What's a good book to read while on a cruise??....

[zeppekitty]

Three Weeks with My Brother.. True story by the author Nicholas Sparks..

Travel adventure and finding oneself within their family type book

EXCELLENT.. could not put it down

 

http://www.amazon.com/Three-Weeks-Brother-Nicholas-Sparks/dp/0446694851/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1231881530&sr=8-1

I loved that book but was beginning to think I'm the only one who ever read it. It really showed a humorous side of him that you don't see in his novels.

[sophie_lou]

On my cruise in April I'll be reading "The Rest of Her Life" by Laura Moriarty. I'm in a book club and so we've just chosen our books for the next few months. Here's the synopsis:

 

Leigh is the mother of high-achieving, popular high school senior Kara. Their relationship is already strained for reasons Leigh does not fully understand when, in a moment of carelessness, Kara makes a mistake that ends in tragedy -- the effects of which not only divide Leigh's family, but polarize the entire community. We see the story from Leigh's perspective, as she grapples with the hard reality of what her daughter has done and the devastating consequences her actions have on the family of another teenage girl in town, all while struggling to protect Kara in the face of rising public outcry.

 

Like the best works of Jane Hamilton, Jodi Picoult, and Alice Sebold, Laura Moriarty's The Rest of Her Life is a novel of complex moral dilemma, filled with nuanced characters and a page-turning plot that makes readers ask themselves, "What would I do?"

[dan40]

Their is a Great Book that came out in 2002 Called "CRUISE SHIP BLUES" It tells all the diffrent things that cruiselines spend Millions and Millions of $$ a year to try to keep "US" The customers from knowing ! It is a paperback and about 300 pages long and is VERY interesting ! Give it a try.. It didn't change my love for cruising but did give me some new prospective on some things..I bought it on E-Bay for $12.00

 

I'd say you should have burned the $12.00 rather than read this whine by a chronic complainer. He just looked at , and invented, everything bad in order to write a book. There is no attempt at balance in this piece of trash.

There was not a single item in the book that was new or different than things discussed here.

 

Dan

[xdollbabyx]

I love Greg Iles all of his books have been great.

 

I read the Twighlight series in one week.

 

I haven't seen Stephen White mentioned and he has some great books. I really like Karen Rose too. James Patterson, John Grisham, Dan Brown.

[mr jailerman]

I'd say you should have burned the $12.00 rather than read this whine by a chronic complainer. He just looked at , and invented, everything bad in order to write a book. There is no attempt at balance in this piece of trash.

There was not a single item in the book that was new or different than things discussed here.

 

Dan

:D Thanks Dan-Man ! :D I did read this book after taking my first cruise and had not yet got involved with chats here @ Cruise Critic. It did offer some info although very Biased things against the cruise industry. Things like when RCI started their "Save The Waves" program to save the Oceans from pollution and then were cought /documented & fined millions of $$ on several occasions for Dumping Oil and Dirty Bilge water into the Oceans during the overnights on ships such as the Sovereign of the Seas. As I said, It didn't change my love for cruising and I would agree that most if not all that is in this book get's discussed on these boards at one point or another but for a quick read it was alright. The author of that book says he went on 30 cruises to base his opinions and interviews for this book. Certainly their are many of our Brothers and Sisters here @ Cruisecritic that have that # Beat but that is still an impressive # in this Humble jailers opinion..:D P.S. The next extra $12.00 I get I will toss in the Trash for you though ok ?;)

[G'ma]

I "discovered" Greg Iles two months ago and I have been scouring used book stores ever since trying to find all his titles and have been reading them sequentially. Before my cruise in Aug. I am going to spend a few days in Natchez, mostly because his books are peppered with references and the city sounds fascinating.

 

LOVE Greg Iles.....also Steve Martini, James Patterson, Jonathan Kellerman, John LeCarre..........

 

I take plenty of books with me as I'm an avid reader....and, the selections onboard in the gift shop are few.

 

On the Miracle a few years back, I re-read the entire original Foundation series by Isaac Asimov. It's as good today as it ever was!!

Edited January 15, 2009 by G'ma

[dan40]

:D Thanks Dan-Man ! :D I did read this book after taking my first cruise and had not yet got involved with chats here @ Cruise Critic. It did offer some info although very Biased things against the cruise industry. Things like when RCI started their "Save The Waves" program to save the Oceans from pollution and then were cought /documented & fined millions of $$ on several occasions for Dumping Oil and Dirty Bilge water into the Oceans during the overnights on ships such as the Sovereign of the Seas. As I said, It didn't change my love for cruising and I would agree that most if not all that is in this book get's discussed on these boards at one point or another but for a quick read it was alright. The author of that book says he went on 30 cruises to base his opinions and interviews for this book. Certainly their are many of our Brothers and Sisters here @ Cruisecritic that have that # Beat but that is still an impressive # in this Humble jailers opinion..:D P.S. The next extra $12.00 I get I will toss in the Trash for you though ok ?;)

 

Well the never-been-humble Dan-Man has 50 cruises. And not one has been perfect, but all have been great. I've experienced 40 foot waves and 80 knot winds across the deck. Not ANYTHING a cruiseline can do about that! And that storm COVERED the entire Atlantic, so they could not steer around it either. I've had 3 terrible dining room waiters [the 2 man team on one cruise]

And a few other MINOR complaints, none that were expose's.

Your example of RCL getting caught dumping trash and their subsequent multi-million dollar fine were well documented here and on the RCL board AT THE TIME. There is little OR NOTHING, that happens in the cruise business that is not reported on one or more of the Cruise Critic boards. Your author had no interest in anything but making a buck with a sensationalized bash of the cruise industry. I'd guess he has a background in the media. You want a much better trashing of cruising? Go to cruise bruise. They say anything to knock the industry, and they act like they are 'reporting' too.

 

Dan

[crusinpsychRN]

Give me a good mystery and I'm a happy girl! Anything by Robert B. Parker, Patricia Cornwell, Mary Higgins Clark, James Patterson, Sandra Brown, Jonathan Kellerman, Iris Johansen, J. A. Jance. Love Janet Evanovich's "number series"....first one called "One for the Money" ~ latest is "Fearless Fourteen". Another good series is by Diane Mott Davidson.....the main character is a caterer named Goldy and each book has a food related title with a play on words......like "Dark Torte", "Sticks & Scones"....fun books.

 

Good luck, and happy reading! :)

 

I'm listening to an audio book by Diane Mott Davidson read by Barbara Rosenthal. I love Goldie, like Marla, think Tom is the greatest husband and think Goldie's assistant is wonderful. Great characters and fast moving plots. Rosenthal is my favorite reader.

[KaiserSoze]

Not sure how old OP is but if they grew up in the 80's or know of Motley Crue, Nikki Sixx's bio (The Heroin Diaries) is a quick read because you can't wait to see what they or he did next. Some of that stuff is outrageous. But it's NOT for everyone.

 

I also got sucked in to the Twilight series. :o Didn't think I'd go for a teenage vampire book but they are good!

 

Not sure if Bridges of Madison County is a biography, I think the idea was taken from someone's diary. It's good as well.

 

If you haven't read it, DO NOT TAKE Grapes of Wrath (too depressing). Its good but you'll want to jump off the boat when you're done reading!

[WayTooCool]

Any of Carl Haaisen's books are cruise-worthy . . . . all take place in south FL, pretty much.

[extcat]

Give me a good mystery and I'm a happy girl! Anything by Robert B. Parker, Patricia Cornwell, Mary Higgins Clark, James Patterson, Sandra Brown, Jonathan Kellerman, Iris Johansen, J. A. Jance. Love Janet Evanovich's "number series"....first one called "One for the Money" ~ latest is "Fearless Fourteen". Another good series is by Diane Mott Davidson.....the main character is a caterer named Goldy and each book has a food related title with a play on words......like "Dark Torte", "Sticks & Scones"....fun books.

 

Good luck, and happy reading! :)

 

OMG is this my wife?????

[picklebongo]

LOVE Greg Iles.....also Steve Martini' date=' James Patterson, Jonathan Kellerman, John LeCarre..........

 

I take plenty of books with me as I'm an avid reader....and, the selections onboard in the gift shop are few.

 

On the Miracle a few years back, I re-read the entire original Foundation series by Isaac Asimov. It's as good today as it ever was!![/quote']

 

All of the authors you mentioned are favorites of mine also. Since we seem to enjoy the same genre and authors, if you are not familiar with Harlan Coben, his books are excellent also. I pack about 7-10 books and read them all before leaving the ship and then I have to frequent the library and their offering is abysmal. What's really shocking is that Carnival does not have a single copy of a children's book in their library and this is suppose to be a family friendly line. On my first cruise I remembered my books but forgot my children's and wanted to read them bedtime stories, couldn't do it.

[momofzeke]

OMG is this my wife?????

 

LOL! Sounds like your wife has excellent taste in books! ;)

Edited January 16, 2009 by momofzeke

[Anna0513]

Wow..so many people like Twilight. I'm on book 3 right now. Only 80 pages in so far. I wanted to read the last book on the cruise, but we don't cruise until April so I won't make it. I'm sure I'll be done by then. I also read all the Harry Potter books. Yes I'm an adult! I just find these books easy reading. If a book doesn't catch my interest, I wind up not reading it through. The Twilight series catches you from book one and doesn't stop. I love them! Anyone have any ideas for a book that can be compared to Twilight? I mean easy reading...locks you right in and you don't want to put it down...

[Islebcnu]

One of my top 100 goals after retirement was to read as much classic literature as possible. What I have found is that not all classics are to my liking. The wonderful volunteers at LibriVox.org have recorded hundreds of public domain literary works and most are downloadable in an MP3 format which requires very little space on a player. Before each cruise(especially if we fly), I visit their website and fill my 2GB player(about the size of a fat postage stamp) with several unabridged novels that I know I will enjoy and 10 or so beginning chapters for review. Then, as I people watch around the pool and laze about, I plug in one earphone and leave the other ear to listen to the sea. Add in a DOD and it doesn't get much better than that.

[LemurCat]

Wow..so many people like Twilight. I'm on book 3 right now. Only 80 pages in so far. I wanted to read the last book on the cruise, but we don't cruise until April so I won't make it. I'm sure I'll be done by then. I also read all the Harry Potter books. Yes I'm an adult! I just find these books easy reading. If a book doesn't catch my interest, I wind up not reading it through. The Twilight series catches you from book one and doesn't stop. I love them! Anyone have any ideas for a book that can be compared to Twilight? I mean easy reading...locks you right in and you don't want to put it down...

 

See, and I found them to be poorly written and poorly edited, well at least the first one, I didn't see a point in reading the others. I prefer Anne Rice's early Vampire Chronicles books, as well as her Mayfair Witches trilogy.

[tumh20]

I am also a parent of teen girl and into the Twilight series!

I also agree with Skinny Dip, by Carl Hiassen, very funny!

I can also be distracted by the great people watching, so Chicken Soup for the Soul is good for many short reads, though I find that I need to have a Kleenex close by!

My husband LOVES the annual year's Best Travel Writing and year's Best Sports Writing. These are titled like this, 2005 Best Sports Writing. They are made of short stories that exemplify the best writing published for each category.

 

[Kace]

See, and I found them to be poorly written and poorly edited, well at least the first one, I didn't see a point in reading the others. I prefer Anne Rice's early Vampire Chronicles books, as well as her Mayfair Witches trilogy.

 

I'd be hard-pressed to compare Anne Rice with the Twilight series. The only thing they have in common is vampires. Rice's vampires are dark and a bit twisted; the Twilight vampires are mostly rooted in morality and goodness.

 

The Twilight series is written for teens/pre-teens, and has a light, happy-ever-after theme. I did like the writing; the very first chapter caught me with its tempo and easy flow.

 

However, I can't recommend it for a cruise, because the books are bulky when compared to their substance. (Maybe they have re-released them in more compact versions, but the ones I read were seriously oversized yet quickly digested.)

[KittyLiXX]

I'm going to read " Gregory McGuires "Son of a Witch"

 

He wrote the book about the OZ witches...

[crusinpsychRN]

Kinky Friedman is another good one.

[Meco21]

A Salty piece of Land by Jimmy Buffett. i read this book last year (not on a cruise) but i think this is a great book and would be good while on a cruise

[sophie_lou]

I just finished "Shadow of the Wind" and it was excellent. Mystery.

[jletton]

Some of my favorite authors

 

Stuart woods

Nellson DeMille

Harlan Coben

Lee Child

Vince Flynn

Jeffrey Archer

Wilbur Smith

Stephen Hunter

Greg Isles

Ken Follett

Stephen Koontz

Clive Cussler

 

(As you can prob. tell i don't watch much TV)

[bubbles7171]

Bitter is the New Black...... by Jen Lancaster.....Very Funny!!!!!

[jletton]

John D. MacDonald is who i read first back in 70s.

Travis McGee is the orignal FL boat beach bum,

who lived on the busted flush(His boat).