I watch the little tv screen too.
But-a good book is a good book, so I recommend these:
Da Vinci Code - if there is anyone who has not read it yet.
Timeline by Michael Chrichton, time travel while you travel!
and as dln says, Fluff reading is good too..especially if you find it hard to concentrate on a serious storyline-I just finished Elegance..very funny.
Have a good trip~

clingerj

Just finished reading "A Place of Hiding" by Elizabeth George. It's a great mystery that takes place on the Channel Island of Guernsey. Great character development and like a good mystery, it takes you in many directions. Highly recommended.

hightide

Just thought of another great one: "A Woman of Independent Means" by Elizabethe Forsythe Haley. So well written and captivating - plus a quick easy read. It was made into a movie but as with most book-to-movie adaptations, book was better!

kismetchimera

Angels and Demons...is even better than The Da Vinci Code , also another fun book is As The Romans Do..very funny,book,it give you an idea oh how the Romans think or approach every day life..