I need a book...

Right dudes, in a couple of weeks im off to Portugal for a holiday for ten days, not gonna be doing much apart from chilling in the sun. So anyway, i'm gonna need a few books to read, as sitting in the sun all day is only so interesting.

I haven't read much recently, by which i mean, in the past five years, i blame this new fandangled thing called the interweb. But i used to read a lot as a kid, i've had to read stuff for Uni and obviously, doing a Journalism degree, i had to read **** loads of newspapers, so im no dumb git, i just don't read a lot of fiction and the like.

Anyway, i digress, what i'm asking is for you guys to recommend something that i might enjoy reading. Really im looking for something very accessible but not something meant for 15 year olds, something that's gonna keep my attention (so we're talking thrillers here, not romances), and preferably something that hasn't yet been made into a film, as i'll never be able to distance the two from each other.

Thanks for any help guys, i appreciate it.

Babylon Rising - Tim LaHaye

Fast to read book. thriller-adventure.

"Summary

Tim LaHaye created the Left Behind Series, which has become one of the most popular fiction series of all time. Those novels, with more that 50 million copies sold, presented a unique combination of suspense and substance drawn from his lifelong study of Biblical prophecy. Now Tim LaHaye has created a new series that begins with Babylon Rising. The novels in this new series are even faster-paced thrillers based on prophecies that are not covered in the Left Behind books and that have great relevance to the events of today. Babylon Rising introduces a terrific new hero for our time. Michael Murphy is a scholar of Biblical prophecy, but not the sedate and tweedy kind. Murphy is a field archaeologist who defies danger to fearlessly hunt down and authenticate ancient artifacts from Biblical times. His latest discovery is his most amazing--but it will send him hurtling from a life of excavation and revelations to a confrontation with the forces of the greatest evil. For the latest secret uncovered by Michael Murphy accelerates the countdown to the time of the end for all mankind."

It's just copy/paste, but i read that book like 2-3 years ago so.. For what its worth, it worked for me, quite "fun" to read and engaging (tho i do have a thing for this whole epic/biblical/thriller style so Im proly just a little bit biased)

http://www.eden.co.uk/shop/babylon_rising_93671.html

I picked up Keith Ablow's Psychopath, and it was right-up my alley. It's about a detective/psychiatrist trying to capture a serial killer/psychiatrist who uses a national newspaper to talk to the detective. Very interesting, fast-paced, filled with action. Not heavy at all and very accessible. It's also not very long, so should be nice to read on a beach.

I'd recommend Trainspotting, but you've probably seen the movie and the authour writes phonetically, so it can be hard to follow. But it's a terrific book and with dozens of little chapters, can be really good for vacationing.

Other than that, you could get one of those books with two plays from a single playwright. Oscar Wilde and Arthur Miller have really good, accessible, and entertaining (although not thrillers by any means) plays. They're also quite short, so a day on the beach and you're done with one.

Catch 22

Unlike you guys, I don't have the time and/or patience to read about the adventures of the Magical Man from Happyland, who lives in the gumdrop house on Lollipop Lane.

The Poet - Michael Connelly
The Bone Collector - Jeffery Deaver
Tell No One () & Just one Look - Harlan Coben
The Day After Tomorrow (No its not the film) - Alan Folsom
Gideon - Russell Andrews

Actually, my entire family have read pretty much everything Harlan Coben has read when going on vacations, so it must be good.

Hey Tom, where are you going to in Portugal? Just a two months ago or so I went with a couple of mates to Sagres. I remember we ran into a lot of British guys their too, so....

Anyway, I must admit much of my reading is in Dutch, which couldn't possibly interest you but I'm really fond of this English writer named Nick Hornby. He writes in a very funny and clever sort of way. Maybe you should try some of him, if you haven't already.

Yeah man where are you going?


And I'd recommend something of the likes of John Grisham, or even, if you want more specific, A Short Story of Nearly Everything, by Bill Bryson. Being a journalist in the making I don't know how much you're into science and all, but that book is amazing even if you hate scientific matters

harry potter and the philosophers stone :P

brideshead revisited