Wedding day has come and gone. All of the bobby pins perfectly holding your hair in place now lay on your bathroom counter. Family has gone back home. Your dress is getting dry cleaned. Friends are slowly posting pictures from the perfect day that everyone is still buzzing about. Unforgettable, indeed. But now, at long last, it’s honeymoon time. Time to relax and unwind – time to forget about every last-minute detail you had to make a decision about. Bliss is just around the corner. Once your suitcase is packed, be sure to slip in some of these books to keep you happily entertained while lounging beach or pool-side. Or maybe you’ll be doing some balcony reading with a cappuccino while Paris passes by below you. Wherever your honeymoon is taking you, indulge in our picks of the best honeymoon-worth books.
Eligible by Curtis Sittenfeld
Think of Pride and Prejudice but set in the modern world and you have “Eligible.” No one did crossfit or ate a Paleo diet in the Jane Austen version. Or at least intentionally ate a Paleo diet and labeled it as such. The plot includes a reality show much like “The Bachelor,” but with the title “Eligible.” Follow along with five sisters who return home to Cincinnati when their father falls ill. You’re sure to be entertained for hours with this page-turner that will not disappoint.
The Sex Lives of Cannibals: Adrift on the Equatorial Pacific by J. Maarten Troost
This non-fiction book will leave you in tears poolside, but only because it’s hilarious. Maarten doesn’t especially love his job at The World Bank so when his wife gets offered a job on Tarawa, a remote island in the Pacific Ocean in the nation of Kiribati, he gladly packs up his flip-flops and follows her. What he’s not ready for is shark encounters, sporadic (at best) electricity, and “the great beer crisis” when beer was not available for a very long time. Troost is a fantastic story teller sure to leave you with a side-ache, laughter tears rolling down your face and ordering one more cerveza to enjoy while finishing the chapter. Or the entire book.
Beautiful Ruins by Jess Walter
With a fantastic sense of humor, Walter will take you directly to the emerald waters of the Italian coastline to an innkeeper with whimsical daydreams while he feeds his guests homemade wine. The story begins in 1962 and follows the characters for 50 years ranging from the innkeeper to a novelist to an actor who ends up in modern-day Hollywood.There’s humor, love, loss and everything in between in this perfectly written novel that will certainly make you want just a little more relaxing time in the day to keep turning pages.
Graduates in Wonderland: The International Misadventures of Two (Almost) Adults by Jessica Pan and Rachel Kapelke-Dale
In this memoir of friendship, we follow Jessica and Rachel post graduation from the prestigious Brown University. They go in completely opposite directions – one to Beijing and the other to New York to work in an art gallery. Mostly in the format of emails to one another, we follow their friendship through life’s thick and thin of recent graduates trying to find their paths in life and love. Both are witty and hilarious in their writing to each other always offering solicited or sometimes unsolicited advice. It’s a fantastically enjoyable slice of life book that offers an intimate look into life as we know it. It’s a bit like “Girls” meets “Sex in the City.” Get ready to send your bff the longest email ever after you’re done with this one.
Less by Andrew Sean Greer
Enter Arthur Less: a novelist about to celebrate (or more like dread) turning the big 5-0. Then an invitation comes in the mail to his ex-boyfriend’s wedding. It’s the ex’s wedding you just could not bear to attend. The ex he was with for ten years. Too much pain/jealousy/conflicted emotions exist for Arthur to possibly say “yes” to this event. So he does what anyone else would do: he books himself into a literary tour, teaching, attending and hosting a variety of writing events all over the world. So he responds “no” to the wedding invitation and takes off around the world. We follow Mr. Less on these journeys which are not only hilarious but also provide small windows of insight into life-lessons we should learn.
The Beach by Alex Garland
Richard lands in Bangkok with no real plans of what his time in Thailand will hold. That is until he meets his wacky, maybe drugged out hotel-mate who tells him of an island with a Utopian society. Richard doesn’t think much of it at first until he finds Daffy, the map man, dead. Left with the map in hand, Richard embarks on a journey with two fellow travelers to find “The Beach.” It’s everything they hoped it would be: serene, simple, beautiful, and really as perfect as life can get. But as time passes the Eden they came to love becomes something else. This novel won’t leave your hands until the last page is read. And don’t be surprised if you begin it again on the plane home.
Boy and Going Solo by Roald Dahl
We all know and love Roald Dahl for his children’s classics like “Matilda,” “James and the Giant Peach” and “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory” but many haven’t indulged in his adult-themed books. “Boy” and “Going Solo” are both autobiographical works with “Boy” highlighting Dahl’s life growing up. Born to a Norwegian mother and British father, Dahl spent time in both countries with grand stories of his time in boarding school including when Cadbury would send him and his classmates samples in exchange for honest reviews of their newest products – cue the inspiration for “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.” This charming look at his life growing up shines light on how he got inspiration for his well-known children’s books.
“Going Solo” is focused on the author’s time spent as a World War II pilot. His thoughtful and ingenious story-telling knack bring his experiences to life on the page. Together these books are a fascinating and entertaining look at the author’s incredible life. This duo of books will leave you feeling like your honeymoon took you on many more adventures than just the ones you took with your new spouse.
Meaty by Samantha Irby
Irby has a way of putting into words exactly what is happening in our brains. It’s the inner dialogue we don’t dare say out loud because 1. It doesn’t make much sense nor is it cohesive in the slightest and 2. It probably contains too much profanity to be spoken aloud. Irby refers to her skinny jeans as “assholes” and yearns for clothes that work as both pajamas and acceptable clothes to wear to brunch. See what I mean? We’re all looking for that, but never say it out loud. Irby’s writing makes the reader feel like we’re sitting down to coffee with her, hashing out what’s happened to us in the last month because we’re both too busy to meet more than once a month even though every time we have coffee together, we make a plan to meet in five days.
“Meaty” is the perfect relatable book and will be a fantastic honeymoon accompaniment. Fair warning: if you’re not a fan of profanity, this one might not be for you.
Hokkaido Highway Blues: Hitchhiking Japan by Will Ferguson
Every year Japan and its tourists go nuts over cherry blossoms, the sakura. It’s a wonderful time to experience Japan’s beauty and culture. The way the entire country turns pink is magnificent and unforgettable. Will Ferguson decides he should enjoy the entire sakura season beginning in the southern part of the country and hitchhiking his way to the northern part of Japan, Hokkaido, following the bloom. Of course his adventures are full of misadventures but Ferguson tells his tales in such a way that even the cringe-worthy parts are enjoyable to read. Get ready to begin mapping your route in Japan after reading this gem.
Borrowed and Blue: Something Borrowed and Something Blue by Emily Giffin
This duo is the perfect package for honeymoon reading. It’s a story of love, friendship, betrayal, and forgiveness. “Something Borrowed” follows Rachel in her friendship with Darcy, where Rachel plays the role of the push-over to Darcy’s self-absorption. That is until one evening when Rachel confesses her feeling to Darcy’s finance who admits her feelings are reciprocated. As expected when something like that happens, life gets messy for everyone involved.
After reading Rachel’s side, “Something Blue” delves into how Darcy saw the events play out as she tries to re-create her old, confident life but in London. Giffin will leave your pool-side turning pages long after the sun has gone down.
How am I going to pack all these book?!
Checked luggage has become a bit of a pain. Extra fees, weight restriction, time lost beach-side by waiting for it to arrive on the conveyor belt, desperately hoping it even shows up on the conveyor belt. All of these things make packing a bit harder these day. Not to mention books can be heavy! However, all of these issues with packing books can be solved with one small and light solution – the Kindle Paperwhite. The Paperwhite is the genius of digital book readers. The screen is as page-like as possible and the entire device weights in at less than seven ounces, so it can easily be packed in your purse. It’s waterproof so if someone’s kid splashes you at the pool, no big deal. The Paperwhite also has a headphone jack so you can listen to audiobooks if that’s your preference.
With the Paperwhite you’re free go ahead and load all 10 of these onto your device. If you’re not loving one title, easily move on to the next. Or skip around between two books depending on your mood. Sometimes a plane-worthy book doesn’t feel just right with a cosmo in hand on the beach. This is a much better idea than lugging around books in your suitcase. Now you’ll have room for that extra swimsuit you were debating packing. Happy reading!
Where are you heading for your honeymoon?
We’d love to hear your plans! Whether they’re an exotic tropical island, a bustling city with amazing coffee or your favorite camping spot we’re all about making your honeymoon everything you could dream of and more! We’re romantic destination experts and would love to help you experience the absolute perfect post-wedding adventure. Let’s get planning!
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