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Long journeys

A long journey calls for a book that pulls you in and keeps you there, with short chapters, a strong hook or a world big enough to disappear into. These are easy to start, hard to put down and worth the shelf space in your bag.

Books to start with

  • Murder on the Orient Express

    Agatha Christie

    Poirot investigates a murder on a train stuck in the snow. Perfect to read on one.

  • A Gentleman in Moscow

    Amor Towles

    A count sentenced to house arrest in a grand hotel. Charming, witty and surprisingly moving.

  • The Pillars of the Earth

    Ken Follett

    The building of a cathedral in twelfth-century England. A long, sweeping page-turner that eats whole afternoons.

  • The Night Circus

    Erin Morgenstern

    A black-and-white circus that opens at night, and two young magicians bound in a rivalry. Lush and easy to get lost in.

  • Big Little Lies

    Liane Moriarty

    School-gate gossip, secrets and a trivia night that ends in a death. Sharp, funny and compulsive.

  • The Martian

    Andy Weir

    An astronaut stranded on Mars has to science his way home. Fast, funny and full of problems to solve.

How to choose

Match the book to the trip. Murder on the Orient Express, a 1934 Poirot case set on a snowbound train, is a self-contained puzzle, so it suits a trip where you want a finish line. The Martian is fast and funny, told partly through the stranded astronaut's log entries, with some technical detail. Big Little Lies is a darkly comic page-turner about parents at a school, but it also deals with domestic violence.

For a long haul, The Pillars of the Earth is the biggest commitment here: a sweeping story of twelfth-century England with graphic violence, including sexual violence. A Gentleman in Moscow is unhurried, witty and warm, following a count confined to one hotel across decades. The Night Circus is a dreamy, fairy-tale-like fantasy told from several viewpoints and out of order, so it rewards a reader who doesn't mind drifting.

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