Classics of literature! What books do you have at your Airbnb?

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Laura2592
Level 10
Frederick, MD

Classics of literature! What books do you have at your Airbnb?

We have a mini library at our Airbnb and are always looking for new titles to add.

 

Right now we have a lot of classics of literature for both adults and kids.  We have some horror/Stephen King type stuff, accounts from Navy Seals, black history, trashy bodice ripper romance novels,  quirky looks at history or economics (Tipping Point, Freakonomics) etc.

I would say the most popular books are the box set of "Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark" which I invariably find pulled out.

 

What books do you have or recommend for your listing (if you have any...)

1 Best Answer
Robin4
Level 10
Mount Barker, Australia

@Laura2592 

Hoping you are still looking in on us Laura!

 

I have a library of about 650 books, most of which I would classify as 'classics of literature' covering just about all genre's from popular authors like........

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John Grisham......The testament.

Wilbur Smith......Rage, A Time to Die, River God, Eagle in the Sky, The Seventh Scroll, Shout at the Devil.

Leon Uris...... QB V11 (Queens Bench 7), Exodus, The Haj, Trinity.

Tom Clancy......A Clear and Present Danger.

Geoffrey Archer.......First Among Equals, A Matter of Honour.

Alistair Macclean.....When Eight bells Toll, Force 10 from Navarone, HMS Ulysses, Fear is the Key.

JR Tolkien........Lords of the Rings, The Hobbit, The Two Towers.

Sydney Sheldon........The Best Laid Plans, Nothing Lasts Forever.

C. S.  Forester........The African Queen.

Colleen McCullough.......Thorn Birds

Cornelius Ryan.......A Bridge Too Far.

Frank Hardy.......Power Without Glory. (A great book for Australians)

 

And many others I won't mention here but I do rotate them regularly. I keep around 300 books and periodicals in the guest cottage at any given time.

 

Biographical and Autobiographical works like.........

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Michael Cane.........What's it All About.

Jane Fonda........My Life so Far.

Robert Lacey.....Majesty.

Barack Obama......Dreams from my Father.

Kathrine Hepburn........Stories of My Life.

Tim Ferguson.......Carry a Big Stick.

 

And of course I have a selection of classics like........

 

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Harper Lee.....To Kill a Mockingbird.

Margaret Mitchell......Gone With The Wind.

Morton Thompson.....The Cry and The Covenant.

Alex Haley.......Roots.

George Orwell......Coming Up for Air, Animal Farm, 1984.

 

And various other notables.

 

I have a good selection of old reference books dating back to 1867 including.....

 

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J Arthur Thomson......An Outline to Science

 

And some absolute classics from the 1870's like these......

 

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The problem with a library of old books is.....they smell musty, and this is something I do have to point out to incoming guests. The cottage is not full of mold.....it's full of old books, and when guests see all the wonderful titles they soon forgive the smell!

 

I am also lucky in that I have only ever lost two books to a guest, and would you believe, that guest was a church minister! He said he would return them.....but never did!

 

As @Ann72  says, books make the listing, you are baring your soul to the world and everywhere you go in our house you will find......books.

 

If it was worth writing we probably have it here!

 

Cheers..........Rob.

 

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18 Replies 18
Ann72
Level 10
New York, NY

@Laura2592  The scary stories book sounds perfect for your house!

 

I've worked in the book business for 40 years, so like all my friends in the biz I have too many books 🙂   There's everything from classic crime fiction to literary fiction to children's books to humor, history, and art.  I like collections of short stories so I have Hemingway, Fitzgerald, Raymond Carver, Chekhov, Katherine Mansfield, and contemporary writers.  As Anthony Powell said, "Books do furnish a room."  Essential!

 

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@Ann72 Now that is a library!

Mark116
Level 10
Jersey City, NJ

@Laura2592  We have some coffee table books, Italy, Rolling Stones, American Junk, another art book and couple others that are in the living room.  Then we  have a collection of basically our cast offs, both hard cover and paper back, so some horror, mysteries and other odds & ends that are in the side table drawers of both bedrooms. 

Mark116
Level 10
Jersey City, NJ

As a traveler, I love places with lots of books, vacation is a great time to read the classic(s) you never got around to or read something you typically don't buy yourself whatever genre that might be.  But, I'm pretty sure no one ever reads any of the books in the listing. 

Cheryl464
Level 4
Clearwater, Canada

Here in rural British Columbia visitors seem to like local history and wilderness adventures. Any suggestions would be appreciated. 

Cheryl
Ann72
Level 10
New York, NY

@Cheryl464  The first author I thought of for your library was Canadian Farley Mowat, author of NEVER CRY WOLF and about 50 other books; then I would recommend RING OF BRIGHT WATER (about otters), Gerald Durrell's MY FAMILY AND OTHER ANIMALS, INTO THE WILD, MY SIDE OF THE MOUNTAIN, A WALK IN THE WOODS, ALIVE, and THE PERFECT STORM.

 

@Laura2592  If you're looking for more classics, many publishers do uniform editions and they're so pretty I always want to own them all.  Check these out from Penguin/Random House:

 

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Thanks for your suggestions. I’ll read some of those myself. I especially enjoy stories about women conquering the wilderness, kayaking, hiking and generally living alone in nature. So do some of my guests which strangely enough are mainly single women. 

Cheryl

@Cheryl464  Have you ever read "The Survival of Jan Little" by John Mann?  It's an unforgettable and incredible account of a deaf and blind woman who survived alone for months in the Amazon jungle after her husband and daughter died. 

@Cheryl464  Oh, then how about ADA BLACKJACK?  And I love two memoirs by women with grit - THE ROAD FROM COORAIN by Jill Ker Conway and DON'T LET'S GO TO THE DOGS TONIGHT by Alexandra Fuller.

Sarah977
Level 10
Sayulita, Mexico

@Laura2592  As a home-share host, I don't have books in the Airbnb room aside from local travel books. But guests are shown my bookshelf in the living room and told to avail themselves of anything they like. I have a shelf with books that they can take with them with them if they haven't finished before they leave, and a shelf of those they can read while here, but stay in my collection.

 

I find that guests like books of short stories, as they are easy to pick up and put down and don't have a long list of characters you have to keep straight when you're chilling on vacation. Most of my guests gravitate towards the good literature, but many also go for the thrillers, which are usually fast reads. Funny books are also popular.

And a lot of guests will leave me the books of theirs they brought that they finished while here.

 

As I don't offer TV or streaming services, I tend to get guests who are readers.

Fred13
Level 10
Placencia, Belize

@Laura2592 One of the biggest things with our (island) guests is reading, so we do have developed a solid collection; favorite subjects - mystery (Baldacci, Lee Childs, Patterson, etc) and historical 'Age of Sail' type of adventure books, including the classics (Stevenson, C.F Forester, Patrick O'Brian, etc.)

Ian-And-Anne-Marie0
Level 10
Kendal, United Kingdom

@Laura2592 

We have some ‘Classics’ in our library. I just snatched a few here.. I hear lots of laughter and fun coming through the walls, but I’m not sure whether it’s down to the books or some of the games we provide.

 

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Sarah977
Level 10
Sayulita, Mexico

@Ian-And-Anne-Marie0  Oh, I'd love to read the "Crap Holidays". I'll bet it's quite entertaining. (Could also make guests realize how good they have it at your place, and refrain from nit-picky complaints). I had a vacation from hell once, too. They can be funny in retrospect, but certainly not while they're happening.

@Sarah977 

There's about 5 of those "Crap Holidays" books as well as a collection of "Crap Towns" and we have a few taking the Mickey out of British holidays too.. So funny. And there's a whole collection of 'Ladybird' books which children use here in the UK to learn to read, except this collection has taken the easy reading concept and taken on subjects like " Men, and the importance of the shed", "How do Housewife's work?", " The Ladybird book of dating". All so funny. We find them strewn around the house and in all different bedrooms!