Cruise Reading

[topsey130]

Well off shortly and have downloaded my reading material, but I would like to know what fellow bookworms will be taking with them on this summers cruises.

 

I am sure a similar thread has been done but here is what I have recently read in preparation for this and other breaks I have just had:-

 

Cathedral of the Sea

Shadow of the win

 

Both for a barcelona trip we recently took

 

The Island

 

Travel inspired but not for thus cruise

 

The Boteccelli secret (Florence/Pisa setting)

Taming of the shrew

Merchant of Venice

 

Well one out if three for Italy is not bad!

 

Sadly lacking in a French novel,any provence selections ( please no Victor Hugo or Dumas)?

 

Apart from the above I had my head stuck in travel

Guides for the past few weeks, love the Dorling

Kindersley ones.

 

 

So I now need someone books, have downloaded 'The hand of Fatmia' and am

Looking for some good fairly easy going historical

fiction tenuously related to travel?

 

Please :)excuse any grammatical errors in this post as sent from

My phone

[Jakanne1]

If you enjoyed The Island, try Victoria Hislop's The Return. It takes place in modern times and during the Spanish civil war. Also, her 3rd book The Thread which is set in Greece. I am saving this one till my cruise on Majesty doing the Aegean.

 

There is another thread What books have you enjoyed on holiday? It was first posted by me on 8th April and has lots of excellent ideas. Kruzseeka got me on to Susan Howatch's Starbridge series.

 

Sorry, do not know how to put in the link, but I am sure you will be able to find it.

[Grez]

If you enjoyed The Island, try Victoria Hislop's The Return. It takes place in modern times and during the Spanish civil war. Also, her 3rd book The Thread which is set in Greece. I am saving this one till my cruise on Majesty doing the Aegean.

 

There is another thread What books have you enjoyed on holiday? It was first posted by me on 8th April and has lots of excellent ideas. Kruzseeka got me on to Susan Howatch's Starbridge series.

 

Sorry, do not know how to put in the link, but I am sure you will be able to find it.

I thought that The Return, whilst a good book, wasn't a patch on The Island. The Thread is excellent however.

[kruzseeka]

If you enjoyed The Island, try Victoria Hislop's The Return. It takes place in modern times and during the Spanish civil war. Also, her 3rd book The Thread which is set in Greece. I am saving this one till my cruise on Majesty doing the Aegean.

 

There is another thread What books have you enjoyed on holiday? It was first posted by me on 8th April and has lots of excellent ideas. Kruzseeka got me on to Susan Howatch's Starbridge series.

 

Sorry, do not know how to put in the link, but I am sure you will be able to find it.

 

 

Hi Jakanne :) Are you enjoying getting to know Jon Darrow? I found the books so absorbing!

 

Now in reminding us of that thread I did a 'Search' with 'Starbridge' as the key word (didn't think it would appear in many other posts! :D ) and hey presto found your thread. Here it is:

 

http://cruiseforums.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1610683&highlight=starbridge

 

It's one of those threads, like one ekco started on tips for new cruisers (also very helpful to old hands too!) which we could do with having some sort of priority flag attached. Then it would easily be found and not just in response to topsey's thread - it's something lots of people would find useful time and time again. Or at least I think so.

 

So thanks topsey for helping us resurrect this one and Jakanne for providing the trigger to find it!

 

I've just read S.J. Watson 'Befor I go to Sleep'

and Joanna Trollope's 'Daughters-in-Law'

 

both excellent and polished off in short shrift (I'm fed up with this wet weather - only consolation is a good read!)

 

They don't really fit into your criteria topsey in terms of historical/travel genre but worth recommending I think.

 

In that thread topsey you will come across Miss Garnet's Angel by Salley Vickers - very gentle, set in Venice (I even went to find the church near where she lived last time we were in Venice). I haven't unreservedly enjoyed some of her other books but this does evoke a very different feel of the Venice where 'real' people live which I hadn't seen before.

 

Any more ideas folks?

[Gelbel]

One of my favourite books is The Far Pavillions by M M Kaye. The second time I read it, I was on holiday in Kalkan in Turkey (when it was still just 4 roads and a handful of taverna before it was the tourist mecca it is today) and I could smell the descriptions of Indian life coming off the pages. I tell you I was in those Himalayan foothills. ;)

 

So I'd thoroughly recommend that for a Red Sea/Turkey cruise.

 

I've also read Shadow of the Moon by M M Kaye too - not as good but still a lovely book.

 

I've just talked myself into downloading some more of her reads for Greece and Turkey in September.

[Jakanne1]

Hi Kruzseeka. Took a bit to get into Glittering Images but then couldn't put it down. I do like the style of writing (slightly taxing) . Had trouble sourcing the 2nd book but in the process found a fantastic second hand bookshop in Carlisle. Bought another of Susan Howatch's books there, The Rich are Different.

 

Have such a lot of books waiting to be read, including ones my husband has bought plus others downloaded to my Kindle. Shall have difficulty deciding what to take with me next week for a week in Corfu but as I have my 7 year old grandson with me, I shall need some very light reading. My daughter has asked me to look out for 2nd hand Sophie Kinsella books as she does not like going into charity shops! Guess I will be reading some of those and then we can just leave them behind in the taverna bookswop.

 

(for Keith - I am staying in Ag. Stefanos (Barras) with daughter and grandson

and then again in Sept after Majesty cruise at Thomas Bay). Guess we like it.

Did you do the Corfu Town at Night excursion after your cruise and if so what was it like? Sorry - bit off the topic subject

[DebsLpool]

Lawrence and Gerald Durrell both have books set in Corfu, indeed Lawrence wrote about many of the places he lived in , throughout his life in the Med, and East. My Family and Other Animals, is probably the most famous one of Gerald Durrels, but he did write a couple of follow on books, which I have downloaded on to my Kindle. Lawrence even wrote a book, set on a Med. cruise, but I can't recall what it is called, but I have added that to my Kindle.

 

I have The Thread, in paperback, I intend to read that before we go to Greece, in August. I agree that The Island was excellent, The return not so good, but it did help me to understand a bit more about the Spanish Civil War and its consequences.

[Grez]

Edit - never mind, didn't read OP properly due to spelling mistake!

[Jakanne1]

Lawrence and Gerald Durrell both have books set in Corfu, indeed Lawrence wrote about many of the places he lived in , throughout his life in the Med, and East. My Family and Other Animals, is probably the most famous one of Gerald Durrels, but he did write a couple of follow on books, which I have downloaded on to my Kindle. Lawrence even wrote a book, set on a Med. cruise, but I can't recall what it is called, but I have added that to my Kindle.

 

I have The Thread, in paperback, I intend to read that before we go to Greece, in August. I agree that The Island was excellent, The return not so good, but it did help me to understand a bit more about the Spanish Civil War and its consequences.

 

I've read a few of the Corfu Durrell books but not the "cruise" one so will try to identify that one. Thanks for that. Lawrence Durrell's Bitter Lemons of Cyprus is an excellent read IMO set in Northern Cyprus in 1953-6 and tells of the build up to the Turkish/Greek troubles and how it affected the people in the area around Kyrenia and Bellapais

[Jakanne1]

 

It's one of those threads, like one ekco started on tips for new cruisers (also very helpful to old hands too!) which we could do with having some sort of priority flag attached. Then it would easily be found and not just in response to topsey's thread - it's something lots of people would find useful time and time again. Or at least I think so.

 

Yes, I agree with you Kruzseeka. I saw a thread about things to do just before you cruise, like a last minute tick list, which I thought useful and interesting, but when I tried to find it I couldn't.

 

Does anyone know how to set up something like this? What about a Sticky? Actually not sure what a Sticky is or who starts them:confused: Doh!!

[CRUISIN LINDA]

I thought that The Return, whilst a good book, wasn't a patch on The Island. The Thread is excellent however.

I am reading the Thread at the moment - yes it is very good. I had no idea that the Germans occupied Greece in WW2 -very ignorant:rolleyes: The Return was good, and very interesting regarding the Spanish civil war, but a bit gory for me! I have just bought The Secret between us by Louise Douglas for my next cruise, half price thanks to a coupon in the newspaper.

[topsey130]

Thanks all for the link and the suggested reads, will shortly be downloading

 

The Thread by Victoria Hislop

Miss Garnets Angel - Salley Vickers. ( Have read a few of Donna Leon books (Inspector Brunetti series) set in Venice).

The Dante Game - Jane Langton set in Florence

A year in Provence - Peter Mayle

 

Now to find my lead for the Kindle, could be anywhere with all this packing going on:eek:

[deepsix]

If you are on the Dream and have german capitano 'sour kraut' try the book

 

DAS BOOT:)

[mtt]

Top Sights Travel Guide: Athens (Top Sights Travel Guides) [Kindle Edition]

 

 

This is free on amazon kindle at the moment

[mtt]

also free for cannes, mallorca, malaga and leeds for those flying yorkshire airlines

[DebsLpool]

The Lawrence Durrell book is "The Dark Labyrinth" about a group of first class passengers who go ashore on Crete, to visit a famous labyrinth and most become trapped,sounds fun

 

I have just started to re read a book I read last year "At Sea" by Laurie Graham. This is about a snooty history guest expert and his long suffering wife, who spend their time going from cruise ship to cruise ship, he may or may not be everything he seems. A light hearted read, but quite funny in places.