Pages

Monday, March 17, 2014

Stockpiling Books for Vacation - SOL, March 17

While some folks might be out tonight, drinking green beer or eating their fill of corn beef and cabbage, I have chosen a slightly different way to celebrate St. Patrick's Day this year -- I am gathering and stockpiling the books I would like to read next week on vacation.

This weekend, I heard Donalyn Miller ask if anyone in the crowd has ever thought about, or actually did, take clothing items out of a suitcase to pack more books. I had to chuckle to myself as I thought about what I would be doing Monday night.  I am starting my packing tonight with the books, and then will move on to clothes later in the week.

Thank heavens books are more portable now, so the space my books are taking while packing the car doesn't need to be a disagreement.  You would have to believe after almost 29 years of marriage, my husband would understand the importance I place on traveling with books.  Actually, I'm delighted that he is looking forward to getting lost in quite a few books during our time away.  He reads so many technical texts on a daily basis, he plans to escape in his reading over vacation.

So, knowing that I am gathering reading materials for both of us, I have stockpiled books from a variety of sources:

  • After hearing many new, wonderful titles from Donalyn this weekend at MRA, I went on an Amazon shopping spree tonight, and there will be many brand new books arriving on my doorstep in the next few days.  The three that I am really excited about are Under the Egg, Boys of Blur, and The Riverman.
  • Then, I added even more books after reading Betsy Birds' early Newbery predictions.
  • I texted a friend to borrow a copy of a brand new book, Hope is a Ferris Wheel.
  • I loaded several books on my Kindle.  The Headmaster's Wife by Thomas Christopher Greene, Killer by Jonathan Kellerman, Panic by Lauren Oliver, Still Life with Bread Crumbs by Anna Quindlen, and Missing You by Harlan Coben (showing up on my Kindle in the morning) are just a few of my selections.
The initial books are ready.  But there is always room for more books, so feel free to chime in with suggestions of books you think I need to take with me! :)

Happy St. Patrick's Day!!  Luck 'o the Irish to you all.  Head on over to Two Writing Teachers blog to read the rest of today's Slices.

8 comments:

  1. Wonderful! I headed to the library on Saturday and checked out a great stack, too. One I grabbed was Flora and Ulysses!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Looks like you will be very busy, book busy anyway, over spring break. If you haven't read Cynthia Lord's Half a Chance, add that to the pile!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Too funny! When "we" came home from the World Literacy Congress in Edinburgh ten years ago, I re-distributed my books across the luggage of all three of us in order to avoid extra baggage fees! Not a word from husband and son who were tagging along on the trip!

    ReplyDelete
  4. You and I spent our evenings very similarly. Can't wait for my box to arrive. I ordered Hope is Like a Ferris Wheel, Loki's Wolves, Mysterious Patterns, A Hundred Horses, Josephine, Searching for Sarah Rector and I think that's it. :) Such fun!

    ReplyDelete
  5. I hope you have lots of reading time on your break, Karen. What a good list of books you've chosen! As for new ones, the book Bird by Crystal Chan is being so well reviewed. I have it, but still haven't read it. Have a good rest of the week getting ready!

    ReplyDelete
  6. Oh boy...I can see a visit to Amazon in my future. Lots of new titles here, so I'm going to go check them out right now. :)

    ReplyDelete
  7. Oh, here is where my money will be going in the next couple of days. Oh, the joy of wanting to read so many books! Love, love, love it!

    ReplyDelete
  8. Great titles. I'm becoming better friends with my Kindle app on my ipad. I still LOVE actual books, and I'll probably always love them the best, but the Kindle app just makes reading anywhere I go so convenient. Thanks for sharing!

    ReplyDelete