One of the relaxing things many of us like to do when on vacation is to read. You may want to finally read a certain classic, or maybe start that recently published biography of a person who intrigues you. Most people, however, opt for lighter reads while on a short vacation. So here’s a list of some light reading suggestions you can enjoy on your Eid break.
Hello Beautiful
By Ann Napolitano
William Waters grew up in a house silenced by tragedy. His parents could hardly bear to look at him, much less love him. Later in college, he meets Julia Padavano, who has a family completely unlike his own. William is embraced in the loving, chaotic Padavano home. Hello, Beautiful is a gorgeous, chaotic, profoundly moving portrait of what’s possible when we choose to love someone, not despite, but because of, who he is.
The Unhoneymooners
By Christina Lauren
The Unhoneymooners is very much our beloved early Y2K romcom in book form. Sister of the bride, Olive, and best man, Ethan, are forced to spend the day of a wedding together even though they are sworn enemies. The entire wedding party gets food poisoning from eating bad shellfish, except for Olive and Ethan, and now there’s an all-expenses-paid honeymoon in Hawaii up for grabs. Putting their hatred aside for the sake of a free vacation, they head for paradise together, and things start to get interesting.
Love and Other Words
By Christina Lauren
Love and Other Words is a story about Macy and Elliot who grow from friends to much more. We are taken back and forth between then and now, as we watch them spend weekends and lazy summers together in Elliot’s house, devouring books and talking about their growing pains and triumphs. Although their memories are obscured by past agonies, they work through them and get to understand each other and fall back in love.
Funny You Should Ask
By Elissa Sussman
Not your typical love story, Funny You Should Ask is about a writer, Chani, who was hired to write a profile about a famous movie star and her celebrity crush, Gabe Parker. Alternating between their first meeting and their reunion a decade later, the novel is deliciously irresistible and will have you hanging on until the last word.
Before We Were Strangers
By Renée Carlino
If stories about first loves, second chances, and friends to lovers intrigue you, you’ll love this book. The story goes back and forth, in the past and present, of Matt and Grace’s love story. They fall in love in college, then go their separate ways after graduation, only to meet and reconnect fifteen years later. Romance lovers will be hooked to this emotional and captivating love story.
Kohl We Habbahan
By Omar Taher
This book challenges you to look at life differently through fun short stories about a regular man living in Egypt. The author tells his life story starting and covers love, loneliness, marriage, friendships, and even failure and success, all while comparing feelings to scents, especially of food.
Hekayet Farah (Farah’s Story)
By Ezz Eldin Shokry Feshir
This is a unique read that gets you hooked from the first chapter. The book perfectly portrays a woman’s perspective even though it’s written by a man. While the central figure is Farah, through her story, we also get to meet Zeina and other women from different generations and learn about the different experiences they go through.
Kundalini
By Mirna El Helbawi
Inspired by her passion for travelling and discovering the world, the author takes us on a journey about love and yoga, leading to spiritual enlightenment and profound transformation. In the process, she touches on critical social issues like sexual harassment, male-child preference, patriarchy, and religious extremism.
Akher Ayam November (Last Days of November)
By Tamer Abdo Amin
Akher Ayam November (Last Days of November) is a collection of interesting, nonfictional stories about the author’s life. Clearly a very talkative person, Amin shares some relatable and intriguing situations that have happened to him during November over several years.
La Beta’am El Flamenco (No With Flamenco Flavour)
By Dr. Mohamed Taha
A new take on self-help books, La Beta’am El Flamenco (No With Flamenco Flavour) takes you through what change really is, the steps of change, the struggles we go through with the change, and how we should deal with change, all explained with the help of Flamenco dancing. The book challenges you to look your personality in the face, and to rethink the decisions you’ve taken and may consider taking in your life.