A personally-vetted list of plane reads
AKA: the books that have gotten me through WiFi-free long-haul flights
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Until a few years ago, I never got WiFi on planes. They were a time for me to unplug and focus on doing my favorite thing, without any interruptions: reading. Since then, I’ve become a bit of a nervous flier, which is funny, because I grew up landing at this airport (yes, the end of the runway is…a canyon) every year. I think going a few years without flying during covid atrophied the fearless flier muscle a bit, and the constant news cycle about issues with airlines has helped about as much as you can imagine.
Luckily, I quickly developed a routine for the nerves: WiFi, or at least messaging, always, and, for more extreme turbulence, I have a meditation on my phone that is quite literally called “Feel Calm During Turbulence” from this app. I also keep the “jell-o theory” in mind. And, with those tools now firmly in my arsenal, I’ve felt free to read again.
Why am I telling you this? Because I’m about to share a list of all of the books I can remember flying through (pun intended, hehe) on plane rides over the years1. To remind you that: these books are engaging enough to hold the attention of a nervous flier (c’est moi) for the duration of a flight. I promise, you’ll barely even notice the bumps.
When you want something sweet and distracting
I read the entirety of the lovely (and, fair warning: rather sad!) book on a flight years ago, and it still sticks with me. It’s a period piece about Jean Swinney, a journalist at a local newspaper who passes her fairly humdrum existence in a home she shares with her mother. One day, she receives a tip from a woman named Gretchen Tilbury, claiming her daughter was a virgin birth. When Jean accidentally falls in love with Gretchen’s husband, her world becomes more complicated than she could’ve imagined.
If you liked: Late in the Day (Tessa Hadley); Nothing to See Here (Kevin Wilson); Swimming Lessons (Claire Fuller)
Erotic Stories for Punjabi Widows
I LOVED this book, which I read on that same flight where I read Small Pleasures (it’s bothering me that I can’t remember where I was going). ESFPW is about a Londoner named Nikki, who starts teaching a short story workshop at the community center.
Turns out, the only people enrolled are a group of Sikh widows, who thought they had signed up for an English literacy course, which naturally evolves into an erotic writing course after one of the widows finds a “sexy book of short stories” and brings it into the class for translation.
As the women develop their creative voices, their chief concern becomes protecting their work from a conservative group of men who frequent the center—and when some of the work gets leaked, it threatens to upend everything Nikki has helped them build.
It’s a funny, heartwarming page-turner—I loved every minute.
Next on my list in this vein: The Secret Lives of Church Ladies
Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine
I read Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine on a trip where I promptly developed the worst food poisoning of my entire life and I still have positive associations with it. That should tell you something! I wouldn’t have stuck with this book if I hadn’t been traveling with someone who had warned me Eleanor seemed insufferable in the beginning, but became endearing. I’d venture a guess that many of you have read this, but for those who haven’t: Eleanor struggles with social skills and is obsessively controlling over every minute of her life. Until one day, when she picks an old man up off the street after a bad fall, with the help of her office IT guy, Raymond, and the two of them strike up a friendship that changes Eleanor’s once-fixed outlook on life.
If these had a happy ending: The New Me (Halle Butler), My Year of Rest and Relaxation (Otessa Mosfegh)
If you liked: Small Pleasures (Clare Chambers)
I read this on a flight to Paris, because I am nothing if not a cliché! A Moveable Feast is Hemingway’s most accessible work, about his times in Paris as a young writer not yet on the cusp of fame. Lit lovers will delight at the mentions of James Joyce, Zelda and Scott Fitzgerald, and a number of the other intellectual luminaries that populated Paris cafés during that time.
For fans of: Midnight in Paris
When you feel like being impressed with yourself (aka ‘long-ass books’)
I read this on a 9-hour flight (for some reason, I find 9-hour journeys even more brutal than 13 hour trips) and loved every minute. The Nix is one of those books I feel like I can recommend to anyone—and it’s pretty much always a hit. It’s a VERY funny, very long story about a man named Samuel, reunited with his estranged mother after she’s been accused of committing a crime. It’s an ambitious book that takes readers from the social activist movements of the 1960s to the present day (it came out around 2016), to Norway, and beyond. It’s a clear-eyed and hilarious study of generational differences and familial relationships.
If you like: The Royal Tenenbaums (even though I didn’t 🫣)
Must be honest here: I read The Bone Clocks in 2015, because I was out of books coming home from Spain via Zurich and it was the only one in English in the airport bookstore. Science fiction is so far from up my alley, I had no idea what to expect. And yet! According to the 2015 review I wrote (yes, I’ve been chugging along at this for a while), I found it quite engaging. My 22-year-old self knocked it from a “4.5 down to a 3.5 for a bad ending,” but enthusiastically noted that Mitchell’s Cloud Atlas would be next on the list as a result. A decade later, I still haven’t picked it up. Perhaps for my flight tomorrow?
I’ve reviewed this one before, right here (an underrated letter, if I do say so myself).
By way of a quick recap:
In Extremis, Lindsey Hilsum - In Extremis is a biography of Marie Colvin, a glamorous war correspondent who died on assignment in Syria in 2012. A woman in the male-dominated field of war correspondence, instead of bemoaning her feminine wiles, she used them to her advantage. While passionate and successful (she had one eye for most of her career after losing the other reporting), she never let her career become her personality—she grew up deep-water racing sailboats, loved champagne, had a wicked sense of humor, and was the life of any party. It was a fascinating book about the type of fascinating life most of us will never (and, frankly, don’t want to) live. I loved this book so much. Read it!
If you liked: Red Notice (Bill Browder); A Promised Land (Barack Obama)
When you feel like being impressed with yourself and also crying (aka ‘the sad ones’)
I think I’ve cried in public twice, ever, and two of those times were on planes, because of this book, and the recommendation that follows it. A Stanford PhD candidate named Gifty is studying depression and addiction, attempting to wrestle with her brother’s death from an overdose after being prescribed Oxy for a sports injury and her mother’s suicidal tendencies. As she dives deeper into the world of science, paradoxically, she finds herself called back to her childhood faith. It’s a story of family, duality, and memory. Very sad! But very good!
If you liked: Demon Copperhead (Barbara Kingsolver)
We’ve all heard of it, we’ve likely also been told to hate it, but the reality is: I loved it when I read it and I’d be remiss not to recommend it here. Since this book clocks in at 700+ pages, it unfortunately is the type that takes about 100 pages to get in, but, once you do, it’s well worth it. It’s the story of a group of friends living on Lispenard Street in Tribeca in the 2000s; how they got there, where they came from, how it shaped them, and where they’re going. I’m a sucker for any “portrait of friendship” type novels, so obviously, I adored it. But yes: violent, sad, and perhaps excessively so in both cases, so tread carefully.
If you liked: The Heart’s Invisible Furies (John Boyne); Never Let Me Go (Kazuo Ishiguro)
When you want to laugh
Another one I’ve previously recapped, in another (not feeling particularly humble today, thanks for asking) great letter.
Queenie follows the eponymous Queenie Jenkins, a twenty-something trying to navigate her life in London in the midst of a breakup and an unpleasant career situation. Queenie seeks solace for her pain in the arms of men, receives a healthy dose of tough love from her Jamaican grandparents, and generally stumbles towards her self-worth in a way that will feel all-too-familiar to anyone who’s ever been 25 and certain that there’s more out there, while not entirely sure what more means. It’s resonant, sweet, and laugh-out-loud funny. Carty-Williams is a true talent, and I think a show came out in the UK? Have not yet seen!
If you liked: the rec below!
I wrote about Blob recently. A quick synopsis from that letter, with some final thoughts in bold :
Vi Liu is having a bad year. She’s failed out of her college biology program, despises the day job she’s taken at a local hotel, and has just been dumped by her beloved boyfriend of two years. When she encounters an amorphous “blob” outside of a bar on a rare night out, she takes it home. She’s shocked when it begins growing according to her command; she shows it pictures of the most handsome men she can find and, in no time, she’s built herself an Adonis she calls Bob, who relies on her to teach him how to be human.2 Aesthetically, Bob appears perfect. Personality-wise, he’s open and kind. Dig a bit deeper, though, and the cracks begin to appear (take, for an example, a scene where Bob has to play the newlywed game and grins his way through getting every single answer about his fiancée-to-be wrong). As Bob moves from “perfectly malleable man” to “autonomous person with his own set of opinions and emotions,” Vi struggles to accept him—until her life falls apart as a result. It’s a lighthearted look into the importance of individuality, accountability, and acceptance.
If you liked: Queenie
Do you guys remember when we declared last summer “Dumb Jock Summer?”
Well, I DO, and I’m devastated to report that this summer has…not been that. It’s been, like, a “Mare of Easttown summer.” Something gritty, misty, and foreboding…anyways, let’s not dwell on THAT and reminisce instead!
Last summer was also, obviously, “brat summer.” And so, I did as everyone else did, and read the book Brat:
And then there was Brat, the book by Gabriel Smith. So many cool media people hyped up this book that I was almost certain they were all friends with him and that it would be absolutely terrible. But when I bought it at Brick Lane in London (I’d risk an overstuffed suitcase for a UK cover any day), the bookseller also readily sang its praises. And I read it in a single afternoon. IT IS THAT GOOD. We really are having a Brat summer.
Why did I love Brat (the book—haven’t listened to all of the album yet, but I have liked what I’ve heard) so much? Well, first of all, it was fucking hilarious. Laugh out loud funny. In a very irreverent way. But also? Because it was easy to read. The font is big and the writing is simple (but good. but simple).
Brat the book is about a guy named Gabriel who moves into his parents’ house to help clear it out in the wake of his father’s death. The story takes on a surrealist dimension when Gabriel begins finding manuscripts in the attic that appear to change every time he picks them up, and as his skin starts shedding, he worries that he’s gotten himself into something far bigger than he can handle. It is a BIZARRE book, but, like I said above: laugh-out-loud funny. I promise it’ll keep you distracted and engaged even if the flight attendants are being strict about the seatbelt sign and you have to pee.
When you want to kickstart the ‘beach read’ vibe
I’ll keep this one short and sweet, but know this: I read Divergent in 2013 while sandwiched between two large older men (both sweating through their suits) on a 13-hour flight from Johannesburg to New York. If you’re looking to really lock in, this is your ticket. It’s a fantasy novel about a girl named Beatrice living in a dystopian version of Chicago (sure), where everyone in the world is divided into factions: Erudite (the smarties); Dauntless (the bold ones); Amity (peacekeepers); Abnegation (Mother Theresa vibes); Candor (brutal honesty).
When you turn sixteen, you need to select a faction—and the one Beatrice joins surprises her and everyone who knows her, throwing her life into an entirely new gear. It’s packed with plot twists, action, and romance; a perfect long-haul pick. I haven’t done any “romantasy,” but writing about this is making me think ACOTAR or Fourth Wing might be a good pick for my next loooong long flight. Thoughts?
If you liked: The Hunger Games
Guys, I have to be honest, I read this one when I was like, 14, on a flight to Greece, alongside Everyone Worth Knowing. I have no idea how they’d hit today, but I do know that Candace Bushnell, Sophie Kinsella, and Lauren Weisberger are my First Triumvirate (literally the only snatches of middle school academic memory I have are from my Latin class, so shoutout to my Latin teacher Mr. Kearney), and anything they read is going to be FUN.
Both books are about fabulous single (or unhappily married) women trying to reconcile their love for their high-powered career with their desire for love. Obsessed with the fact that they resonated with my 14-year-old self (or maybe I was just too young to have any money for WiFi). Still: transportive enough books that I finished them on the flight over!
If you liked: Confessions of a Shopaholic (Sophie Kinsella) or Crazy Rich Asians2 (Kevin Kwan) Which you did. Right? RIGHT?
I don’t listen to audiobooks (not out of any sense of superiority, I simply don’t want to pay for Audible), but I did listen to this before canceling my free trial (on the aforementioned Eleanor Oliphant trip, come to think of it). It’s the story of Anna Delvey from the perspective of one of the women she scammed. As juicy and high-rolling as it sounds. I almost wish I’d read it!
For fans of: Three Women, Educated (or maybe these are completely unrelated, but I just read them all in the same year, LOL)). Anyways, both excellent as well!
I just recapped this one for books and looks in March. My thoughts now remain as they were then:
It’s a multi-generational saga about the wealthy Yang family at the people in their orbit. It begins in 2040 and works backwards to 2014, weaving its way through Paris, Boston, and Shanghai, with each character covering a different time period. It begins with Leo, followed by his three daughters, his wife, and their childhood nanny. It’s cleverly done and (as I mentioned above) mildly absorbing, but I was bothered by the fact that a number of plot threads were simply…unaddressed by the end of the book. There are no repeated perspectives, so there are very few neat conclusions. Not ideal for perfectionists who want their endings tied up in a bow, but an enjoyable read nonetheless.
Perhaps I’d revise to take back the “mildly,” because this did keep me company on a flight from Jackson, Wyoming to Denver, and then Denver to New York. No small feat!
I read this on a 2023 flight to London, and wrote a (rather long) recap on my blog back then, so I’ll just share a few snippets here:
Ann Stillwell, physically plain, mentally a polyglot with a predilection for art history and the Middle Ages, is more than ready to leave Walla Walla, Washington, the town she grew up in and attended college (Whitman) in post-graduation, especially in the wake of her beloved father’s death. Eager for a fresh start and (relatively) undaunted by her lack of acceptance to any graduate program, she heads to the Met for a summer fellowship, where her well-connected advisor has put in a word. Upon arrival, there’s some sort of SNAFU - the person she was meant to train under has gone to Italy for a residency, and she no longer has a place. Until approximately four minutes into this conversation, when a charismatic, attractive forty-something man named Patrick walks into the office where she’s getting rejected and insists she come work for him at The Cloisters, the Met’s Washington Heights sister museum that houses Medieval art and architecture, where he’s studying divination and tarot.
Ann is taken by The Cloisters which looks like a Medieval monastery, down to the well-tended herb gardens replete with Medievally ubiquitous herbs now widely acknowledged as poisonous.
As is evident from the opening lines of the book: “death always visited me in August. A slow and delicious month, turned into something brutal. The change, quick as a card trick,” things go from terribly enchanting to terribly wrong in the matter of one evening. From there, things unravel quickly, as Ann continues to discover some uncomfortable truths about other mysterious things that have happened in connection with the people in her orbit - and has to discern whether or not she feels safe from the same fate.
Honestly, The Cloisters punches above its weight. Highly recommend!
LAST BUT NOT LEAST (anyone else getting tired and hungry, or is that just me?) I read this on a 2024 flight home from London, having picked it up in Brick Lane Bookshop (previously mentioned in this newsletter as the spot I snagged Brat, too). As I wrote last year:
“Read it on the flight home. Loved it (reminded me of Naoise Dolan’s Exciting Times x Caroline O’Donoghue’s The Rachel Incident).”
Evenings & Weekends is one of those books that perfectly encapsulates the occasional heaviness that arrives alongside summer’s oppressive heat. It’s set over a single weekend in London during a heatwave and follows the interconnected lives of three of the city’s residents. It’s an homage to the city, to the messiness of youth, and so much more. Like The Cloisters, it’s one of those books that packs a stronger punch than expected when you first pick it up.
That’s all for today! I hope this help you get through whatever plane rides you’re taking, this summer and beyond. Safe travels!
Most are from the past five years, but I threw one or two in from the 2010s—you’ll likely know which
Also read this on a plane, and it is a PERFECT PLANE READ, I just didn’t have time to write about it. (I could wax poetic about the movie adaptation for hours).
Love this...on a trip and need a read-going to sample a bunch on my kindle and go from there!! so many choices!!
Amazing recs Sophie thx - especially appreciate the “if you liked…” Am going to dig into A Little Life for the 3rd time based on your post - going to
get past page 100 this time! 😉