Help me, dear reader. I'm about to head off on holidays and I'm faced with the dreaded question of how many books to pack. It's a long plane trip, so there's at least two, for outbound and return flights. And weeks in between, with time to read. That's half the point of holidays, isn't it? To have time in the day to set aside for reading and not feel guilty because you should be doing something else. There's really not a lot I love more than spending half a day poolside with a good book. Especially if someone is bringing me cocktails and a fresh towel in between dips in the pool.
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But books take up room, so you have to choose wisely. Take books that you don't want to finish, but don't mind leaving behind in hotel rooms, or in airport lounges. Take books that will make that 14-hour stretch fly by in minutes. Take books you look forward to falling asleep with after long days of sight-seeing.
And then there's the whole argument of why even take books at all. Grab the ipad or Kindle and download as many as you want. But I'm a book kind of person. I like the feel of a book in my hand. I love it too that people might see me reading a certain title and think I'm far more interesting than I am, or they might also share a love of thrillers and strike up a conversation. If you're reading on a device, nobody can really tell anything about you.
I love killing time in the airport before a flight, checking out the book selection in those airport stores. Amazed, always, by the wide selection, intrigued by which ones seem to be out on display. There's always a large selection of non-fiction too, I feel. All those harried, yet ambitious business travellers, looking for books with titles such as The Art of Risk, or Dare to Lead or The 48 Laws of Power.
I once took Mark Manson's The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck on holidays and while it did kind of sum up how I was feeling at the time I'd prefer to pack fiction any day.
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Particularly books that are loosely defined as "airport novels". Wikipedia says, "The airport novel represents a literary genre that is defined not so much by its plot or cast of stock characters, but by the social function it serves. Designed to meet the demands of a very specific market, airport novels are superficially engaging while not being necessarily profound, as they are usually written to be more entertaining than philosophically challenging."
Who needs to be philosophically challenged on holidays? Not me.
I should just leave my choice till I get to the actual airport, but I have so many books about the house I haven't had time to get to that it would seem somewhat irresponsible to buy more. Let me know which of these you think I should pack.
I loved Wake, the debut novel from Canberra author Shelley Burr. She's back with Ripper (Hachette, out in September), another small town full of secrets and murders. Love the idea of leaving this one in Hong Kong, taking a little bit of Aussie noir to the world.
I've an advance copy of The Paris Cooking School (by Sophie Beaumont, Ultimo Press, out in November). Because I might be heading that way. About a couple of Australian women at a crossroads, learning to cook the French way in Paris, far away from all their troubles. Might be too close to home?
In a similar vein is Mastering the Art of French Eating (Ann Mah, Penguin, 2013). An oldie I ordered in, a memoir from a diplomat's wife who, when her husband was away on a posting, spent her days seeking out the true stories of French regional dishes, learning a few life truths along the way. Could be fun.
I think Curtis Sittenfeld would be fun to travel with. Her Romantic Comedy (Doubleday) has been on the top of my to-read pile for a while. Colleague Sally Pryor had this to say after she spoke to Sittenfeld in April 2023. "It's just that Romantic Comedy, her latest novel, is exactly what it says in the title - a funny romantic romp. Set behind the scenes of the long-running sketch show Saturday Night Live, it's based on the premise that in real life, funny-but-ordinary-looking guys often end up dating - even marrying - wildly beautiful and famous female celebrities, but the same is rarely true of funny-but-ordinary-looking women." This funny but ordinary looking woman might enjoy it.
But the one I'm really keen to pack is Don Winslow's The Cartel (Arrow Books, 2015). I've become a fan of Winslow's since I interviewed him a while back. James Ellroy calls this the War and Peace of dope-war books. Thrills galore packed into a compact book. Sounds perfect.
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Karen Hardy
I've covered a few things here at The Canberra Times over the years, from sport to education. But now I get to write about the fun stuff - where to eat, what to do, places to go, people to see. Let me know about your favourite things. Email: karen.hardy@canberratimes.com.au
I've covered a few things here at The Canberra Times over the years, from sport to education. But now I get to write about the fun stuff - where to eat, what to do, places to go, people to see. Let me know about your favourite things. Email: karen.hardy@canberratimes.com.au
