Tell me what book to purchase for my upcoming vacation.
Fiction, non-fiction, biography, whatever. I am wide open.
Don’t ask which authors or genres I enjoy, I don’t want to limit the recommendations.
It is a long plane ride.
I don’t want responses consisting of just titles, so please support your choices.
Thanks!
mmm
I recommend “John Dies at the End.” It’s sort of absurdist science fiction, in a HGttG vein. Only funnier. It has drug abuse, demonic possession, aliens, and interdimensional travel; something for the whole family.
“The Moon’s A Balloon” by David Niven. It’s probably not the most reliable memoir, but it is a very entertaining one.
The Passage by Justin Cronin.
Getting it out of the way, yes, it’s a vampire/end of the world thing. I remember reading an interview with him where even he said ‘Oh my god. I’m writing a vampire book?’
It’s way more than that though.
On the plus side, it’s first in a trilogy, and if you like it, you’ll have more to read.
It’s really about life and love. And survival.
I recommended it to my dad, (not a huge reader) and he raced thru the first two and pestered me for a couple of years about “When is the third one coming out? Huh? HUH? You’re going to buy it and let me read it, right?! RIGHT?!”
I did and he will .
Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World that Can’t Stop Talking
Excellent well-written accessible book on a subject that isn’t often touched and - bonus - title most likely to dissuade your seatmates from striking up a conversation when you want to READ, DAMMIT!
The Ancestor’s Tale by Richard Dawkins.
Dawkins is a world famous evolutionary biologist and in this book (loosely modeled on The Canterbury Tales) he walks us back in time starting with our species all the way back to the beginning. It’s quite a long book, but each chapter is rather short. And while it’s meant to be read from front to back, each chapter is fairly well self-contained so you can skip around if you like, or circle back and read some earlier parts that might make a bit more sense after having read the latter parts.
Dawkins is an excellent science writer, and I’d say this was one of the best nonfiction books I’ve ever read.
I guess I should chime in here and note that the book you recommend should be available as a Kindle download. A couple of those suggested are not (The Moon’s a Baloon and the Ancestor’s Tale).
I am packing very light on this vacation, so even a paperback is too much extra weight.
Sorry I didn’t mention this in the OP, but I didn’t think it would be an issue.
mmm
Pick an anthology of stories in a genre you like:
Best American Mystery Stories, 20xx
Best Science Fiction Stories of the Year, xxxx
This way you will like some of the stories and can skip over others you don’t like.
The first book in either of two series by Jim Hines - Stepsister Scheme in the princesses series or Goblin Quest from the Goblins series. More about them at his website (including the first chapter available in pdf to get a feel for them.)
The Moon’s a Balloon is available as a Kindle download https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B002RI9AIQ/ref=dp-kindle-redirect?_encoding=UTF8&btkr=1
So’s the Dawkins book
https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B004GHN2XU/ref=dp-kindle-redirect?_encoding=UTF8&btkr=1
You can download “Moby-Dick” for free from Project Gutenberg. I took it on a trip to China and it came in very handy.
I recently downloaded the complete HP Lovecraft collection for Kindle, for free. Got it at the Arkham Archivist dot Com website.
Two recommendations:
Shantaram by Gregory David Roberts. An autobiographical novel about an escaped Australian thief surviving in India. Very well written and engrossing.
The Lies of Locke Lamora by Scott Lynch. A fantasy novel about a con man living in a city similar to Renaissance Florence. Funny and imaginative.
It seems they are available at Amazon UK but not Amazon USA.
mmm
I read that as a kid. Still remember busting a gut laughing at the part where he describes in school they all had to strip for the doctor and bend over. The doc came up behind each one, grabbed his balls and said, “Cough.” But this one kid thought he’d said, “Off!” and tried to take off running with the doc’s hand still firmly clutching his balls. Ouch! 
State of Fear by M Chichton EXCELLENT!
“Cultural Amnesia” by Clive James.
It’s a series of essays on various people - from Hitler to Coco Chanel to Miles Davis to Jean-Paul Sartre to W.C. Fields. Plus plenty you have never heard of.
They are beautifully written (James is a wonderful linguist). and while I don’t always agree with his opinions, they are so well expressed and so thoughtful that you find yourself deeply engaged with the subject.
Most of the essays are 4-10 pages long, so it’s easy to dip in and out of. And if you don’t like a particular subject, just turn over half-a-dozen pages and go on to the next one.
Hmm. Covering several genres, how about…
History: Founding Brothers by Joseph Ellis, about the Framers in their relationships with each other - as friends, allies, foes and frenemies. Won the Pulitzer and deserved it.
Historical novel: Aztec by Gary Jennings, a big, sprawling novel about a peasant who rises to become an interpreter and courtier to Montezuma just as the Spanish arrive. Plenty of intrigue, exploration, war, sex, love, hate and pagan rituals. Magnificent.
Science fiction: Tuf Voyaging by George R.R. Martin, a collection of interrelated stories about a sarcastic starship captain and self-made ecological engineer who goes from world to world, offering his services and not always doing what he’s paid for. Great stuff.
Detective fiction: The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes by A. Conan Doyle, a collection of some of the best Holmes tales. Still great reads after all these years.
Thriller: Await Your Reply by Dan Chaon, a spare, eerie novel about family and human connections in the Internet Age, and how we might never really know one another.
I also liked his The Journeyer, about Marco Polo.
Cat’s Cradle by Kurt Vonnegut, because, y’know, peculiar travel suggestions are dancing lessons from God.