Do you know how hard it is to compile a ‘Top Ten’ list of what to read on vacation or holiday, or whatever you choose to call it?! I didn’t until I started this. When you love reading as much as I do, how can you possibly whittle down the list?

Maybe I’m guilty of overthinking it, but how could I not? There are so many factors that come in to play. Firstly, where are you going? City or beach? How much time do you have? Are you taking one book or many? Do you mind crying whilst making happy memories with your family? These are all important issues. Child Number One has a friend who chooses books based on how sad they are, the sadder the better. How do you reconcile that with vacationing? Does going on holiday mean that you don’t want to think too deeply? Gah!

Next you need to factor in that I don’t read the most recently published books, I simply go for books that I like the look of, or think I will enjoy. This means that I’m definitely not providing you with a list of ‘Hot Summer Releases’ just books I’ve really loved and think are fit for purpose. It’s a good thing. Trust me.

So here we go….

1. Where The Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens – this has to be the most beautiful book I’ve read in the last six months in terms of setting, plus it’s a great mystery, so top marks for holiday reads!
2. I actually love a good tearjerker when I’m holidaying. It’s the perfect foil to all those happy times I’m experiencing. Joking aside, last summer, whilst vacationing, I read The Nightingale by Kristin Hannah and just adored it.
3. If you love a good mystery, pretty much anything by Ruth Ware should do the trick. They are all totally unputdownable, but my favorite remains In a Dark, Dark Wood
4. How could I not recommend The Dry by Jane Harper? However I do so with the proviso that this is only for beach holidays, as you won’t get a thing done while you are reading it!
5. You by Caroline Kepnes. It’s pervy and creepy and just oooooh….
6. Absolutely anything by Simone St James if your pleasure is ghost stories. I’ve reviewed both Lost Among the Living and The Broken Girls on this site, but they are all just so good.
7. Simply because it’s so charming and so different, I would recommend The Curious Charms of Arthur Pepper by Phaedra Patrick.
8. If you are heading to Paris, then definitely Paris By The Book by Liam Callanan.
9. For a totally light read Jane Green’s The Sunshine Sisters will not disappoint.
10. Finally, given just how fanatical I have been about him of late, I have to recommend Matt Haig’s How To Stop Time. Just wonderful.

Finally, I wish you a happy holiday and if you’ve loved a book I recommended, please let me know.