These top 10 popular vacation reads are just the thing to help you relax in between runs on the slopes. We’ve got romance, mystery, adventure, travel, humor, and grisly crimes. We’ve even got pirates! Nothing beats curling up with a good book, next to a roaring log fire, after a busy day’s skiing. Well written escapism is what’s needed, so here are a few suggestions.
- The Lost Symbol by Dan Brown
Published 2009
Dan Brown has produced a third installment in the adventures of Robert Langdon, the Harvard expert on cracking codes. No doubt, a movie is in the pipeline. This time, Langdon has only twelve hours to solve the mystery of the Freemasons and their rituals. The story has moved from Europe to America and is set against landmark buildings in Washington DC. Expect another frenetic page turner. - The Lost Continent: Travels in Small-Town America by Bill Bryson
Published 1989
Bryson, an American who has settled in the UK, is a travel writer with a terrific sense of humor. He has written best sellers about America, the UK, Europe, and Australia. This book is an account of the two separate trips that he took around the US in the 1980s, beginning in his hometown of Des Moines, Iowa. He traveled over 13,000 miles, mostly by car, and the point of the trips was to seek out small towns and overlooked features, rather than the usual tourist magnets. - The Associate by John Grisham
Published 2009
Fans of legal thrillers are devoted to Grisham and this is his 21st novel. Several of his previous stories have been filmed and an adaptation of this one is scheduled for release in 2012. Partly based on a true story, the main character is a legal student named Kyle who is being blackmailed with regard to a secret from the past. Instead of a money ransom, Kyle is told to join a legal firm in New York and pass secrets on about a high profile trial. This has been described as ‘vintage Grisham’. - Pirate Latitudes by Michael Crichton
Published 2009
Pirate stories don’t come along too often these days! This is a posthumous novel from Crichton, best known for Jurassic Park. Director Steven Spielberg has announced he is to adapt it for film. The plot involves Captain Hunter and his band of followers, who embark on a daring mission to steal a fortune in gold from a heavily guarded Spanish galleon. The action takes place in the Jamaica of 1665. It’s got all the ingredients for adventure lovers. - Cross Country by James Patterson
Published 2008
This is the 14th book in crime novelist, James Patterson’s Alex Cross series. Patterson has a loyal fan base for Alex Cross, the African American criminal psychologist. In this story, he is asked to assist in a murder investigation concerning the murder of an old friend. This takes him to the criminal underbelly of Washington DC and to the Niger Delta, and to the seedy world of the slave trade and drugs trafficking. - Your Heart Belongs to Me by Dean Koontz
Published 2008
Koontz writes across the genres and this one is described as a suspenseful psychological novel. The story features a 34-year-old man named Ryan Perry who must receive a heart transplant to survive. Following a successful transplant, strange events happen as someone starts to torment him until his very life is threatened. Someone wants his new heart back. Bedtime reading for those without a nervous disposition. - Scarpetta by Patricia Cornwall
Published 2008
Forensic science is a staple of TV these days but Cornwall showed the way with her series of books featuring Italian American medical examiner, Kay Scarpetta. This is her 16th outing and it involves an assignment in New York City. The NYPD ask the pathologist to help them in the case of a woman who has been tortured and murdered. More murders follow, as Scarpetta, her forensic psychologist husband, Benton, and her niece, Lucy join forces to catch the killer. - Those Christmas Angels by Debbie Macomber
Published 2004
Fans of the romance writer, Debbie Macomber, will be familiar with the three angels, Shirley, Goodness, and Mercy. They visit Earth to help people with their problems and this book sees them answering the prayers of a mother who wants her son to stop being a workaholic and to settle down in marriage and give her a grandchild. The matchmaking doesn’t go to plan! - Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason by Helen Fielding
Published 1999
This popular sequel followed Bridget Jones’ Diary’s enormous success. The story continues with Bridget in a relationship with Mark Darcy but she fears she has a love rival. Misunderstandings and humorous situations ensue including a scene at a ski resort where Bridget pretends that she can ski. Her posse of friends, Shazzer, Tom, and Jude are on hand once again to lend support. - To Hell in a Handbasket by Beth Groundwater
Published 2009
Beth Groundwater is a Colorado writer who has set her sequel to ‘A Real Basket Case’ at the Breckenridge, Colorado ski resort. The main protagonist is Claire Hanover, a gift basket designer from Colorado Springs. She takes a ski break with her family but the vacation is interrupted by a suspected murder. More deaths follow and Claire must protect her daughter in a mystery on the snow.
Don’t stay up too late reading your book. Remember, you want to be first in line for the ski lift in the morning! Have a favorite book that didn't make our list of top 10 popular vacation reads? Tell us about it in the comments section below!
