We've all been there: cramped in the middle seat, ears throbbing from the air pressure and bored out of our minds as we wait to arrive at our holiday destination.

When there's nothing to do, it's most people's first instinct to reach for their phone. However, factors like WiFi and charging ports can make using technology while in the air difficult. It's therefore unsurprising that many view the plane journey as the worst part of going on holiday.

But this doesn't have to be the case! It's time to remember that other forms of entertainment exist. For example―books.

Here are six recommendations of short reads that will keep you busy during your plane ride.

1. Days at the Morisaki Bookshop, Satoshi Yagisawa

Genre: Literary Fiction

This book is the epitome of warm comfort. It's the perfect read for someone who dislikes flying as it's sure to keep you distracted and soothed while in the air.

What is it about?

When Takako's boyfriend tells her that he intends to marry someone else, Takako finds herself desperate for escape—desperate enough that she decides to accept her uncle Satoru's offer to live in a room above his small second-hand bookshop in Jimbocho.

Despite her initial reluctance and dislike of books, Takako soon discovers the transformative effect literature, human connection, and love can have on a person.

“No matter where you go, or how many books you read, you still know nothing, you haven't seen anything. And that's life. We live our lives trying to find our way."

Take the Quiz: Which Literary Fiction Should You Read Next?

Jump into the world of literary fiction with the one of these novels based on your existing favourites.

2. The Six Deaths of the Saint, Alix E. Harrow

Genre: Fantasy

Spanning just thirty pages, you'll have finished this book by the end of your journey. The Six Deaths of the Saint is a jewel-sized chunk of fantasy that doesn't contain a dull page or even a dull paragraph. Emotive, gripping, and heartbreaking in equal measure, it's ideal for someone who likes fantasy but isn't in the mood to labor over a four-hundred-page tome.

What is it about?

The book follows a young servant girl whose life is spared by the Saint of War so she can serve as a prince's prized warrior. As the girl grows stronger and the prince becomes more powerful, so does the looming sense that she will never be able to escape the cycle of fighting and warfare that she has been thrust into.

“You grew strong over those years, and fast, until your body was no longer something you wore but something you wielded, and Lord, what a weapon it became.”

3. And Then There Were None, Agatha Christie

Genre: Fantasy

This book will have you at the edge of your seat (apologies will perhaps need to be issued to your neighbors if you're in the middle). Don't be put off by the fact that the book was written in 1939; it's just as enjoyable to read now as it was back then. It's a mystery book particularly perfect for fans of the second Knives Out film, Glass Onion.

What is it about?

Ten strangers are invited to the private island of a millionaire who they've never met. However, when they arrive, their host is nowhere to be found. Upon one of the group being murdered, and the discovery that each guest is nursing a terrible secret, it doesn’t take long for things to start spiraling out of control.

“There was something magical about an island—the mere word suggested fantasy. You lost touch with the world—an island was a world of its own. A world, perhaps, from which you might never return.”

4. The Centre, Ayesha Manazir Siddiqi

Genre: Thriller

A unique, fizzling book that is as shocking as it is engaging. It's a book that will make your journey fly by (apologies for the pun).

What is it about?

When struggling translator Anisa Ellahi is told by her boyfriend about the Centre, an organization that enables people to learn any language in ten days, she's unable to resist joining.

However, it doesn't take long for Anisa to realize that the Centre may not be the Eden she originally thought it to be. As she learns more about the Centre, she begins to wonder whether its benefits are truly worth its costs.

“Someone told me then—I can’t remember who, probably Naima—that although our bodies travel by plane, the soul still makes its way on foot.”

5. Normal People, Sally Rooney

Genre: Literary Fiction

A book about complicated relationships, confusing love, and endless miscommunications.

What is it about?

Connell and Marianne have grown up in the same small town in Ireland. By all appearances, the pair couldn’t be more different—Connell is popular where Marrianne is lonely, Marrianne is blatantly clever while Connell hides his intelligence—and yet they can’t seem to stay away from each other.

The novel follows their intertwining lives from school into college and adulthood. As the pair increasingly develop into themselves the question of whether their lives will always be interlinked, or whether they will eventually go their separate ways, grows ever larger.

“Most people go through their whole lives, without ever really feeling that close with anyone.”

6. Northanger Abbey, Jane Austen

Genre: Classic

Why not use your spare few hours to read a classic? You’ll leave the plane delighted by both your impending holiday and your expanded brain.

Pop culture fixates so much on works like Pride and Prejudice and Emma, that Austen's Northanger Abbey has been unfairly swept into the shadows. However, it's more than worth a read.

What is it about?

The story follows Catherine Morland, a young woman who is besotted with Gothic thrillers. While on a visit to Bath with her aunt and uncle, she is delighted when a friend invites her to stay at her estate. Catherine swiftly discovers that the mansion is filled with a prospective love interest, turbulent friendships, and a potential mystery.

“If adventures will not befall a young lady in her own village, she must seek them abroad.”

If any of these books strike your fancy, be sure to download them on your Kindle or buy a hard copy to have with you on your plane journey. All of these books are less than 350 pages, making them perfect, snappy reads to immerse you while flying.

Who knows? Maybe these books will have you looking forward to future flying and the reading time it offers!