Vacation is the perfect time to relax with a good book. Any book can be a great houseboat book if you enjoy reading it on the sun deck or inside the cozy cabin of your Forever Houseboat. But if you’re looking for recommendations, we’ve put together a list of books that we think are perfect for reading on the water.
1. A House-Boat on the River Styx by John Kendrick Bangs
Can you imagine what it would be like if a group of famous historical figures ended up on the same houseboat on a river that runs through the underworld? Written over a century ago, this collection of twelve short stories about such a houseboat is a funny take on what would happen if some of the most well known people and fictional characters of the time were stuck on the same houseboat together. Sir Walter Raleigh, Shakespeare, Confucius, and others play cards and take jabs at one another to pass the time.
2. Offshore by Penelope Fitzgerald
This Booker Prize winning novelist offers a glimpse into the lives of several eccentric characters that live aboard houseboats on the Thames River. The trials and patterns of their lives seem to rise and fall with the tides of the river. If you like short vignettes where the focus is on the characters, you'll enjoy Offshore.
3. My Not So Perfect Life: A Novel by Sophia Kinsella
A New York Times bestseller, this novel is a love story, a tale of drama in the workplace, and an insightfully funny critique on how easy it is to make assumptions based on social media. Katie, the wonderfully written protagonist, is instantly relatable and draws you in right away. Witty and warm-hearted at turns, My Not So Perfect Life is perhaps the quintessential vacation read.
4. Land of Shadows by Rachel Howzell Hall
Set in Los Angeles, Land of Shadows, begins like most police procedural novels, with a death. It looks like a suicide, but Detective Elouise “Lou” Norton is not convinced. This sharply written novel will grab you from page one and keep you engrossed the whole time. And the best part? There are already two other books in the series available (Skies of Ash and Trails of Echoes) with a fourth (City of Saviors) expected out in August 2017.
5. You Are Here: An Owner’s Manual for Dangerous Minds by Jenny Lawson
Technically, this is a coloring book but there is so much more to it. Jenny Lawson’s third New York Times bestseller is filled with inspiration, humor, and yes, pages to color. At times silly and irreverent, this is unlike any other coloring book out there. If you just can’t bring yourself to embrace the coloring book trend, grab a copy of Lawson’s hilarious first book, Let’s Pretend This Never Happened: A Mostly True Memoir instead.
Escape onto the water and into a great story when you bring a book, or two, on your next Forever Houseboat vacation. Ready to make your reservation? Contact us today.
