I was thinking about the books I've come across in guest rooms over the years (at rental properties, an out-of-town friend's place, etc.). Not books I was planning to read, but that I found myself enjoying.
Here are my most memorable:
"The Good Earth" by Pearl S. Buck – A classic that I'd certainly heard of but never read before. I found a battered copy on a bookshelf in the common area at a B and B. Spent all day glued to it when a storm blew in. Fantastic!
"Dissolution", "Dark Fire" and "Sovereign" (first three books of The Shardlake Series) by C.J. Sansom. I was at a rental property with a loft stacked to the rafters with books (!). Found this series (Tudor England/mystery) and devoured three in a row (they're not short).
"Memoires d'un Tricheur" by Sacha Guitry. I found this while staying at a hotel in Paris and read it (very, very slowly) in the original French. The more I read, the more my rusty French came back to me which was very satisfying – and it was a good book!
What strikes me is how much I enjoyed each of these books – despite the fact that I hadn't planned on reading them, in some cases hadn't even heard of them, and they weren't necessarily the sort of thing I'd choose. It makes me wonder how much of that enjoyment is due to the vacation factor… On the other hand, maybe there was something about being forced out of my usual reading comfort zone that was a good thing…?
I'd like to know: has anyone else come across a "guest room read" or two that surprised you?
by KarinAdams