So, following my last post, I received a flood of excellent reading recommendations, which will have me sorted for long journeys for a good while to come.

Thank you to everyone who took the time to write with their suggestions. Since I disabled comments on the site, it can sometimes feel a bit anonymous and one-way; it’s good to have some dialogue again. Maybe I’ll think about re-instating the comments for some posts.

Anyway, on to the suggestions. I thought it might be useful to post the list here, partly so that others can benefit from the cloud-suggestions - if you found yourself reading my original post and thinking “Ooh, I read that too!” then you might find something you like here - and partly so that I don’t lose the list.

Some titles were recommended a few times. Some I’ve seen before and considered, but the recommendation makes me determined to pick them up. Some I’ve never heard of and will investigate. Some I’ve already read (you have good taste!) but I include here in the name of thoroughness.

• The Heart is a Lonely Hunter - Carson McCullers
• I read Me Speak Good English - David Sedaris (I think this may be the North American title - over here it was called Me Talk Pretty One Day and I really enjoyed it!)
• A Short History of Progress - Ronald Wright
• Dark Age Ahead - Jane Jacobs
• The Bookseller of Kabul - Asne Seierstad
• The Fountainhead - Ayn Rand
• Atlas Shrugged - Ayn Rand
• Cat’s Eye - Margaret Atwood
• Not Wanted On The Voyage - Timothy Findley
• The Deptford Trilogy - Robertson Davies
• Beauty - Sheri S. Tepper
• Grass - Sheri S. Tepper
• The Handmaid’s Tale - Margaret Atwood
• The Solitaire Mystery - Jostein Gaarder
• I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings - Maya Angelou
• The Poisonwood Bible - Barbara Kingsolver
• My Sister’s Keeper - Jodi Picoult
• Anything by Janet Evanovich
• Anything by Carl Hiaasen (except the one they based Striptease on)
• Diamond Age - Neal Stephenson
• Paula - Isabel Allende
• Long way round - Ewan McGregor & Charley Boorman
• The two pound tram - William Newton
• Without reservations - Alice Steinbach
• A bike ride - Anne Mustoe
• Surely you’re joking Mr Feynman - Richard Feynman
• Snowcrash - Neal Stephenson
• The Baroque Cycle (Quicksilver/Confusion/The System Of The World) - Neal Stephenson
• The Crow Road/The Business/Espedair Street - Iain Banks
• The Fall and Rise of Reginald Perrin and The Return of Reginald Perrin - David Nobbs
• Timequake - Kurt Vonnegut
• Anything by Kurt Vonnegut
• Pattern Recognition - William Gibson
• Perdido Street Station - China Mieville
• The Scar - China Mieville
• Blink - Malcolm Gladwell
• Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay - Michael Chabon
• What A Carve Up or The Rotter’s Club - Jonathan Coe
• Revolutionary Road - Richard Yates
• Wind-Up Bird Chronicle or Norwegian Wood - Haruki Murakami
• Stone Junction - Jim Dodge
• All Quiet on the Orient Express - Magnus Mills
• The Time Traveller’s Wife - Audrey Niffenegger

My employer will have to send me away on business more frequently, if I’m to get through this list!

I have picked up a couple off this list for the flight today, and I’ll let you know which and my verdict when I return.

In the meantime, I’m off to the airport.

On that note, can I ask how you residents of the DC metropolitan area cope with hot and humid weather coupled with efficient air conditioning inside everywhere? What on earth do you dress for - hot or cold? I feel like I’ve packed way too much, but with two changes of clothing a day (daytime meetings and evening functions) and the prospect of hot/muggy conditions, I’m at a bit of a loss to know how I could cut it down. Hmm…