Suggested "Italy-Themed" Reading Material

Two favorites: "Love & War in the Appenines" and "A Small Place in Tuscany" by Eric Newby. The former is his story as an escaped POW (he was British), and the latter about a house he adn his wife purchased and fixed up in a remote area of Tuscany. Also loved "Imperium" by Robert Harris, and the Donna Leon mysteries set in Venice.

I second the Eric Newby books and recommend all of Annie Hawes' books (in order), David Hume's books, Tim Parks' books, Isabella Dusi's books, Marlena de Blasi's books, "As the Romans Do" by Alan Epstein, "The Stone Boudoir" by Theresa Maggio, and "The City of Falling Angels" by John Berendt.

Oh yes, the Marlena de Blasi books are excellent! Good bits of Italian language included, not to mention food!

If you are into mysteries, David Hewson has a series of books that are very interested. I have read The Sacred Cut and The Garden of Evil, although not realizing they went in order I read them out of order.
They take place in Rome and mention things like "the crowded Bus 64" and other places and things that only people who have or will go to Rome can truly appreciate. Not exactly for the faint of heart though.

Just now had a friend recommend the website InItaly.com. Click on "Italy at Your Home," and the first choice that comes up is "The Internet's Largest Collection of Books about Italy." I know I'll be going back there to check it out!

If you are interested in Venice, I recommend Donna Leon's mystery novels...very authentic descriptions of locations, food,etc. It's as if you are in Venice...

I read and really enjoyed "Roma, the Novel of Ancient Rome" and "Empire, the Novel of Imperial Rome" by Steven Saylor. Definitely historical fiction but easy, interesting and engrossing (and somewhat gross at times!) to read. I just finished his "Roman Blood" mystery and thought it was good, too. Can you tell our upcoming trip will include a stay in Rome? ;)

Colleen McCullough has some 5 or 6 great long books about the Roman empire- read them in sequence if you can- great entertainment. I wish there were more. Just read the new bio "Livia, Empress of Rome" by Mathison- factual and not too dry.
BTW, Laurie, I've read eveything by Saylor including the one about the serial servant girl murders in Austin TX. Currently reading 'Empire' and wondering if I read it last year when it came out- the beauty of library books ( not my mind, LOL)! Thats a plus one recommendation of his Roman series.

The Agony and the Ecstasy, by Irving Stone. A biographical novel about Michelangelo. Stone even learned stone carving in Italy before he wrote the book. After I read it, I had a much greater appreciation for Michelangelo's work and sculpture in general. Almost all of Michelangelo's extant works are on display in Italy, as well as many of those that influenced and inspired him. At the back of the book, there's even a list of all his works and their current location.

I very much enjoy Andrea Camilleri's Inspector Montalbano books, set in Sicily, as they are slowly translated & published in English. Michael Dibdin's Aurelio Zen series is also great. I have read all of Donna Leon's too, but enjoy Camilleri and Dibdin more. Interesting to note that so many of these books incorporate food, as an intergral element of the settings...

I really enjoyed Incontinent on the Continent, by Jane Christmas. Really funny true story of Jane's attempt to bond with her elderly mother on a trip to Italy. PS Monique -- I work at a library and more and more of the collection is ebooks, and we even circulate eReaders. No conflict of interest, it is the way of the Library future.

We like the mystery series by Iain Pears: all art-history related and almost all set in Italy. They are very entertaining. Also I just finished "No Vulgar Hotel" about Venice, written by Judith Martin (aka Miss Manners). Plus all the ex-pat books--Frances Mayes, Michael Tucker, and many others.

@Andrea: it's so funny you say that because when my sister saw how awesome the e-Reader was, she actually downloaded an e-Reader app to her iPhone :-)

I'm a HUGE reader, but you're going to kill me for saying this...the best/most fun I've seen regarding Italy is the HBO series ROME. There were only two seasons of it and it was the most expensive set ever built for a tv show. They filmed it right outside of Rome. My brother-in-law was a history major and he's the one who recommended these to us as pre-Italy pre-work. Also, Melissa from Texas is dead-on with her reco for reading any of Colleen McCullough's books on the line of the Julei. I think she's a prof at Harvard and the story goes she did 12 years of reasearch before she wrote the first word. My husband has read all of her books years ago. I started the one called "The Women of Caesar" and put it down 30 pages in as it read like a Harlequin romance. It turns out that it was all true. I was shocked! Best of luck!

For those traveling with kids, "Rome with Kids" by JM Pasquesi is really good. Lots of tips on sights as well as restaurants and places to stay, with scavenger hunt-type tips for kids on nearly every page. This book isn't written for kids, but mine have enjoyed looking through it themselves, too. They love the story about the mouth of truth. Naturally, we also have the RS Italy book for 2011! And although the reading level for The Magic Tree House series is too low for my older daughter yet too high for my younger, I bought a few books in this series that are related to Italy and they love them. If you are headed to Florence, "Monday with a Mad Genius" is about Leonardo da Vinci and there is a hundred-page plus research guide - called a "non-fiction companion"- to go with it. (My husband enjoyed reading that, too.) If you are headed to Pompeii, try "Vacation Under the Volcano" and that research guide, "Ancient Rome and Pompeii." Looking online later, I saw that there is also one about Venice, "Carnival at Candlelight." We're going to get this one, too, though there's no Venice-related research guide.

For a sports fan, check out John Grisham's "Playing For Pizza"

Italy books I enjoyed: The Monster of Florence, Angels and Demons, A Room with a View, & The Agony and the Ecstasy.

One book I enjoyed immensely was Hemmingway's "Across the River and Into the Trees". Takes place in Venice after the first world war (Hemmingway fought in this area during the war so he knows a lot about it). Aside from being a great story, it really paints a great picture of what Venice was like before it became a tourist mecca. It's a fantastic read for anyone who has spent a lot of time in Venice.

Watermark by Joseph Brodsky.... takes place in Venice in winter...hard to find but once I ordered it from Barnes & Nobel was there in about a week. (great for anyone who has been to Venice during the cold months or who has been to Carnivale)