Beach Holiday Recommendations 2018

My Beach Holiday Recommendations 2018

Having had a recent relaxing holiday – an entire week to sit by the pool and read (5 books this year – I don’t know if I was the most sociable companion) it got me thinking about what makes a fantastic book to take in your hand luggage. For myself, I prefer to take “easy read” books, but equally there must be enough interest sustained without predictability. This is what I would see as a happy medium;

How to be Famous by Caitlin Moran. Hilariously funny, Moran writes at a voracious pace, with every phrase loaded with humour and clever observations. We follow our protagonist Dolly, a music journalist through the typical debauched London landscape Moran would have frequented. Unlike previous releases, this one is written to appeal to an adult audience, however it has the trademarks of her style – the poor, council house upbringing with several siblings, journalist elements and social commentary – particularly regarding feminism.

The End We Start From by Megan Hunter. One of the most unusual books I have ever read, and I am unsure to this day whether I have interpreted parts correctly. The book reads more like poetry than a novel and would be an excellent choice for someone who struggles to get through a book on holiday as this one is so short. Set in an apocalyptic Earth, we see a couple’s journey to safety with their child.

The Party by Elizabeth Day. One that I have previously reviewed here. Essentially, a book with a story line so good you will not be able to put it down for the visit to a castle or local ruins you had planned. Written with a furious pace, complex characters and an ending that I never predicted, this is one to make room in your case for.

Everything I know about Love by Dolly Alderton. Very much a book of this year, barely a week goes by without seeing this on my Instagram feed, the light-heartedness of this novel perfectly complements a week lazing in the sun. Realistically, on a sun lounger I don’t wish to be diving into Fyodor Dostoevsky or pondering philosophy – and this book entertains while maintaining an intelligent discourse. See review here.

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Everything I Know About Love by Dolly Alderton

Perhaps I have not been around long enough to know that this genre of book has always been written, or perhaps I am right and the memoirs with scatterings of collected pieces of writing, whether that be recipes or poetry or lists, have become increasingly popular recently. However I feel that Everything I Know About Love, is a really good example of one, the best I have read. It does not have the political awareness and social comment that Lena Dunham and Caitlin Moran’s counterparts do, and it is not as self-absorbed or career orientated as “celebrity” books of this genre can be. Thereby making it an easy read, easily engorged in a day or two. Dolly Alderton, a journalist and previous Made in Chelsea producer chronicles the disaster that is most people’s twenties. There is plenty here to relate to, especially if you are of a certain age, such as heart-break, soul crushing and cringe inducing first dates, MSN messenger, and general drunken debauchery. It is true to the time-...

Lullaby by Leila Slimani

Lullaby, also known as The Perfect Nanny, is another novel that has been particularly lauded this year. The short narrative centres around aspirational lawyer Myriam on her return to work, where she and her husband Paul thrust their two small children Mila and Adam into the care of Louise. Louise, as titles may suggest, seems to be the perfect nanny. She is motherly and cares for them as if they were her own, and to Myriam and Paul’s surprise and embarrassment, and later, reliance, cooks their meals and cleans their tiny “stifling” Paris apartment before Louise creeps back to her own, cold and decrepit apartment to savour limited hours of sleep before she starts the cycle again. Inevitably, Louise and the families’ lives become entwined, working hours become blurred and job description thrown aside to help them out in any way she can. The crux, as we find in the first sentences of the book, is that Louise has killed the two children in her care. The writing style is simple – ...

The Opposite of Loneliness by Marina Keegan

The Opposite of Loneliness We don’t have a word for the opposite of loneliness, but if we did, I could say that’s what I want in life The Opposite of Loneliness brings together Marina Keegan’s short stories and essays, both previously published and unpublished, to great effect. Personally, I have rarely found the draw of short stories alluring. I see Edgar Allen Poe as overtly sombre and more akin to something I would have read at school, and Ali Smith unsatisfactory – without the chapters of back story I can find her work clipped, and care little for the characters. However – Marina Keegan shows masterful skill over the short story and for the first time had me rapt. After each story I felt as though I needed a break, to digest and wrap myself in the characters for a moment. They did not appear to be the beginnings of a novel, each one, in a chapter sized length, is a whole and complete journey –rarely resolved by our writer, however never concluded predictably. I love...

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