The Hideaway Library
A Reading List for Slow Mornings and Quiet Evenings
One of the small luxuries of time away is finally having space to read properly again. A slow morning with coffee, an afternoon in the sun, or a long evening with a glass of wine often becomes the perfect moment to open a book. Over time we’ve started to gather together a collection of books that feel particularly suited to a stay at The Hideaway — thoughtful novels, fascinating non-fiction and a few great adventure stories for those drawn to the sea.
Fiction
1. The Remains of the Day — Kazuo Ishiguro
A beautifully restrained story of duty, memory and quiet regret.
2. Amsterdam — Ian McEwan
A sharp and intelligent novel about ambition, morality and friendship.
3. Human Traces — Sebastian Faulks
A sweeping novel exploring the early history of psychiatry and the mystery of the human mind.
4. Shantaram — Gregory David Roberts
An immersive and epic novel set in Mumbai blending adventure, crime and philosophy.
5. The Secret History — Donna Tartt
A group of brilliant university students discover that intellectual arrogance can lead somewhere very dark.
6. The Old Man and the Sea — Ernest Hemingway
Short, elegant and timeless — a meditation on endurance and dignity.
7. The Corrections — Jonathan Franzen
A deeply human portrait of family, ambition and modern life.
8. The English Patient — Michael Ondaatje
A lyrical wartime story of love, identity and memory.
9. A Gentleman in Moscow — Amor Towles
An elegant novel about a Russian aristocrat placed under house arrest in a grand Moscow hotel.
10. Cloud Atlas — David Mitchell
An ambitious novel connecting multiple stories across centuries.
11. The Goldfinch — Donna Tartt
A powerful novel about art, loss and survival.
12. The Night Manager — John le Carré
A gripping and atmospheric espionage thriller.
13. On Chesil Beach — Ian McEwan
A subtle and deeply emotional novel about love and misunderstanding.
14. Charlotte Gray— Sebastian Faulks
A moving wartime story set in occupied France.
15. The Talented Mr Ripley — Patricia Highsmith
A brilliantly unsettling psychological thriller.
16. The Road — Cormac McCarthy
A stark and haunting story of survival and love.
17. Captain Corelli’s Mandolin — Louis de Bernières
A sweeping and romantic story set in wartime Greece.
18. The Shadow of the Wind — Carlos Ruiz Zafón
A wonderfully atmospheric literary mystery set in Barcelona.
19. The Quiet American — Graham Greene
A beautifully written political drama set in Vietnam.
20. The Beach — Alex Garland
A cult classic about the search for paradise and the consequences of finding it.
Non-Fiction
21. The Tipping Point — Malcolm Gladwell
A fascinating look at how ideas and social trends suddenly spread.
22. Blink — Malcolm Gladwell
How our brains make rapid decisions without conscious thought.
23. Sapiens — Yuval Noah Harari
A sweeping history of humanity.
24. Factfulness — Hans Rosling
A refreshing and optimistic perspective on global progress.
25. Thinking, Fast and Slow — Daniel Kahneman
A brilliant exploration of how the human mind makes decisions.
26. Barbarian Days — William Finnegan
A beautifully written memoir about surfing and travel.
27. Into the Wild — Jon Krakauer
The remarkable true story of a young man seeking freedom in the wilderness.
28. The Power of Habit — Charles Duhigg
An engaging look at how habits shape our lives.
29. Outliers — Malcolm Gladwell
Why success is often the product of circumstance as much as talent.
30. Meditations — Marcus Aurelius
The timeless reflections of a Roman emperor.
31. The Snow Leopard — Peter Matthiessen
A philosophical travel memoir set in the Himalayas.
32. A Short History of Nearly Everything — Bill Bryson
An entertaining and accessible journey through science.
33. Longitude — Dava Sobel
The remarkable story of the invention that changed navigation.
34. Endurance — Alfred Lansing
The astonishing survival story of Shackleton’s Antarctic expedition.
35. The Wright Brothers — David McCullough
A compelling biography of the pioneers of flight.
36. Shoe Dog — Phil Knight
The story behind the creation of Nike.
37. The Psychology of Money — Morgan Housel
A thoughtful exploration of how people think about money and risk.
38. Into Thin Air — Jon Krakauer
A gripping account of the Everest disaster of 1996.
39. The Silk Roads — Peter Frankopan
A new perspective on world history through trade and connection.
40. A Year in Provence — Peter Mayle
A charming memoir about life in the south of France.
Sea Adventure & Exploration
41. Kon-Tiki — Thor Heyerdahl
The extraordinary voyage across the Pacific on a wooden raft.
42. The Perfect Storm — Sebastian Junger
A gripping account of the storm that destroyed the fishing boat Andrea Gail.
43. Maiden — Tracy Edwards
The inspiring story of the first all-female crew to compete in the Whitbread Round the World Race.
44. Sailing Alone Around the World — Joshua Slocum
The classic account of the first solo circumnavigation.
45. The Black Swan — Nassim Nicholas Taleb
A fascinating exploration of rare events and uncertainty.
46. Prisoners of Geography — Tim Marshall
How geography continues to shape global politics.
47. The Almanack of Naval Ravikant — Eric Jorgenson
A thoughtful collection of ideas on wealth, decision-making and living well.
A Growing Hideaway Bookshelf
The hope is that over time The Hideaway Library becomes something guests enjoy contributing to as well — discovering a great book during their stay, or perhaps leaving behind a favourite for the next visitor.
After all, few things feel more appropriate on holiday than a good book, a comfortable chair, and the time to read slowly.