I'm off on my hols (3 weeks today & counting) to South Africa & am after some recommendations for good books to read!  I've looked through the R N J Summer list but nothing really takes my fancy!!  I'll read pretty much anything but as it's a holiday read I'd like something reasonably light heated! Can anyone help?

Anything by Marian Keys is perfect for a holiday read...I read 'Is There Anybody Out There' when I was on holiday in Greece recently and enjoyed every page of it....perfect escapism.  I also read Wild Swans (Jung Chang) which I'd been meaning to read for years.  I thoroughly enjoyed it even though I wasn't expecting to but it is heavy going in places.

I read a really lovely book on holiday a couple of years ago.  I think it was called 'The Highest Tide' (can't remember the author's name)...wasn't at all the type of thing I usually go for but it was such a lovely story...I'd definitely recommend it too.

Thanks I've read most of Marian Keynes books but not her most recent one!  I think I've read Highest Tide too - is it about a giant squid?!!!

Lisa Jewell does some good chick flick books that are easy and pleasurable to read when on holiday.
Dont know about you but i like something easy to read to relax with when lounging around on holiday.
Go to tesco & have a look, they do some great paperback books at a reasonable price :-)

marianne keyes is good, particularly "anybody out there?", not completely light hearted, in fact very sad at points but she balances the heavy stuff with really really funny bits. chick lit with a ittle something more.

ooops...missed that! sorry!

bill bryson is good, his trave books are v funny. not funny and light but the "his dark materials" trilogy by philip pullman are a good read. freya north is also a decent writer

Joanne Harris writes well, 'Chocolat' is her most famous But her others are pretty good too.

Karen

Purple Hibiscus by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie.

A really good read, not too taxing, but very worthwhile. I read it recently and would recommend it as a holiday read, although it isn't a cheerful book! Still, has a very good ending and very enjoyable.

On a Champdogs theme...The Curious Incident Of The Dog In The Night Time by Mark Haddon is very very good.

Kate

any book my martina cole, or karen rose are my favorites

Interesting Katypoo I've recently read Half a Yellow Sun which is the other book by Adichie & I had considered Purple Hibiscus!  I've also read Curious Incident...maybe I should have added I read a lot!!!

jodie picoult books are fab not exactly lighthearted but unputdownable, everyone should try one!

ive just read 19 minites by her it was fab

tessisbest that is by far not even the best one! I kid you not

Sophie Kinsella - very funny especially the 'shopaholic' series. I read mostly crime fiction so not really light hearted. The other Boleyn gil and the Boleyn inheritance by Philippa Gregory were good and I liked the Historian too by Elizabeth Kostova but its about vampires so might not be your taste.

I know its odd but the newish Daniel Koonz is based on a story where the girl rescues Golden Retrivers and its lovely not his usual blood and core one. The real heroine is a GR called Nickie!!

I like something I can get my teeth into, the two I've read by Kate Mosse have been great, Labrynth and Sepulchre, not as creepy as they sound!!

Terry Pratchett is good fun, I'm sure you'll find something ;)

or why not try your local charity shops?? You could always leave the books behind, I've been places where the resorts have had bookshelves where tourists borrow or leave their own books....

:)  

One of my top 3 recommendations for any occasion would be perfect holiday reading - 'Take Me With You' by Brad Newsham - the story of someone who goes travelling with the purpose of meeting people and then inviting someone back to stay with him for a time in America. The character building is fabulous.

(Others in my top 3 are 'The Woman In White' by Wilkie Collins and 'Memoirs of a Geisha' by Arthur Golden.)

M.

Oh, and not light hearted(!) but fabulous is 'We Need To Talk About Kevin' by Lionel Shriver.  Nineteen Minutes by Jodi Picoult is a bit of a poor rip off of this, in my opinion.

Oh, and really enjoyed 'The Book Thief' too. Narrated by Death, very different.

M.

How about The Book Thief (can't remember the author) not light hearted but very good

I agree with Dakkobear...
The "Shopaholic" series of books  by Sophie Kinsella were so funny that once I started reading them I couldnt put them down.
My hubby even used to ask me what I was laughing at and I didnt even realise I was laughing out loud.
Read them in order though as eack book continues on from the last.

Just started the Book Thief.. looking forward to it.

Another on death....The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold....clever, clever book. Gripped from the first page.

Best book ever?????

For me, it has to be Birdsong by Sebastian Faulks.......cry cry cry LOL! I have never been the same since.

Well I'm cheerful aren't I ???  hehe

i'm working my way through jodi picoults books at the moment. bought 19 minutes a few weeks ago and was hooked. have read another 3 of hers so far and have just finished the 10th circle

try peter james as well i love him.

The "Jack Reacher" series of books by Lee Child are good - not girly though, about an ex US military policeman.

And if Dark humour is your thing look up Christopher Brookmyre - really strange titles but very entertaining.

Scarpetta series by Patricia Cornwell - crime series about a medical examiner.

James Patterson is another good one.

I seem to be on a theme - all of these would I guess come under a category of Crime.

We need to talk about Kevin - the best book I've ever read and I read a lot!  A real page turner - so much so that I was warned to use an envelope to cover up the last page and read it line by line, without the chance of the eye jumping to the last sentence!  I've recommended it to lots of my friends and they all say the same thing.  Wonderful.

My Sister's Keeper by Jodi Picoult and Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold are another two I'd recommend.

dilemma199--- which are jodi picolt best ones then? Also my best friends girl is a fab read. ive just picked up 2 more from asda today,

also- ive never read any of sophie kinsella- can some tell me what order i have to read the shopaholic books thanks

jodi picoult - my sisters keeper was good because i could not have guessed the ending came as a real suprise which is always nice!
also The pact, change of heart and Harvesting the heart are my faves.

As far as I recall, the Shopaholic series goes...
1. The Secret Dreamworld of a Shopaholic
2. Shopaholic Abroad
3. Shopaholic Ties the Knot
4. Shopaholic and Sister
5. Shopaholic and Baby

gee thanks for replying so quickly, are these shopaholic books really funny? im not fussy what i read but i prefer a good crime/thriller/murder read but if they are worth the read and make you laugh then i will go tomorrow and get them, cheers

They're an entertaining enough read...don't think I laughed out loud at them but they are a good holiday read that requires minimal brain power :-) I prefer Marian Keys for a real humorous read but then I'm Irish too so probably 'get' her brand of humour better.

If you like crime novels and want a really easy, light, funny read; try Janet Evanovich's 'Stephanie Plum' series.  The first one is 'One for the Money', then there's 'Two for the Dough' etc. etc.  The series is up to no. 13 now (I'm reading it at the minute) and it follows the adventures of Stephanie Plum who is a not-very-talented Bounty Hunter.  The books do become a bit formulaic as the series progresses but they are still a good, entertaining read as the characters are so likeable and well written :-)

does anyone out there love martina cole ive read everyone, love them all.

for lighthearted crime has anyone read the agatha raisin series by m c  beaton?  worth a read quite funny.

If you like crime novels then Tess Gerritsen, Erica Spindler and Karin Slaughter are good, but don't read Karin Slaughter's latest paperback (Skin Privilege) first, another lot to read in order! Sophie Kinsella's 'Can you keep a secret?' is v. funny too if you don't want to get the Shopaholic series. Linda Fairstein is another good Crime writer and if you like Patricia Cornwell then Kathy Reichs is good too. I love the Lee Child 'Jack Reacher' series too and also Hareln Coben's 'Myron Bolitar' Books.
I've read a couple of Martina Cole but can't remember much about them.

I'm a Martina Cole fan, read them all.  Also like Wilbur Smith books

tessisbest - My Sisters Keeper & The Pact...easily!! I'm starting to get a little bored on Jodi now!!!

Excellent recommendations CathyMack! I've recently bought the new Lionel Shiver book, doubt it will be as good as Kevin though! Lovely Bones & Lucky are also excellent reads - does anyone now if Alice Seabold has written anymore?  I heard Lovely Bones was going to be turned into a film!!

Best book ever has to be Kite Runner!!! Life changing & stunning! What more can I say!

Oh! I like this thread very much!

Yes, I agree, The Kite Runner was an excellent book.

If you are planning to read Lionel Shriver's novel 'Double Fault' then don't bother...It was soooo disappointing after 'We Need To Talk About Kevin'....wow what a book!

I hate it when you plough all the way thru' a book hoping it will improve at each chapter then put it down at the end wishing you hadn't bothered to persevere!

What about 'The Time Traveller's Wife'...another good holiday read.

And one for the kids...which you will also enjoy..'Once' by Morris Gleitzman. Even got my kids reading it. It is about the holocaust really, but written in the first person, a very young boy, who doesn't realise what is going on. A very clever book, and as I say, one you can swap with the kids on holiday. They will read it and not be able to put it down.

Another vote for The Kite Runner from here too. (As an aside, the film was superb too, so often not the case.)

KATYPOO, couldn't agree more about Double Fault. How dull was that?!

Time Traveller's Wife seems to be a book that people either love or loathe. Have to confess, I was towards the loathe side, found it quite dull.

I finished a book last night, so I'm going to take my own advice and re-read Take Me With You. :-)

M.

If you are planning to read Lionel Shriver's novel 'Double Fault' then don't bother...It was soooo disappointing after 'We Need To Talk About Kevin'....wow what a book!

Oh no really?!!! Gutted!!! I've bought it now so will read it anyway! Thought it would be good!!

I struggled with Time Travellers Wife but was glad I stuck with it, a great read!

I think I'll take Purple Hibiscus with me, just need one for the plane now, might try the new Marian Keyes one!

I'm a Jodie Picoult fan but yes agree they were getting a bit so so. however just read her latest "Change of heart" and was right back to her first couple and could not put it down!!
On a lighter note try"A Dog Year" by Jon Katz, about a rescue Border collie, very good, if a little sad in places, it's not a real weepy.
If you like something a bit weird try Deaths Acre by Bill Bass and Jon Jefferson, it's an insight into the macabre profession of forensic science. Bit gory in places but very informative. Another I couldn't put down.
Have a lovely holiday!
Aileen.

Nooooo Gembo, don't do it (Double Fault) - life really is too short!

M.

Nooooo Gembo, don't do it (Double Fault) - life really is too short! but I've bought it now!!!

P.S.  I love you
Don't know the author but a tear jerker and you won't be able to put the book down.

I can vouch for that Perry. Ive never cried at a book before but this had me in floods. Think it may have been a true story but cant confirm for definite but it was truly brilliant.

Cecila Ahern.  But all her other books IMO have been rubbish!

today  I am reading A dog year by Jon Katz.  Starting it a few hours ago and will be finished it shortly so not a long one but definitely one to make you hug your dog.  I have laughed and cried, apparently it was the inspiration for marley and me but not nearly as good IMHO.

Who wrote Kite runner? I am always looking for books anyone read Johnathen Livingston Seagull, made me think when I was younger. I have all the Patterson ones and Stephen King, my son has the Terry Pratchett's and for real foo foo Maryjane Davidson the Undead series a real laugh. Unwed & Undead ect.. about a vampire (Betsie) but one with attitude and hilarious shoe fettish.

Khaled Hosseini wrote Kite Runner, also done Thousand Splendid Suns which gives the female perspective of Afghanistan brought right up to date e.g. recent war in Iraq & Taliban.  Both absolutely amazing books! He's a very talented writer.