I’m leaving in 1 month minus 2 days for vacation (hurrah!), which means one thing: what books to bring?
Packing books for vacation is more important than shoes. Because while you can figure out which shoes will go with which outfits, which determines whether they’ll make the cut, books are trickier. Because you almost have to start to read the book to ensure it’s going to hold your attention, just so that you don’t bring it only to get 10 pages in and be bored. Then it’s just dead weight in your carry-on. Especially if you bought the hardcover.
Which means you can’t just pick up a few books at the last minute, because then you won’t have time to do the pre-read.
This week I started my shopping and pre-read.
I wasn’t sure how I felt about Sophie Kinsella’s latest. I love her, but when Twenties Girl came out, I skimmed the first page in the bookstore and wasn’t captivated. But then Natasha, the host of The Buddha Lounge, where I tape a show every few weeks, said that she loved it. And that it was as good as any of Kinsella’s others. And on the last major trip I took I bought Remember Me? in the airport bookshop because I’d run out of books to read, and it’s now one of my favourite books ever. So I took Natasha’s advice and picked up Twenties Girl.
I’m going away for 15 days, and 5 of those will be spent in the middle of nowhere, in the desert. On a safari. Lounging by the pool. I figure I need 2 more books to ensure I don’t run out. I’m thinking one non-fiction and another fiction.
Any suggestions?
Two books I’d pack for a get-a-way would be Tolstoy Lied by Rachel Kadish, which might be a bit tricky to find, but is a lovely story. I’m also digging Pasha Malla’s Trillium Award-winning book The Withdrawal Method – short stories are always a good time
Heaven is Small by Emily Schultz. A neat concept for a book and not a difficult or long read. A great summer or vacation read! Plus, bonus, its by a Canadian author.
Chan
I just read The Big Rewind: A Memoir Brought To You By Pop Culture. Nathan Rabin from AV Club and The Onion wrote it. The references were great and he tell his life story in it. Pretty good read.
Sig