On honeymoon reading

As you may know, I’m getting hitched in a few weeks. After the ceremony in New York, we’re going to Anguilla for sun and relaxation... so I’ve been book shopping.

I like a balanced reading diet and would never binge on a single genre; I need meaty classics, chewy biographies, spicy modern fiction, frothy romance, nutty humour and sweet, creamy escapism to sate my palate. So it follows that choosing the perfect holiday selection takes a lot of thought.

Here’s my list so far.


The Amazing Adventures Of Kavalier and Clay is so breathtakingly gorgeous that I want to read everything Michael Chabon’s ever written, starting with Gentlemen Of The Road.


Wedlock: How Georgian Britain’s Worst Husband Met His Match (shame they didn’t just leave the title at Wedlock, huh?) is a clear honeymoon must-read.


I may be the last person in the world to read Stieg Larsson’s The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo trilogy.


Sometimes I crave a big, bold bonkbuster. The Jilly Cooper novels are like sisters to me, so I’m delving back into Judith Krantz with Scruples.


Sharp, clever escapism is rare, so I'm really looking forward to Luxury by Jess Ruston. Unanimously brilliant reviews and she tweets very well, too (@jessruston).


The Fanny Hill by John Cleland blurb boasts of the “copious and explicit physiological details of her carnal adventures”. Bring it on.


I found Hush, Hush by Becca Fitzpatrick through www.goodreads.com. I am a relative neophyte to the paranormal genre, but the Twilight series is seriously fucking good (well, it IS) and by all accounts, this is equally awesome.


I went through an intense Graham Greene phase a few years ago, and I can feel another one coming on, starting with with Our Man In Havana.


David Sedaris is one of the funniest writers ever, ever, ever - so I can't wait to tuck into The Santaland Diaries. (I eke his books out like Easter chocolate.)

And there you have it: my ideal honeymoon reading diet.

If you have any more reading recommendations, please let me know... gemma@gemmaburgess.com

EDIT: Ps. Some lovely Twitter people and readers and friends have emailed some suggestions. So I'm adding the following:
Johnny Be Good by Paige Toone
Miss Mapp by EF Benson (this one sounds particularly delicious and just my sort of thing, but I can't find it to buy anywhere, so if anyone has an old copy they don't want to keep, please let me know...)
One Day by David Nicholls
The Splendour Falls by Rosemary Clemente-Moore
The Master and Margarita by Mikhail Bulgakov
Kleinzeit by Russell Hoban
Letters to a Young Poet by Rilke

Some other suggestions - Evelina by Fanny Burney, The Group by Mary McCarthy and The Portrait Of A Lady by Henry James, Something Borrowed by Emily Giffin, One Fifth Avenue by Candace Bushnell - are wonderful, but I have read them. So thank you and please keep the suggestions coming!

The 'excess baggage' conversation with Foxy will be fun.