Thread: Book list for vacation?

I'm going to Iraq in November and I need to compile a a good book list. Short stories would be nice, like short things I can read on plane rides and during long drives. And I'm open to short novels as well.

I am the Messenger - Marcus Zusak; one of my favourite books of all time, and just less than 300 pages. The book has no spine either, not my version, so it's just easier to read if that makes sense.

If you want short, have you heard about the Once, Then and Now collection. Three 150 page books about a little kid in Nazi Germany. The first two are quite emotional, the third is a bit meh, can't remember the author at this current time.

Erm, if you haven't had chance to yet, read Catcher in the Rye maybe?

Have you heard about the Odd Thomas collection by Dean Koontz? I'd give them a try, they're easy to read and really interesting. About a guy who can see Ghosts, and his names actually IS Odd Thomas. I love it.

Have a good time on Holiday

for short stories, i wholeheartedly recommend Bang Crunch by Neil Smith. you could also do one of them novels-in-stories thingies, like The Imperfectionists.

To learn something about the culture of the Caribbean I recommend 'Miguel Street' by V. S. Naipaul. It's a series of sketches of his old neighbourhood in Port of Spain, Trinidad. They are short stories only in the sense that they are stories and they are short, but they are not structured quite the way we think of short stories being structured, and they definitely belong together as a group. Naipaul had to stay out of Trinidad for a while after Miguel Street was published.

I have met, here in Belize, all of the character types Naipaul describes.

A smart entrepreneur could make a mint purchasing a small island, making it self-sufficient, and offering to house all the really controversial authors, people like V.S. Naipaul, Salman Rushdie, &c.

Tom, good suggestions. I am the Messenger sounds really good. It's 368 pages (just checked) so it is quite long but I won't turn it down because of the length. I'll probably read it on my own time if not during the Iraq trip.

I have read Catcher in the Rye.

Never picked up a Koontz novel. Now would might be a good time to try them out. I love a really good series. I forgot to mention that in an original post. If you've read any series books that you thought were really amazing and just couldn't put down please suggest them.

strangedaze, just checked out Bang Crunch. Definitely piqued my interest.

garza, I love books like that. I just looked it up on google. Looks great.

Great suggestions. Keep em coming guys. I'm trying to get a pretty big list so I can narrow it down to a few really good ones when I go in November.

I am not sure if this applies but remember to consider customs, unsettled countries can be quite touchy about what ideas are coming in and it would be a shame to lose your reading on day one. Well written non fiction like Jay Gould, "Bully for Brontosaurus", "The pandas thumb" or "The flamingos smile" can make a nice change.
(Sorry my apostrophe is not working)

That definitely is something to consider. Iraq isn't really like that, but we're going to be passing through Kuwait so I'll have to figure out a way around that...

The last collection of short stories I read was Letter to My Daughter. I suppose it's more of a collection of essays but very short. I was a bit disappointed, just didn't enjoy it as much as some of her other works. I just finished Letters to My Mother, while I'm stuck on the letters idea. It's very short. I actually picked it up at the Dollar Tree of all places. Made me cry.

I picked up a nice collection of Poe at a yard sale awhile back. I crack it open when I have time.

I don't really know your tastes and mine are all over the place.

Haha, mine are all over the place too. I've got an Edgar Allen Poe collection, too. I'm taking that with me.

I think when I go I'll probably be in the mood for something that reminds me of home more than anything else. Don't know how much that's going to help, though, haha. I guess the best thing for me would be something funny or just really thrilling and I can't put down.

Good Book list for vacation

- Welcome to the Monkey House: Stories by Kurt Vonnegut
- The Signet Classic Book of Mark Twain's Short Stories by Mark Twain
- The Tales of Beedle the Bard, Standard Edition by J. K. Rowling
- The Complete Short Stories of Ambrose Bierce by Ambrose Bierce
- The Devil And Daniel Webster by Stephen V. Benet

I think you mean Guy de Maupassant

I have Poe's short stories to read.

Here are four further suggestions, books I have found useful in writing.

Experience and Its Modes, Michael Oakeshott, Fellow of Gonville and Caius College, University of Cambridge, Cambridge University Press, London, 1933.

Social Principles and the Democratic State, S.I Benn, B.Sc.(Econ.), Lecturer in Government, University of Southhampton, R.S. Peters, B.A., Ph.D., Reader in Philosophy, Birkbeck College, University of London, George Allen and Unwin, Ltd., London, 1959.

The Bounds of Sense: An Essay on Kant's 'Critique of Pure Reason', P.F. Strawson, Methuen and Co., London,1966.

Philosophy of Recent Times, Vol. I (19th Cent.) and II (20th Cent.), James B. Hartman, Iowa State University, ed., McGraw Hill Book Company, New York, 1967.

The first two are textbooks I studied at university and found useful enough to keep with me for 50 years. The other two are books recommended by a former teacher who knew my interests. All four are valuable resources for the writer.

"Zen Mind, Beginner's Mind" by Shunryu Suzuki is my favorite book for relaxing and also to grow as a person; highly recommend.

The Sun Also Rises, by Hemingway, is one of my favorite all-time books to read and reread. Especially while traveling.