Thursday, October 7, 2010

Vacations are for reading...

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A question much on my mind as I get ready to pack for vacation:When you travel, how many books do you bring with you? Has this changed since the arrival of ebooks?

As far as I am concerned, a vacation is an opportunity to read away from the typical pressures of life, acquire new books at bookstores I've never been to, take a look at the books in the libraries of the b&bs we stay at, and get through my stack of old New Yorker and New York Times Book Reviews to get new ideas for reading I want to do. In fact, a vacation is not a vacation for me if I can't read. On a ten day trip I might take 6 or 7 books with me and I will usually bring even more of them home. Sometimes I have even mailed a box home. And, no, ebooks have not changed this habit of mine, since I don't read books in electronic format. Were it not for my love of reading on vacation, I would be considered a very efficient packer. I generally take only one 25" suitcase and a small carry-on. They are just weighed down with books. So I wouldn't say I'm excatly your model unless you like heavy luggage.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

I reduce a stack of about 10 books to 2 trade paperbacks and Kindle when I fly to Asia. The length of the trip is key to how many hard copies I'm bringing. I almost never use my Kindle when I'm not traveling.

Runs Like A Gay said...

I've never understood holiday readers. Personally I find I read much more when I'm busy at work - as a way of a distraction outside of office hours - then when I have nothing to do - in which case I usually find a more physical activity than reading.