I don’t go on a lot of trips, but when I do, I’m a pretty laid back vacationer. I’m not the kind of person that needs to plan out every second of every day. (That totally stresses me out and defeats the purpose of a vacation, in my very humble opinion.) I’m more of a “let’s do something fun and then go relax at the hotel for a couple hours” kind of person.
That means that I get a lot of reading time, and honestly, I wouldn’t have it any other way.
When I went to Scotland two years ago, I took a pile of books with me. People would’ve thought I was crazy. I’m sure some people might have said some things like, “Is this girl going on a vacation or is she starting her own library?” But hey, it’s okay. Let them talk!
The trip to Scotland was one of my favorite vacations ever, but you know what? The hotel that promised wifi only had wifi in the lobby. Which was in a separate building about five minutes from our room. Even then, access was spotty as hundreds of businessmen hurriedly attempted to check their email and Skype their bosses at the same time. (I tagged along to my boyfriend’s work conference.)
And you want to know why this didn’t bother me? BECAUSE I BROUGHT A WHOLE STACK OF BOOKS WITH ME, THAT’S WHY. I blew through all of my books before I even got to the airport for my flight home. (And the flight was cancelled, so I found even more reading time in the endless hours of waiting to be rerouted home.) But that was okay, too, because I brought my Nook as a backup.
So when somebody says to me that I should leave my books at home, I’ll always politely decline. But then we get to the question of which books to bring.
That’s where the trouble starts.
💙 Do I bring a whole series that I’ve been meaning to read? But what if I’m not really into it?
💙 Do I bring one or two really long books? But then won’t I just be tempted to stay inside and not do anything?
💙 Do I bring a bunch of short, fluffy books? But what happens when I want something with a little more substance?
💙 Do I bring my entire library with me? Just kidding, the plane wouldn’t even be able to take off.
What I usually end up doing is bringing a variety of books that I’ve picked at random (plus my Kindle). I’ve always got a few ARCs with me, but I’ll throw in a book that’s been hanging out on my TBR for ages. A cute romantic comedy. Maybe some dystopian fantasy. A book that’s sure to rip my heart out and leave me in tears. A wide variety for any mood that I could possibly be in. And then, of course, my Kindle, which holds at least a hundred books that I’ll get to eventually.
What books do you take on vacation? Do you have some kind of plan in place, or do you throw in whatever looks good?
The Bibliophagist 