Top female reads
Travel is a wonderful thing. You meet new people, make friends who you can visit all over the globe, experience new cultures where everything is an adventure and best of all, you actually have time to read. It doesn’t matter whether you’re on a plane, a train, an automobile, on the beach, recovering from jet lag, nursing a hangover, hanging out in cafes or just watching the world go by. In all these situations, the perfect companion is the perfect book.
There are books that inspire you to travel and there are books that tell you what to pack and when to leave. Then there are books that are just simply great reads. What follows is a list of some of the best books and the must reads for a relaxing, low maintenance holiday.
1. The Five People You’ll Meet in Heaven by Mitch Albom
Albom is the best-selling author of Tuesday’s with Morrie. His latest book, For One More Day, has been on every top sellers list since its release. All of Albom’s titles are inspirational and this stays true to this theme, taking you on a journey through the afterlife where you meet the people who greatly affected your life. Then there are the accounts of the impact you have on the life of others without realising. If you haven’t cried at least once by the end of this tale then clearly you’re not going to heaven.
2. The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho
I would recommend any Coelho book, especially the Zahir and 12 Minutes. However the Alchemist is the most well known and the most widely read so I chose this one. All of Coelho’s books all have elements of spirituality, mysticism and supernatural experiences. The stories are simple and this is where the beauty lies because these tales aren’t so surreal that you couldn’t see yourself in the characters and the plot lines.
3. The World According to Garp by John Irving
This is a bit of a strange one and a bit of a boy’s book, but it’s an absolutely mesmerizing story. It tells the tale of a boy named Garp and it’s not just a slice out of his life, it’s everything from start to finish. Originally released in 1978, it was a bestseller for years and the power of good storytelling still resonates in the book, decades later.
4. Tess of the d’Ubervilles by Thomas Hardy
Romance, tragedy, fate, true love and the innocence of the 19th century. It’s getting me all misty just thinking about it. Put simply this is one of the greatest pieces of literature available and so very readable, even by today’s standards.
5. Watermelon by Marian Keyes
Keyes is one of the original Chick-Lit authors and her work is one of the greatest guilty pleasures. This is her first crack at it and with the majority of her characters reappearing in other titles, it’s best to start at the beginning and see how you like it. You’re not going to sprout any new brain cells, but it’s perfect for a day at the beach.
With the amount of great books out there and fantastic new ones popping up all the time, it’s easy to get carried away. Officially I’m drawing the line at five but off the record I’m going to squeezed in a few extra titles. There’s one catch though. With these you need to read them on your own if you want to know what they’re all about.
100 Year of Solitude by Gabriel Garcia Marquez.
She’s Come Undone by Wally Lamb.
The Mists of Avalon by Marion Zimmer Bradley.
I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou.
The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton.
Roots by Alex Haley.
There’s so many that I’ve missed out here but the whole purpose of the exercise was to get you reading, make you inspired and get you talking to others about what you read. Most importantly it was about you finding your very own long lost favourites. Happy travels.
