Holiday mini TBR

I am going on my first foreign holiday since October 2018! to celebrate my 35th birthday in early June. So now I have the reader’s dilemma How many books to do I take, what format, genre etc do I take. With a vast TBR shelf, a kindle bursting with books, a Net-galley score which is crying, an audible credit to burn and my local libraries digital collection the choice is almost endless.

We are travelling Hand-baggage only so space is limited. Therefore, I have decided to only bring one physical book, my kindle and I will have my phone for audiobooks. So in this mini TBR I am going to show my choice for physical book, a couple of potential reads from my kindle and an audiobook that has taken my fancy.

Physical Read

Lets start with the physical read. As we are hand-luggage only it had to be a paperback, for both space and weight (also we know I am going to buy at lease one more at the airport bookshop). I don’t know why but I love reading mysteries and crime fiction when I am on holiday. So I have picked…

The Death of Mrs Westaway
Ruth Ware

About the book:

On a day that begins like any other, Hal receives a mysterious letter bequeathing her a substantial inheritance. She realizes very quickly that the letter was sent to the wrong person—but also that the cold-reading skills she’s honed as a tarot card reader might help her claim the money.
Soon, Hal finds herself at the funeral of the deceased…where it dawns on her that there is something very, very wrong about this strange situation and the inheritance at the centre of it.

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Kindle Reads

My kindle has limitless possibilities and choices, including a whole crop of ARCs to read too so I have picked a couple that I know will be drawn to while I am travelling or abroad.

When I travel I like to have a popular Science or non-fiction read. I find these easier to concentrate on at the airport while I am waiting on boarding, or jumping on an off public transport etc. I find the little chapters and anecdotes to each section just make it easier to pick up and put down, as you shuffle from place to place. On my kindle I have a couple of choices but top of my list is …

Dead Famous: An Unexpected History of Celebrity
Greg Jenner

About the book:

Celebrity, with its neon glow and selfie pout, strikes us as hypermodern. But the famous and infamous have been thrilling, titillating, and outraging us for much longer than we might realise. Whether it was the scandalous Lord Byron, whose poetry sent female fans into an erotic frenzy; or the cheetah-owning, coffin-sleeping, one-legged French actress Sarah Bernhardt, who launched a violent feud with her former best friend; or Edmund Kean, the dazzling Shakespearean actor whose monstrous ego and terrible alcoholism saw him nearly murdered by his own audience – the list of stars whose careers burned bright before the Age of Television is extensive and thrillingly varied.
Celebrities could be heroes or villains; warriors or murderers; brilliant talents, or fraudsters with a flair for fibbing; trendsetters, wilful provocateurs, or tragic victims marketed as freaks of nature. Some craved fame while others had it forced upon them. A few found fame as small children, some had to wait decades to get their break. But uniting them all is the shared origin point: since the early 1700s, celebrity has been one of the most emphatic driving forces in popular culture; it is a lurid cousin to Ancient Greek ideas of glorious and notorious reputation, and its emergence helped to shape public attitudes to ethics, national identity, religious faith, wealth, sexuality, and gender roles.
In this ambitious history, that spans the Bronze Age to the coming of Hollywood’s Golden Age, Greg Jenner assembles a vibrant cast of over 125 actors, singers, dancers, sportspeople, freaks, demigods, ruffians, and more, in search of celebrity’s historical roots. He reveals why celebrity burst into life in the early eighteenth century, how it differs to ancient ideas of fame, the techniques through which it was acquired, how it was maintained, the effect it had on public tastes, and the psychological burden stardom could place on those in the glaring limelight. DEAD FAMOUS is a surprising, funny, and fascinating exploration of both a bygone age and how we came to inhabit our modern, fame obsessed society.

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I also like to try and find a book set in the place I am visiting, I think its fun to get a fictional account of the city I am exploring. Its fun to fill those little down time moments with a book set in the city as it just reminds you you get to get out and explore even more, or allows you to reminisce on the trip home.

My library has this whole series available on digital download. I am on a waitlist but I am next in the line so I am hoping it will appear while I am away. We are going to Venice! I have been before but it was over 10 years ago so I am excited to visit again. This series is a police procedural, which I have already said I love reading while traveling, set in Venice itself , the author even lives in Venice. There are also 30+ books in the series so if I enjoy it there is plenty more to read, Its also only 270 pages so a great short read for the trip.

Death at La Fenice
Donna Leon

Commissario Brunetti #1

About the book:

There is little violent crime in Venice, a serenely beautiful floating city of mystery and magic, history and decay. But the evil that does occasionally rear its head is the jurisdiction of Guido Brunetti, the suave, urbane vice-commissario of police and a genius at detection. Now all of his admirable abilities must come into play in the deadly affair of Maestro Helmut Wellauer, a world-renowned conductor who died painfully from cyanide poisoning during an intermission at La Fenice.
But as the investigation unfolds, a chilling picture slowly begins to take shape–a detailed portrait of revenge painted with vivid strokes of hatred and shocking depravity. And the dilemma for Guido Brunetti will not be finding a murder suspect, but rather narrowing the choices down to one. . . .

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Audiobook

Audiobooks are always good to have on hand. They are great for drowning out the noise on flights, or listening to while getting ready to go out or at night while sipping a glass of spritz aperol gazing out over the Lagoon ( little bit of a fantasy for me yes). I have an audible Credit to use and I have decided I want use it on an anticipated read, which also happens to be a mystery set on an island …

The Sanctuary
Andrew hunter Murrey

About the book:

Ben is a young painter from the crowded, turbulent city. For six months his fiancée Cara has been living on the remote island of Sanctuary Rock, the property of millionaire philanthropist Sir John Pemberley. Now she has decided to break off their engagement and stay there for good.
Ben resolves to travel to the island to win Cara back. But the journey there is a harsh and challenging one, and when he does arrive, a terrible shock awaits him.
As Ben begins to find his way around Pemberley’s perfect island, he knows he must also discover – what has made Cara so determined to throw her old life away? And is Sanctuary Rock truly a second Eden, as the mysterious Sir John claims – or a prospect of hell?

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So that is my preliminary Holiday mini TBR. If I am being honest, I will probably buy a different book at the airport, listen to about 50% of the audiobook and then get distracted and not pick a book up again until the flight home, but I like to have options and a plan so I can at least pack.

I would love to chat all things bookish with you! You can comment down below or find me on Twitter or Goodreads!

Happy Reading!