What to read on a really long flight?
 

I have two trips coming up and both involve very long flights. I would love some ideas for a couple of great books to take with me. I would be interested in something that would catch my interest and be impossible to put down. Have you read anything just wonderful lately?
Thank you
jan

Where are you going? I loved "A Thousand Days in Venice" by Marlena de Blasi. It's not very long (so not heavy) & could probably be finished on a flight. There are several long previous threads-books set in Italy, books set in France etc. if you do a search.

Amber Room by Steven Barry--a mystery set in Europe.

DaVinci Code--set in Paris and London

I highly recommend "The Pillars of the Earth", "The Poisonwood Bible", "One Hundred Years of Solitude", "A Confederacy of Dunces" (funny!), "The Secret History", "The Nanny Diaries". I am assuming you don't mind fiction recs.

Personally, I can never seem to put my guidebooks or language courses down before arriving my destination.

I will second "1,000 Days in Venice," however.

Enjoy your trip, 1jan1!

Follet`s ^PILLARS^ to be sure. GATES OF FIRE BY PRESSFIELD
AND LASTLY RAPTOR BY JENNINGS
ALL 3 ARE FINE HISTORICAL FICTION THAT BRINGS EUROPE TO LIFE IN OTHER EPOCHS....THEY WORK FOR A PLANE RIDE AND DON`T GET TOO ACADEMIC. FOR ACADEMIC GO WITH COLLEEN MCCOLOUGH

For a trip to UK, read Possession, a "modern Victorian mystery/romance" by A. Byatt. Won the Booker about 10 yrs. ago.

Not related to travel, but a real good-for-airplane page turner, Line of Vision; forget author. Not great lit., but hard to put down, interesting who-done-it!

I just finished Pillars of the Earth and was mesmerized for four days. 973 pages definitely kept me entertained!

I second The DaVinci Code...but then again, it's a hard choice not knowing what your interests are...for all we know you might be just as interested in The Joy of Sex..especially the new, illustrated version.

How about A Suitable Boy, by Vikram Seth. 600+ pages you can't stop turning

I like to read my fellow passengers passports, when they pop off to the toilets

Great minds think alike. I'd second "A suitable boy". It's a fascinating book and long enough for almost any journey.

For trips to Ireland..."MacArthys Bar" and "Road to MacArthy" are both great books. "Round Ireland with a Fridge" was very funny as well.

Poor me, I am a big reader but can't read on the plane due to the airsick plague. I get a flu shot, I wish there was an air-sick shot! (yeah, yeah, I use the behind-the-ear patch, but still can't read!)

Get a copy of "Don't Sweat the Small Stuff...and its all small stuff" by Richard Carlson, PH.D. Its a book about keeping the little things from taking over your life. Short chapters and an easy read for a long flight. This book is a great read for getting you through the everyday things in life.

Another vote for DaVinci Code. I also vote for Angels and Demons - both by Dan Brown. I read Angels and Demons on my flight to London. It was kind of fun because he referenced a statue at the V&A museum and I got to snap a shot of it the next day.

A Fine Balance is a wonderful epic (India during the partition), or anything you haven't read by john irving ...i have also had good luck staying into all those john grisham books...the bigger ones (i think i read the one on the death penalty and runaway jury) just about last from lax to hong kong....have you read empire falls? about 10 people have recommended that to me (that was a summer read by the wall street journal)
my husband who claims he reads all day at work and hardly reads at home takes along a trashy stephen king and seems content...i know you are going to get bombarded with good ideas and i can't wait to read them all!

A funny, hilarious book is:
" There's No Toilet Paper.. on The Road less traveled", by Doug lanski...

"India a Wounded Civilization", by V.S.Naipaul.. excellent reading about the customs and ways of thinking of this country,

The Art of Happiness, by the Dalai Lama, spiritual reading,

The Pillars of Solomon, by John Land"..very interesting..

And of course you can always listen to the foreign languages tapes or read travelling books..

bon voyage,
kismet

Thank you for so many excellant ideas. I really hit the book store hard yesterday---now I can hardly wait for my flight so I can get started.
1jan1