It’s the time of year when most of us are turning our attention to booking a relaxing break, preferably somewhere sunny where the only thing you need concern yourself with is where to dine out that evening or what time the pool opens. Holidays are also the time when most people catch up on their reading, finding they have more leisure to lounge by the poolside and indulge in a few chapters as they top up their tans.
Kindles and iPads really have revolutionised the way we read. Whereas once you might have had to leave enough space in your suitcase for a couple of paperbacks or grabbed something on a whim in the departures lounge, we can now load up our devices with as many books as we like and they take up little more room than a single, thin novella. This year we’ve already seen some truly fantastic books on the bestseller and prize lists, so here are just three you might like to download and take with you, wherever you’re jetting off to this summer.
Second novels are notoriously tricky, especially if your first was as successful as Jessie Burton’s The Miniaturist was. Burton’s new novel The Muse is a perfect summer read, imaginative, bold and with a plot which will keep you engaged despite the holiday distractions. A mystery ties together the lives of two women, and a immigrant from the Caribbean in 1960s London and the other bohemian lady in 1930s Spain, all told in Burton’s characteristically poetic style.
For something a little more in the thriller genre, Noah Hawley’s Before the Fall will definitely keep you gripped, and the screen rights have already been sold. Hawley is the man behind hit-show Fargo, and this novel manages to be just as captivating, telling the story of a down-at-heel painter who miraculously survives a plane crash along with the four-year old son of the plane’s incredibly wealthy media-mogul owner. Not everything is as it seems though, and as the investigation into the crash continues and the passengers’ back stories are explored, you’ll find you can hardly bear to put it down.
Finally, if you want something with a plot you’ll recognise but given a modern twist, Curtis Sittenfeld’s Eligible is a reworking of the classic Pride and Prejudice but set amidst the extravagant wealth of the Cincinnati elite. You might think you know the cast and the story well, but this book really makes you look again at what romance, class and family mean in the twenty-first century.
Wherever you’re heading on your summer break, you’re almost certain to be taking your Kindle or iPad with you, so now is also the perfect time to consider how best to pack and keep your device protected. Designed to prevent scratches and shield your much-loved gadgets from knocks in the luggage hold or stray splashes from the swimming pool, a real leather iPad case or Kindle sleeve from Harber’s is the best way to protect your devices whilst on holiday.
With sleek, stylish and beautifully crafted genuine leather cases for your iPad or Kindle, a protective sleeve from Harber’s should be almost as essential this summer as making sure you remember to download some holiday reading. Wherever you’re heading, we wish you good weather and plenty of rest and relaxation.
