Our recommendations for your holiday reading

Out of the everyday life and into the pleasure of reading: With some holiday reading, you can relax wonderfully, experience an exciting adventure or follow a gripping thriller to the end. On holiday there is finally enough time to make yourself comfortable on the couch, in bed or outside in a deckchair and read. You will find peace and quiet easily - unless your reading brings along pure thrills. From funny to emotional to profound: We present a selection of the best books, which are ideal for taking a break from everyday life!

• Light holiday reading to relax
• Exciting holiday reading for crime literature lovers
• The perfect pastime: Amusing holiday reading
• Challenging holiday reading for your staycation
• Touching holiday reading that hits the heart

Light holiday reading to relax

Do you want to relax during your free time, let go of everyday life and recharge your batteries? Whether in the garden, on the balcony or by the lake, a holiday reading is the ideal way to take your mind off work or other everyday things and make sure you relax. How about an entertaining novel about love? In "Grün ist die Liebe" by Marlies Ferber, however, you won't find the classic love story, but rather a look at love after the happy end. Elisabeth and Robert have been married for over twenty years, the children are out of the house, life takes its usual course. When Elisabeth begins to doubt her marriage and starts a marriage rescue program with the help of her best friend, the story takes off. This light holiday reading promises entertaining hours and a relaxing reading pleasure!

Exciting holiday reading for crime literature lovers

Anyone who enjoys solving tricky criminal cases as part of their holiday reading, wants to immerse themselves in a foreign culture and has plenty of time and patience, will get their money's worth with Keigo Higashino's ingenious thriller "Journey Under the Midnight Sun". The murder of a pawnbroker is only the prelude to a plot line that is virtuously constructed on 720 pages, which spans 20 years in individual episodes and only reveals important information about the two protagonists in well-dosed morsels. The actual highlight, however, is the exotic setting in Japan in the 70s to 90s, which serves as a fascinating backdrop for this classic who-done-it and inevitably draws the reader under its spell. By the way, the hardcover edition comes with a list of the most important characters, so that you won't lose track of Higashino's brilliant plot and can completely indulge in guessing.

The perfect pastime: Amusing holiday reading

Randall Munroe's "What if?" stimulates the laugh muscles and is the perfect holiday reading to sweeten your pastime at home or at your holiday destination. In this paperback, the author devotes himself to ingenious questions and presents the hypothetical answers scientifically. "How many people would cover the calorie requirements of a tyrannosaurus?" is just one example of Munroe's quirky humour, whose answers are accompanied by funny comic strips. A nice side-effect: With this book, you'll get a lot of amusing facts on the side, so that you won't run out of things to talk about at the beach bar!

Challenging holiday reading for your staycation

Maybe you don't spend this summer far away, but you are longing for a little variety and challenging holiday reading at home? With "These Truths", Harvard professor Jill Lepore presents a clearly and elegantly written book in whose pleasant and exciting wealth of details you can immerse yourself. The central theme for the critical examination of America's history is Thomas Jefferson's eponymous statement in his draft of the Declaration of Independence in 1776: "We consider these truths to be sacred and undeniable". Through Lepore's perspective, many things appear in a completely new light, from George Washington to the Watergate scandal to the US war on terrorism. "These Truths" is a recommendation for all those who love books for reflection and discussion. In this book, the history of a world power is brought to life in a way that makes you rethink and question the values of Western culture.

Touching holiday reading that hits the heart

"Dad" by Nora Gantenbrink has everything that makes good holiday reading so worthwhile: literary skill, a gripping plot and highly emotional insights into the background of a touching family history. Throughout her life, Marlene missed her hippie father, who was always drawn to the faraway world in search of freedom and the next adventure. After his early death, which leaves no opportunity for a conciliatory discussion, the protagonist travels with her best friend Oleg to her father's longing destinations, in order to finally come closer to him by walking in his footsteps. This is our secret tip for all travellers who want a melancholic holiday read that hits the heart and gives you goose bumps. We love the kind of books that you don't want to put out of your hand and have to read on until you fall asleep - fortunately, this works wonderfully with a reading lamp. Which holiday reading will accompany you this summer to the lake or in the garden?