image credit @aaronburden
One of my favorite parts of getting away is choosing what reading material I’ll bring along. I like books that are light but not flimsy. Entertaining but not trivial. Smart but not pedantic. I like a ripping good story, characters I can care about (even if they aren’t perfect), and a setting that feels like a vacation all by itself.
Currently in my vacation suitcase (and just let me digress to say how NICE it is to be packing a suitcase again. #TeamPhizer):
Maggie Toussaint’s Shrimply Dead (Coastal Georgia flavor plus seafood recipes)
Terry Odell’s Deadly Options (the Colorado mountains plus police procedures)
Sujata Massey’s The Bombay Prince (a 1920s India setting plus feminist amateur sleuthing)
John Lanchester’s Reality and Other Stories (spooky ghosts plus even spookier technology)
Laura Valeri’s After Life as a Human (an untamed Florida island plus meditations on spirit)
Stacey Abram’s While Justice Sleeps (political intrigue plus gun fights and kissing)
See? Something for every mood that could possibly strike, and absolutely nothing that requires a dictionary to understand (not that there’s anything wrong with challenging reading, but vacation require relaxation of both body and mind).
Do you have a book you’d like to recommend? Let me know in the comments! I’m always looking for my Next Good Read. And as always, please support your local independent bookstore.