Favorite book to read on a dive trip...

[JohnnyH]

This has been a better-than-anticipated thread as there are quite a few authors mentioned that I don't know about.

(shameless plug following) If course, for a great action / adventure that's hard to put down (perfect for those boring plane rides) there's none better than Out Of Hell's Kitchen...

I'll compile a list of results and post back to this thread

Thanks,
John

 

[Wayward Son]

For recreation I leave technical & factual historical, biographical, etc on the shelf. Reading for fun is generally some form of fiction for me. Mostly science fiction but also some fantasty, horror/suspense & such.

Huge Heinlein fan, I can always take one of his books, from his earliest works to his last, & reread it fro fun. Some King, Kuntz. Orscon Scott Card, most any of the old masters, Asimov, Clark, Niven, Pournelle, Turtledove & so forth. I like the Harry Potter books.

Sometimes I'm just not in the mood to tackle something new. Rereading a book I haven't read it a long while lets me relax & enjoy it without having to work at it, so I'll pick something that fits that goal.

 

[RussR]

Try David Sedaris - Hilarious.

 

[kelpmermaid]

Oddly enough, the day before heading off to the Big Island, I picked up a copy of Michener's "Hawaii" at a used book fair. It was good find for the trip. In an airport in Australia, I picked up a copy of "Suppose I Die..." or I think that was the title --- I guess I like local color.

 

[ycyc1999]

I am a new diver and just came back from a Fiji trip. This book has been a wonderful companion - at times it is personal and emotional, others informative and thought-provoking. Amazon has it both new and used.

 

[JohnnyH]

As promised, here's a list of titles people have presented so far, which I know I'll use to add to my reading list...

Out Of Hell's Kitchen (John H Hanzl) - Action / Adventure of incomparable quality...
Richard Sharpe series (Bernard Cornwell) - Napoleanic Wars series
"Running With Scissors" and "Dry" (Augusten Burroughs)
Aubrey / Maturin series (Patrick O'Brian)
Sick Puppy (Carl Hiaasen)
A Confederacy Of Dunces (John Kennedy Toole)
Fluke (Christopher Moore) - It's hilarious
Sir Harry Flashman series of books (George MacDonald Frasier) - the flashman series is hilarious!
Travis McGee series (John D. MacDonald's) - extremely diverting, and fascinating on several levels.
Term Limits (Vince Flynn) - political/Espionage
Underwater Rodeo (Eugene Chicchinelli) - very rare, very good
Shadow Divers (Robert Kurson)
The Swarm (Frank Schatzing) - about the discovery of an intelligent species called the 'yer'
Riddle of the Compass (Amir D. Aczel)
Two Years Before the Mast (Richard Henry Dana) - A personal narrative of life at sea.
Shibumi (Trevanian)
Life of Pi (Yann Martel) - quoting The New Yorker, “An impassioned defense of zoo’s, a death-defying trans-pacific sea adventure a la Kon-Tiki, and hilarious”.
(Anything by author Keith Douglass)
(Anything by author David Sedaris)
Hawaii (James A. Michener)
Neutral Buoyancy: Adventures in a Liquid World (Tim Ecott) - This book has been a wonderful companion - at times it is personal and emotional, others informative and thought-provoking.

 

[_Bella_]

I read the Swarm on my last trip. Cripes what a long book.
Life of Pi is a favorite of mine. I've read it 4 times and listen to it endlessly in audio.
Bill Brysons travel writing is always good for a laugh.
I've read A walk through the woods, In a Sunburned Country, and A Short History of Nearly Everything several times each.
For quirky silly fiction I like John Irving. Water Method Man, A Widow for One Year, A Prayer for Owen Meany, The Cider House Rules, and the World According to Garp are a few I have on the shelf.
Terry Pratchet books are hilarious and excellent, and usually a very quick read.
The last couple of trips I've also picked up a couple of girly books which aren't all bad. These aren't going to win literature prizes, but they are a fun, silly way to pass away time during surface intervals. I've read all of the Shopaholic series by Sophie Kinsella.