There are two types of readers on vacation. Fun and light, or serious and thought-provoking. Which one are you? Here are my top five vacation reads. These books are perfect to read during the summer months or pass time during a long-haul flight.
1) The Beach by Alex Garland
The Beach is a thought-provoking book about the limitations of an earthly utopia paradise. The story is set in Thailand, and the main character Richard is a young backpacker in search of something outside of the regular tourist experience. He finds a mystical beach untouched by tourists, but he soon finds that finding paradise comes with a price.
2) Life of Pi by Yann Martel
If you're looking for a book that is imaginative, Life of Pi might be the book for you. This gripping philosophical story is about a teenage boy named Pi who decides to travel from Pondicherry (his homeplace) to Canada via a cargo ship. The ship sinks and he miraculously survives 227 days in the Pacific Ocean along with a hyena, a zebra, orangutang, and a 450-pound Royal Bengal tiger.
3) The Color of Air by Gail Tsukiyama
The Color of Air is a book you won’t want to put down once you start reading. The book is set in Hilo, Hawaii in the 1930s and tells the story of Daniel Abe, a successful doctor in Chicago returning to the island after learning of the death of his mother Mariko. Natural disaster strikes the close-knit community when a nearby volcano erupts and secrets from the past threaten to tear them apart.
4) The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho
The Alchemist is a timeless tale that reminds us that the greatest treasures are often found within our hearts and that the journey is as important as the destination.
Santiago, the main character, is a young shepherd who decides to follow his dream of travelling the world in pursuit of buried treasure. In his quest, he meets a Gypsy Woman, a king and an Alchemist along the way, all who point Santiago in the direction of the treasure buried at the foot of the Egyptian pyramids. The book encourages the reader to pursue their dreams, emphasizing how the universe only helps those who chase after their dreams.
5) Small Island by Andrea Levy
Small Island is a novel that takes place during the year 1948 in London England. There are two couples and these four characters drive the narrative. Queenie and Bernard are from England and Hortense and Gilbert are from the island of Jamaica. The book begins with Queenie and her first encounter with a person of African descent. From the outset you quickly establish that this book is about race relations and the relationship between two very distinct cultures.
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