Could you recommend a novel that will keep my nervous mind off my flight?

I’m headed to South America in a few days, and I want to take a few books for the plane that will keep me engaged. I’m a bit of a nervous flier. I don’t freak out, but I get pretty tense. Usually I rely on dvds to help me forget that I’m flying over an ocean, but on this trip I’ll be without my laptop. Ugh.

I need something in paperback, and nothing scary or Dan Brown, Janet Evanovich-esque, please.

Any suggestions?