I hate packing. I procrastinate to the last minute, mentally making lists all the while. It’s not the clothes that are the problem — pack black is my motto. It’s all the other “necessities” ‘like the meds, make-up, hair products, iPod, cell phone charger, ticket, chocolate. At least I’m not lugging the laptop; my hosts have assured me of Internet access.
Now for the reading material. Because I have not yet decided if I’m an e-reader, I’ll take paperbacks. Four are recent purchases off my TBR list: The Tourist by Olen Steinhauer, The Piano Teacher by Janice Y.K. Lee, Beat the Reaper by Josh Bazell and Mathilda Savitch by Victor Lodato. After all, I’m going to be gone almost an entire week. And what if I’m stranded on the runway for hours?
Finally, I’m going in search of one of my well-worn “traveling” mass-market paperbacks that I can read over and over: Alan Furst’s Night Soldiers, Barbara Vine’s A Dark-Adapted Eye, or John le Carre’s Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy.
Oh, and a blank notebook in case I decide to write a new novel.
See you next week when I’ll be posting on Lee Smith’s lovely collection of short stories, new mysteries by Cornelia Reid and Martha Grimes, a couple of memoirs, a few YAs and whatever else strikes my fancy. Oh, that reminds me. I bought a used “traveling” paperback of Lee Smith’s first novel, Fancy Strut. Wonder where I put it?
On a Clear Day I Can Read Forever 