For Crying Out Loud! Jeremy Clarkson’s Book Tops a Poll of The Hottest Holiday Reads of All Time

LONDON - Forget the murder, mystery and romance, Jeremy Clarkson’s book has topped a poll of Britons’ favourite beach reads of all time. The outspoken Top Gear presenter’s book For Crying Out Loud has been voted as the number one beach read of all time beating off competition from blockbusters including Dan Brown’s Da Vinci Code and classics such as Jane Austen’s Pride & Prejudice. More than 7,000 Britons voted for their favourite beach read in an online poll compiled by Teletext Holidays and Penguin. Chick lit queen Marian Keyes came in at number two with her bestselling paperback This Charming Man followed by modern classic The Beach by Alex Garland, which was turned into a movie starring Leonardo DiCaprio.

“Books and the beach go hand in hand so we wanted to find out what makes the perfect pageturner for the sun-lounger. The list has thrown up a few surprises - we never though Jeremy Clarkson would come out on top. But his book had an overwhelming response and definitely got the male vote. Female readers opted for a varied mix of comedy, murder, classics and feel-good romance which proves that people have different ideas about what they pack in their suitcase,” said Victoria Sanders, Teletext Holidays’ managing director. “

The top 30 beach reads of all time are: 1. For Crying Out Loud - Jeremy Clarkson 2. This Charming Man - Marian Keyes 3. The Beach - Alex Garland 4. The Beach House - Jane Green 5. Pride and Prejudice - Jane Austen 6. The Memory Keeper’s Daughter - Kim Edwards 7. The Lighthouse - PD James 8. High Fidelity - Nick Hornby 9 Getting Rid of Matthew - Jane Fallon 10. A Short History of Tractors in Ukranian - Marina Lewycka 11. The Island - Victoria Hislop 12. The Time Traveller’s Wife - Audrey Niffenegger 13. Twilight - Stephanie Meyer 14. The Secret History - Donna Tartt 15. Gypsy - Lesley Pearse 16. Devil May Care - Sebastian Faulks 17. PS I Love You - Cecilia Aherne 18. Nineteen Eighty-Four - George Orwell 19. Love in the Time of Cholera - Gabriel García Márquez 20. On the Road - Jack Kerouac 21. Breakfast at Tiffany’s - Truman Capote 22. The Da Vinci Code - Dan Brown 23. White Teeth - Zadie Smith 24. Perfume - Patrick Suskind 25. Until its Over - Nicci French 26. Captain Corelli’s Mandolin, Louis de Bernieres 27. The Rotters Club - Jonathan Coe 28. Company of Liars - Karen Maitland 29. Lolita - Vladimir Nobokov 30. The Believers - Zoe Heller

For the full list and more author favourites visit www.teletextholidays.co.uk/penguin

Source: Teletext Ltd

For further information contact: Teletext Holidays: Rachel O’Reilly tel: +44(0)7866-427870, email: rachel at rorcomms.co.uk; Angela Pert or Anthony Chenery tel: +44(0)208-323-5000, email: anthonyc at teletext.co.uk