Top Ten Tuesday is a meme hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl, featuring a different top 10 theme each week. This week’s topic is Books I Read On Vacation. Picking books to take with me when I travel is one of my most important tasks! I think I spend more time planning my vacation reading than what clothes to pack.
In any case…
I always read when I travel, and usually, I associate the books I’ve read with the places I read them. So, here’s a look at ten favorites:
1) Outlander by Diana Gabaldon: What’s a top 10 list without an Outlander mention? I first read Outlander about12 years ago or so, on a family trip to Yosemite. I distinctly remember sitting on a big rock out behind our cabin, looking out at the gorgeous morning, while drinking coffee and opening my paperback to chapter one.
2) The Shining by Stephen King: The cover above is the edition (very old, falling apart paperback) I had with me on a trip to Alaska about 10 years ago. (Sadly, the entire book had come loose from the binding by the time I was done, and it was not salvageable — but I did make it through the entire book before it fell to pieces). And as an added note… I’ve brought Stephen King books with me on so many vacations! There’s something really delicious about reading a terrifying book while sitting in bright sunshine on a beach chair.
3) Dial A For Aunties by Jesse Q. Sutanto: So silly, such a perfect choice for a vacation read! I just read it last month while visiting my daughter in Colorado.
4) My Mother She Killed Me, My Father He Ate Me edited by Kate Bernheimer: I read this collection of retold fairy tales while on a beach vacation — I needed a paperback I could get sandy and damp, since otherwise I’d only brought my Kindle with me.
5) Anne of Green Gables by L. M. Montgomery: Such a delight! I read this book while visiting family to attend a funeral, so not exactly a vacation, but it was a great choice for quieter moments when I needed a little joy and lightness to break up the mood.
6) Sourdough by Robin Sloan: Such a weird book, but it was a great travel read! I bought this on a whim at an airport bookshop (and as a rule, I never buy books at the airport). I read it on the plane and finished it within my first day in New York.
7) The Agony and the Ecstasy by Irving Stone: This was actually a pre-vacation read, but I associate it so strongly with travel that I’m including it anyway! Back in college during my junior year abroad, I took a trip to Italy with a group of friends during our spring break. We all decided to read this biographical novel about Michelangelo in preparation for our trip, and it added so much to our experiences!
8 & 9) Retellings! These are just two examples from the past couple of years, but there’s nothing like a good retelling of a favorite classic (in these cases, Pride and Prejudice and Romeo and Juliet) for a great diversion on vacation.
10) Book Lovers by Emily Henry: I’ve brought Emily Henry books with me on several vacations, and this is the most recent! I had Book Lovers with me for a road trip this year — like in all her books, there’s a sweetness balanced by emotion and humor that make for great vacation reading.
What are the best books you’ve read on vacation?
If you wrote a TTT post, please share your link!
Bookshelf Fantasies 
Outlander had an interesting start, but I was trying to read it at the same time I watched the show, and the graphic sexual violence of the show put me off of it entirely. Did you continue in the series?
Oh yes, I’ve read the entire series… more than once! While the violence (sexual and otherwise) continues, the overall tone settles much more into historical fiction. There are still some very upsetting things that happen throughout, but there’s also so much great storytelling.
Multiple times?! That’s impressive. They’re not small books!
I’m in a book group dedicated to the series, so that helps!
Anne of Green Gables is a great pick!
My post: https://lydiaschoch.com/top-ten-tuesday-types-of-books-i-read-on-vacation/
I’ve ended up getting through all the Anne books and the Emily Starr books while traveling! 🙂
Sourdough was…interesting. lots of good books here
Interesting, yes, that’s a word for it! 🙂 So strange, but I couldn’t put it down.
I remember buying and reading Tuck Everlasting on a family vacation to Gatlinburg when I was a kid. That’s still one of my fondest memories. And for an adult vacation read I started My Dark Vanessa in Savannah, Georgia and I was hooked the entire way home.
Isn’t it amazing how we associate books with the places and situations where we read them?
It is!
Dial A for Aunties sounds like the perfect holiday read!! And I really enjoyed book lovers- it would be great for a vacation too ☺️ and Anne of green gables is perfect for a light read
Dial A is just so, so silly… but it really was perfect escapist reading while on an escape!
Alaska seems like the perfect spot to read The Shining. Also any Emily Henry book works well for a vacation!
My TTT: https://bookbabenails.wordpress.com/2022/10/11/top-ten-tuesday-books-i-read-on-vacation/
Emily Henry books really are great on vacation!
Oh I will have to come to read your story, but you have a great selection of books with good memories! My puppy is crying for attention, let me just quickly go check there!
Elza Reads
Oh no, poor puppy! Puppy attention always comes first. 🙂
Book Lovers is a fun vacation read!
Definitely! I’ve been pushing it on a couple of friends who have a trip coming up. 🙂
I always take a few books with me on vacation; it’s what I tend to pack first. And Book Lovers would make a perfect beach read. Great list! 😀
Yes indeed, books get packed before anything else! It’s always my biggest decision when preparing for a trip — what will I want to read, and what do I want as back-ups in case my mood changes?
I bought Dial A for Aunties on a whim the other week and I am so excited to get to it. I’m glad you had such a good time with it.
Can’t wait to hear what you think! I have the sequel already, and think I may bring that one on the plane when I go for a family visit later this month.
It is an important task! I want to read Dial A For Aunties!
I think I probably have the same paperback edition of The Shining, which is also falling apart, lol. Fun list!