Hi! I’m Katelyn.
If you’re anything like me traveling means a new good book (or even a few). Maybe it’s because you have seldom other options or maybe because its a vacation before the vacation, but reading on planes is one of my favorite places to read. Well, right behind on the beach somewhere.
One of my friends even captured this gem of me reading in the pool in Ghana. What can I say? I’d like to think this was a genius plan, though it did look quite comical!
I try to read everyday, some weeks I do better than others, but regardless, I’ve collected quite the list of books to recommend. I wanted to share some suggestions to bring on your next trip! They’re all the kinds of books that will whisk you away to somewhere else and make that plane ride, train ride, or car ride fly right by.
So, without further ado, here are the next six books you should bring with you!
1. The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid – If I had the time to finish this in one sitting, you better believe I would have. The whole time I just had to know what happened next. It kept me on the edge of my seat and caught me off guard on more than one occasion.
A quick description- “Aging and reclusive Hollywood movie icon Evelyn Hugo is finally ready to tell the truth about her glamorous and scandalous life. But when she chooses unknown magazine reporter Monique Grant for the job, no one is more astounded than Monique herself. Why her? Why now?
Summoned to Evelyn’s luxurious apartment, Monique listens in fascination as the actress tells her story. From making her way to Los Angeles in the 1950s to her decision to leave show business in the ’80s, and, of course, the seven husbands along the way, Evelyn unspools a tale of ruthless ambition, unexpected friendship, and great forbidden love.” (description from the book!)
2. A House in the Sky by Amanda Lindhout – Typically, I don’t reach for memoirs, though I didn’t know this was one until after. Let me tell you though, this one is different. Amanda worked as a journalist traveling to different countries around the world to report on various different stories. Eventually, a story led her and a partner to Somalia, where only four days into the trip they were kidnapped. Ultimately, she was held hostage for 460 days (15 months), and through her book, A House in the Sky, she recounts the experience and how she mentally navigated such a horrific situation.
While this may not be you typical ‘light and cheery’ read, I think its a book that everyone needs to read. She brings you through the emotions she went through on this journey and it’s an incredible testament to how strong she is. It is written with such emotion and depth that you’ll find yourself frequently saying to yourself, ‘I can’t believe this is a true story.’ Do yourself a favor, read it.
3. The Marriage Lie by Kimberly Belle – This is the book that initially got me hooked on Kimberly Belle (you’ll see her books frequently, trust me). She just has a way of sucking you into the story where you neglect all other things you need to do in order to finish them. If you like thrillers, you’ll like her stuff!
A quick description – “Everyone has secrets… Iris and Will have been married for seven years, and life is as close to perfect as it can be. But on the morning Will flies out for a business trip to Florida, Iris’s happy world comes to an abrupt halt: another plane headed for Seattle has crashed into a field, killing everyone on board and, according to the airline, Will was one of the passengers.
Grief-stricken and confused, Iris is convinced it all must be a huge misunderstanding. Why did Will like about where he was going? And what else has he lied about? As Iris sets off on a desperate quest to uncover what her husband was keeping from her, the answers she finds shock her to her very core.” (description from the book!)
4. The Lost Girls of Paris by Pam Jenoff – If you like strong female characters, WWII set novels, and/or a riveting plot with a love interest, this book is for you. This book pleasantly surprised me and truly brought me back to the streets of Paris during the 40s. It brought a different angle to the familiar war-set novel in a way that you’ll love.
A quick description – ” 1946, Manhattan. One morning while passing through Grand Central Terminal on her way to work, Grace Healey finds an abandoned suitcase tucked beneath a bench. Unable to resist her own curiosity, Grace opens the suitcase where she discovers a dozen photographs– each of a different woman. In a moment of impulse, Grace takes the photographs and quickly leaves the station.
Grace soon learns that the suitcase belonged to a woman named Eleanor Trigg, leader of a network of female secret agents who were deployed out of London during the war. Twelve of these women were sent to Occupied Europe as couriers and radio operaators to aid the resistance, but they never returned home, their fates a mystery. Setting out to learn the truth behind the women in the photographs, Grace finds herself drawn to a young mother turned agent named Marie, whose daring mission overseas reveals a remarkable story of friendship, valor, and betrayal.” (description from the book!)
5. Conviction by Denise Mina – I reluctantly picked this book up after finishing a different book and needed something new. I was lent it by one of my old professors who has fantastic taste and I don’t know why I didn’t pick it up sooner!
Conviction, is a different sort of thriller, with new twists, if you will. I love when authors take a new perspective on the typical genre and that is exactly what this author did! Like the rest on this list, this book was one I found myself saying ‘just five more minutes’ over and over!
A quick description – “The day Anna McDonald’s quiet, respectable life exploded started off like all the days before: Packing up the kids for school, making breakfast, listening to yet another true-crime podcast. Then her husband comes downstairs with an announcement, and Anna is suddenly, shockingly alone.
Reeling, desperate for a distraction, Anna returns to the podcast. Other people’s problems are much better than one’s own — a sunken yacht, a murdered family, a hint of an international conspiracy. But this case actually is Anna’s problem. She knows one of the victims from an earlier life, a life she’s taken great pains to leave behind. And she is convinced that she knows what really happened.
Then an unexpected visitor arrives on her front stoop, a meddling neighbor intervenes, and life as Anna knows it is well and truly over. The devils of her past are awakened — and they’re in hot pursuit. Convinced she has no other options, Anna goes on the run, and in pursuit of the truth, with a washed-up musician at her side and the podcast as her guide.” (description from the book!)
6. All These Beautiful Strangers by Elizabeth Klehfoth – A perfect mix of juicy scandal, compelling storyline, and heartfelt characters. All These Beautiful Strangers, leads into the high society scandalous life with a fun and youthful spin. A great book to bring with you to the beach!
A quick description – “One summer day, Grace Fairchild, the beautiful young wife of real estate mogul Alistair Calloway, vanished from the family’s lake house without a trace, leaving behind her seven-year old daughter, Charlie, and a slew of unanswered questions.
Years later, seventeen-year-old Charlie still struggles with the dark legacy of her family name and the mystery surrounding her mother. Determined to finally let go of the past, she throws herself into life at Knollwood, the prestigious New England school she attends. Charlie quickly becomes friends with Knollwood’s “it” crowd.
Charlie has also been tapped by the A’s—the school’s elite secret society well known for terrorizing the faculty, administration, and their enemies. To become a member of the A’s, Charlie must play The Game, a semester-long, diabolical high-stakes scavenger hunt that will jeopardize her friendships, her reputation, even her place at Knollwood.
As the dark events of past and present converge, Charlie begins to fear that she may not survive the terrible truth about her family, her school, and her own life.” (description from the book!)
I have plenty more suggestions where these came from, so don’t worry! If you read any (especially if you like any!) let me know!
Watch out for the next 5 books you have to read!
Til then,
Katelyn
