I have a 7 hour flight coming up in 2 weeks and want something that I won’t be able to put down. The overall mood could be funny, devastating or anything in between but preferably leaves some sort of an emotional impact. In terms of genre I’m not too picky but I don’t typically enjoy sci-fi. My favourite books right now are Beartown, Yellowface, My Dark Vanessa, and If We Were Villains.
by D927xR
27 Comments
The God of the Woods by Liz Moore is the most recent book I couldn’t put down. A few others – Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin. The Hearts Invisible Furies by John Boyne.
11/22/63 by Stephen King! It’s 850 pages. You can get through a lot of it quickly and it keeps you interested
My most recent airplane read was All the Sinners Bleed by SA Cosby. Kept me hooked all the way through! Great Southern Noir/Thriller with a really interesting plotline and atmosphere
Mystic River – Dennis Lehane. Plenty long enough to get you through the flight, still short enough to where you could possibly finish it in one sitting (though more likely it’s something you finish on the flight back).
I put No Country For Old Men down on a five hour flight. Would recommend.
Slow Horses by Mick Herron
The two other Beartown books, if you haven’t read them, or Anxious People. Those are the only Backman books I can speak for but I assume his others would be good picks as well. I’ll Give You the Sun by Jandy Nelson. The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue.
I haven’t read If We Were Villains yet to know if they’re similar but ML Rio’s Graveyard Shift was good! It’s a novella—only 100 something pages—so it might not be enough for the whole flight though. I really liked the spooky and mysterious vibes
Well if you’re flying, might I suggest some of the novels by TJ Newman.
1) Falling
2) Drowning
3) Worst Case Scenario
The first 2 I’ve read and enjoyed. I’m working on her third book now. But really maybe you should enjoy those after your flight.
Alive: The Story of the Andes Survivors, by Piers Paul Read
Island of the missing trees by Elif Shafak
The All Creatures Great and Small series. I read the first book on a plane and was laughing out loud and dabbing at tears.
Try anything by Rose George, Judy Melinek, Caitlin Doughty, or Mary Roach.
“The Gift of Fear” (a very important read) by Gavin De Becker.
“Five days at Memorial: life and death in a storm-ravaged hospital” by Sherri Fink.
Going Zero by Anthony McCarten
The Kaine Preservation Society by John Scalzi
The Impossible Fortress by Jason Rekulak
I haven’t read it yet, but i’ve heard that if you really liked if We Were Villains (which i *did* read and loved) then you should read A Secret History by Donna Tartt
The Midnight Library by Matthew Haig
Annihilation or Piranesi are both perfect length to finish on a 7-hour flight!
Also, they’re both emotionally significant!
Vile Self Portraits by C James Desmond
Anything by Clive Cussler is my goto flight read. Entertaining, fun and doesn’t require lots of deep thinking while reading
Try the Miss Peregrine series, or a Reacher book
Don’t forget to write by Sara Goodman Confino
The Girl with All the Gifts by M.R. Carey. Strange, weird and completely absorbing. I was completely surprised by the ending.
Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver or One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel Garcia Marquez!
Silver Linings Playbook would be perfect
The Skies Belong to Us. About all the skyjackings that happened in the 60s/70s by “revolutionaries”. Very interesting
Fairytale by Stephen King
The Green Mile (also King)
Fire & Blood by GRRM.
Greenwood by Michael Christie
If you enjoyed yellow face maybe try her other books?
The poppy war trilogy should keep you going for a while, and Babel is a long book
They are both fantasy set in the past (poppy war is meant to be in another world but it’s basically just Chinese history with some magic thrown in)