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Hoiliday Book Recommendations

Just booked an all inclusive trip to Mexico for the end of next month. I'm very excited but I have always done city break type holidays in the past. Never done the whole just lounging on the beach/by the pool thing before. We'll have our 2 year old daughter in tow so will doubtless spend a lot of time having fun with her in the pool etc. but I'm hoping to get at least a few hours of solid horizontal time.

Much to the disappointment of my librarian mother, I'm not a big literature person so I'm looking for some book recommendations from the well read of Charlton Life. Maybe one fiction, one non fiction, possibly football related. Nothing to heavy going so I can follow it despite getting distracted every few minutes and half-cut much of the time, but not too trashy either, and short enough I can likely finish at least one of them in a week. If I do read (okay I admit it, listen to an audiobook) I usually go for fantasy or historical novels. A favourite of mine are the Bernard Cornwell Saxon Stories and I know there was a new one of those out last year that I haven't read so that is a possibility.

Any suggestions gratefully received.

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Comments

  • John Sitton's ' a little knowledge is a dangerous thing' is a good football read.
  • MrOneLung said:

    Two year old daughter and lounging around reading by the pool are two sentences that will never be said together by you again.

    Ha, I am well aware my hopes may be forlorn, but between an iPad loaded up with Peppa the Pig and taking shifts with the Missus playing in the pool, I should be able to manage the odd stint here and there. I'm definitely not expecting to be lying down for 7 days straight though.
  • I'm off to India tomorrow and like autobiography books. So it's. Federer and Interesting for me.
  • MrOneLung said:

    Two year old daughter and lounging around reading by the pool are two sentences that will never be said together by you again.

    indeed.
    To put bluntly, you need eyes up yer arse.
    You'll come back more tired than you went, stressed, skint.

    Your daughter will love it though.
  • The Flame Bearer is the latest Cornwell book you are referring to, I enjoyed it. If you like that type of book I would recommend the Simon Scarrows Eagle series, the first book in the series is Under the Eagle.
  • The Flame Bearer is the latest Cornwell book you are referring to, I enjoyed it. If you like that type of book I would recommend the Simon Scarrows Eagle series, the first book in the series is Under the Eagle.

    Agreed in regards to anything by Bernard Cornwell or Simon Scarrow

    Would also recommend Conn Iggulden for Historical Fiction, he's written series on Julius Caesar / Genghis Khan and more recently the War of the Roses. Also Robyn Young is another good author who has done two trilogies; One covering the Crusades (the last one) and the second on Robert the Bruce
  • Mexico is amazing by the way you will love it. I recommend you take trips to Chichen Itza & Coba if you are staying near Tulum
  • A dictionary might be useful...
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  • The Dry by Jane Harper is the perfect holiday book. Great fiction not too long and a very good read .
  • I can recommend a nice little Norfolk cottage, since the pound has gone tits up... still have availability in high season too.. (inbox me) :)
  • A Time to Kill - John Grisham.
    To be honest, any of his older books.
  • If you like Cornwell, do yourself a favour and read the Sharpe books if you've not read them before; or go nautical and read O'Brien's Master and Commander and get yourself hooked on reading the rest of the books in that series.
  • If you like Cornwell, do yourself a favour and read the Sharpe books if you've not read them before; or go nautical and read O'Brien's Master and Commander and get yourself hooked on reading the rest of the books in that series.

    Is possible that there are Cornwell fans out there who HAVENT read the Sharpe books?
  • I've watched it on telly.

    If you mean the Sharpe Series then its laughable / cringy / awful on TV (I loved it when I was younger)... Barely follows the books and had it not been for the acting of Sean Bean and Pete Postlethwaite (RIP) then it would have been even worse.

    Really feared that the Last Kingdom was going to go the same way but its been excellent so far in both acting / casting along with staying true to the storyline from the books... Its just a shame they almost appear to be rushing through the series (Although each Sharpe book got a single two hour slot whereas each Saxon book is getting about four one hour slots).
  • Anything by Irvine Welsh. Read them in chronological order to get maximum enjoyment.

    For a fast paced crime thriller Simon Kernick has done some great stuff.

    Never read it but read on here people raving about Gary Nelson's autobiography being better than average.

    MikeTyson's autobiography is good if not a little frustrating at him keep repeating the same mistakes. A great insight into the mind of a boxing legend and complex man.

    Consider getting a kindle as they're brilliant for many reasons and great for holidays/ bedtime reading/ on the plane etc with millions of books at the click of a button and also suggests stuff you may like etc.
  • edited March 2017

    If you like Cornwell, do yourself a favour and read the Sharpe books if you've not read them before; or go nautical and read O'Brien's Master and Commander and get yourself hooked on reading the rest of the books in that series.

    Is possible that there are Cornwell fans out there who HAVENT read the Sharpe books?
    If he mentions having read the Saxon books then he almost certainly would have mentioned Sharpe if he had read them. It probably wasn't a good idea to recommend them as holiday reading if he's expecting to play with his kids. Once you start reading them you are hooked.
  • If it we're me, I'd take James Joyce's Ulysses - but only so that, when I cannot get beyond p70 again I can put it down somewhere so far away I'm unlikely to ever come back to it...

    I know it's not what you asked for, but I would consider something like Agatha Christie (particularly the short stories collections - Poirot's Early Cases, Parker Pyne Investigates or The Mysterious Mr Quin (I think)), she's easy to read.
  • The Thomson Brochure ... That's got lots of holidays in
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  • Just booked an all inclusive trip to Mexico for the end of next month. I'm very excited but I have always done city break type holidays in the past. Never done the whole just lounging on the beach/by the pool thing before. We'll have our 2 year old daughter in tow so will doubtless spend a lot of time having fun with her in the pool etc. but I'm hoping to get at least a few hours of solid horizontal time.

    Much to the disappointment of my librarian mother, I'm not a big literature person so I'm looking for some book recommendations from the well read of Charlton Life. Maybe one fiction, one non fiction, possibly football related. Nothing to heavy going so I can follow it despite getting distracted every few minutes and half-cut much of the time, but not too trashy either, and short enough I can likely finish at least one of them in a week. If I do read (okay I admit it, listen to an audiobook) I usually go for fantasy or historical novels. A favourite of mine are the Bernard Cornwell Saxon Stories and I know there was a new one of those out last year that I haven't read so that is a possibility.

    Any suggestions gratefully received.

    You'll do well to read anything other than Peppa Pig & Night garden. Maybe Charlie and Lola if you're lucky.
  • Non fiction .. 'Go Figure' .. Tom Standage .. short pieces about things you didn't know that you wanted to know

    Football book/Fiction .. 'January Window' .. Phillip Kerr .. entertaining 'mystery' surrounding a major (fictitious) London F C
  • Thanks for the tips folks, I shall look a few of these up.

  • If you like Cornwell, do yourself a favour and read the Sharpe books if you've not read them before; or go nautical and read O'Brien's Master and Commander and get yourself hooked on reading the rest of the books in that series.

    Is possible that there are Cornwell fans out there who HAVENT read the Sharpe books?
    Yup...
  • Consider getting a kindle as they're brilliant for many reasons and great for holidays/ bedtime reading/ on the plane etc with millions of books at the click of a button and also suggests stuff you may like etc.

    The Mrs has a Kindle and loves it but I haven't actually sat down a read a book for about 3 years. I tend to listen to Audiobooks so I can be doing chores etc at the same time so buying a dedicated reading device would be a waste on me.

  • razil said:

    I can recommend a nice little Norfolk cottage, since the pound has gone tits up... still have availability in high season too.. (inbox me) :)

    As I'd have to exchange my similarly weak Canadian Dollars into Sterling, I'm probably not going to be able to help you out Razil. Sorry.
  • A dictionary might be useful...

    My spelling is fine but I'm about as good at typing as Katrien Meire is at running football clubs and I proof read about as closely as Roland follows Charlton matches.

  • Have I got the wrong end of the stick ?

  • Ian Rankin all the way
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