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Tuesday 31 July 2012

8 GREAT TRAVEL READS

With a unique blend of time, limited space and boredom, travel can provide the perfect environment to immerse yourself in an author's world. With my trip to Hong Kong imminent, I thought I'd compile a list of the eight greatest books I've read while en route...

If you have your own to add - please do in the comments below...

With few words, Proulx creates a rich world that’s difficult to shake off and a protagonist who has you by the heart from the end of Chapter 2.
One night he worked a crossword puzzle in bed, heard Petal come in, heard the gutter of voices. Freezer door opened and closed, clink of the vodka bottle, sound of the television and, after a while, squeaking, squeaking, squeaking of the hide-a-bed in the living room and a stranger’s shout. The armor of indifference in which he protected his marriage was frail. Even after he heard the door close behind the man and a car drive away he did not get up but lay on his back, the newspaper rustling with each heave of his chest, tears running down into his ears. How could something done in another room by other people pain him so savagely? Man Dies of Broken Heart. His hand went to the can of peanuts on the floor beside the bed. The Shipping News, Chapter 2.
Read it: on a bleak train ride


Succinct, poetic, and unsettling. A moving, semi-autobiographical debut from a young writer. The striking cover is a big plus too.

Read it: on a short trip





A Sci-Fi love story set with a quaint British backdrop? Yes please. The film version, with Carey Mulligan, Keira Knightley and Andrew Garfield, was good, but the novel hits harder.

Read it: en route to a romantic break


Cloud Atlas is easy to give up on, I started it four times before I managed to read it through; but when given the time, it rewards with an epic genre-crossing story that reaches far into the past and future. A film based on the novel will be released soon, trailer here.

Read it: on a (very) long journey



Northern Lights, The Subtle Knife and The Amber Spyglass, make up the finest adventure series of our generation. There are moments of heart-quickening suspense and wrenching sadness; you'll be on the edge of your seat (leg room permitting).

Read it: on an adventure



Yes, an unconventional choice, but if you strip away the TV persona and brand, Ms Lawson can also boast of being a wonderful writer.

Read it: behind a large newspaper to avoid the *who the hell reads cookery books on a train!?* stares from fellow passengers

Too, too funny. Nearly all of Tropper's novels seem to recycle the same characters and themes, but this is the diamond in the rough. 

Read it: in an empty carriage so you can really *LOL*

As if winning the Nobel Prize for Literature wasn’t enough, The Road is also one of my favourite novels EVER. A chilling glance into a lifeless future, but with a father-son story at its heart.

Read it: on a group trip - it's a conversation starter




#PFHK

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