Sometimes I like to pair vacations with local authors.

As examples:
I read The Stand on a trip to Maine.
Read Kitchens of the Great Midwest in Chicago.
Tess of the D'ubervilles in England (not exactly light vacation reading!)
Read a nonfiction book, Death of the Great Lakes, on a trip to Michigan.

I read Big Little Lies on vacation (this was before the show came out) and it was super engrossing.

The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay was another great one, especially for a longer vacation.

Sometimes fantasy novels make for great vacation reading. I read a couple of the Game of Thrones series books on vacation, as well as books by the Pullman His Dark Materials novels.

I know a lot of people like to read light romance and other easy books on vacation, but I actually prefer something extra engaging because when I'm on vacation I can let myself really get into it. I save lighter books for when I'm working and kids are in school and things are hectic, because that's all I have the bandwidth for. So I read the classic "beach reads" in the fall and go for heavier, longer books during vacations.

On a trip to Hawaii I read Michener's Hawaii. Loved it and couldn't put it down. It was long and ended with the statehood debate in 1959.

Daisy Jones and the Six!

Easy, took me away to another time and place, gave me a peep at another lifestyle. Loved it.

Just this week I read Identicals by Elin Hildenbrand, thanks to a recommendation here. I’d never read any of her books and I just loved it. It’s sort of a grown up Parent Trap with a twist … twin sisters living on Nantucket and Martha’s Vineyard switch lives. Lots of fun and very well paced.

The best book I ever read on vacation was All the Light We Cannot See. But it’s not a fluffy light read. It’s just a beautiful book.

I'm interested in this topic. I rarely like most books when I am vacation. Sometimes I feel like I give them unnecessary weight when really I should just hold a piece of shlock while really looking at the sunset.

Eligible by Curtis Sittenfeld or Sex and Vanity by Kevin Kwan.

Just read The Sunshine Girls by Molly Fader and I think it would make a great vacation read

Wangs vs the World

I loved The Vacationers. Good combo of armchair travel, interesting characters but still fun and light.

Anonymous wrote:I don’t understand what you’re asking, OP. Everybody’s idea of a vacation book is different. Some people use vacations to tackle something dense or long or challenging, while others want something that doesn’t require much mental effort.

I have read many good “vacation” books while at home. An I have completed some great reads on vacation that most would not consider vacation books. Why does it matter where the book was read?

I think OP is just asking for some ideas. Do you have any?

I don’t understand what you’re asking, OP. Everybody’s idea of a vacation book is different. Some people use vacations to tackle something dense or long or challenging, while others want something that doesn’t require much mental effort.

I have read many good “vacation” books while at home. An I have completed some great reads on vacation that most would not consider vacation books. Why does it matter where the book was read?

It can be any kind of book btw.

I’m looking for things that people thoroughly enjoyed. I love it when I pick just the right book for vacation!