My honeymoon reading recommendation posts (Part 1 and Part 2) are still my post popular to date, so I thought it was time to publish a new list of great books to read during your honeymoon (or any other vacation).

Books! Books! Books!

As always, I consulted with a group of friends who have great taste in books and cross-referenced their recommendations with my own recent reading list. The following is the list that we came up with, in no particular order. Enjoy!

It’s been nearly six months since my last post about books to read on your honeymoon (and it is one of the most popular posts to date!), so I thought it was about time to write a follow-up.

Remember, you’ll generally want to stay away from the dark and heavy stuff when it comes to reading material during your honeymoon so you don’t bum yourself out in paradise.  Below are some books I’ve enjoyed recently that are honeymoon-approved:

– Where’d You Go, Bernadette? by Maria Semple (don’t let the silly cover art fool you, this book is great.  I couldn’t put it down during my Panama trip.  See below.)

Cold drink + great book = yes, please

– Beautiful Ruins by Jess Walter (especially good for those of you planning honeymoons in Italy!)

– This Is Where I Leave You: A Novel by Jonathan Tropper (although seemingly not the best subjects for a honeymoon – the main character’s marriage just fell apart and his father passed away – it’s a really funny book about a dysfunctional family.)

– How to Be a Woman by Caitlin Moran (when gay men like Dan Savage recommend a feminist memoir, you know it’s going to be good.)

– The Last Girlfriend on Earth: And Other Love Stories by Simon Rich (also recommended by Dan Savage, this is an absolutely hilarious collection of short stories about relationships.  I can’t wait to re-read it.)

And if you’re looking for something to “put you in the mood,” here are some other books that a good friend of mine and “self-proclaimed trashy romance connoisseur” recommends*:

– On Dublin Street by Samantha Young
– Easy by Tammara Webber
– The Sea of Tranquility by Katja Millay
– Ten Tiny Breaths by K.A. Tucker
– Beauty from Pain by Georgia Cates

What books would you recommend for honeymoon reading?  Feel free to leave a comment and let me know what you’ve enjoyed recently.

_____________________

* I can’t vouch for any of those books.  (Seriously.)

Believe it or not, your honeymoon is not the time to bust out tearjerker books such as Never Let Me Go, The Road, or Little Bee.  It’s also not necessarily the best time to tackle notoriously challenging books like Infinite Jest or Gravity’s Rainbow.  In her recent Tahitian honeymoon blog post, my very wise friend Alix made an excellent point that I also want to emphasize: you’ve got to keep the reading selection during your honeymoon light.

The library at the Hon Tam Resort in Nha Trang, Vietnam

I recently polled a small group of friends to ask them what they read during their honeymoons, and the feedback was almost entirely unanimous:

1) Everyone likes funny books, especially comedic memoirs:

– Bossypants by Tina Fey (the audiobook, too, is truly amazing)

– Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me? (And Other Concerns) by Mindy Kaling

– Anything by Chelsea Handler

2) Book series are so hot right now:

– The Hunger Games Trilogy by Suzanne Collins (although one friend mentioned that she would get so caught up in the books that wouldn’t want to put them down, which brings up a smart point that if you don’t want to turn your honeymoon into a reading marathon, you should bring along books that are good, but not THAT good.)

– The Harry Potter Series by J.K. Rowling (these books are pretty clunky, so it’s probably best to load them on an e-reader)

– The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo Trilogy by Stieg Larsson (a good story, yes, but definitely not the lightest/happiest subject matter)

3) “Romance novels” can help put you in the mood:

– The 50 Shades of Grey  Trilogy by E L James (Oh my!  Barf.  I couldn’t even get through book two, but it sounds like all of my friends were equally curious about these books)

And I can’t personally vouch for any of the following, but the following books were highly recommended by a self-proclaimed trashy romance connoisseur: