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Weekend Assignment: Travel Books

The weekend is not here yet, but the Weekend Assignment is already in at By the Way...

Weekend Assignment #113: Someone you know is traveling. Suggest a book or two for them to read on their trip. If at all possible, pick a book from the last couple of years. Also, keep in mind that it's meant to be a recreational book; i.e., they're not really reading to change their life, here, just to have fun.

If you're doing any serious traveling, especially involving airports and airplanes, it's essential to have a book with you to pass the time during lengthy delays and to forestall getting into conversations about aluminum siding with one of your fellow travelers. But the key is to pick something that's not too deep or dark. You're looking for the junk food equivalent of books. But they should be fun and interesting.

I'd go with anything by Miami Herald columnist Carl Hiaasen. His novels are like Elmore Leonard's, but funnier. His latest book, Skinny Dip, was recently released in paperback (another travel essential.) You can't go wrong with any of his books, but my favorites are Tourist Season, Lucky You and Strip Tease. He even manages to make professional bass fishing entertaining in Double Whammy.

Along the same lines, there's another Miami Herald columnist who's written a couple of good novels that are fit for travel: Dave Barry. Big Trouble and Tricky Business are hilarious.

Are we there yet? Are we there yet? Are we there yet?

posted by fdtate @ 8:12 PM