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Jul
17
BTT: Vacation Book Buying
2008 at 9am Posted by Rebecca Joines Schinsky
Today’s prompt is: Do you buy books while on vacation/holiday? Do you have favorite bookstores that you only get to visit while away on a trip? What/Where are they?
I usually don’t buy many books while I’m on vacation; I stock up ahead of time. When I’m planning a trip, I think about the environment and the mood and try to select books from my TBR list that will fit in with the overall experience. For instance, I took Love in the Time of Cholera and A Sport and a Pastime, among others, on my honeymoon and was very happy with the ways those choices fit the romantic, mellow vibe of lying on the beach for a week in paradise. I tend to overpack when it comes to books because I hate to get stuck without one. In our honeymoon pictures, you can see huge stacks of books on both of the bedside tables in our suite.
This fear of being caught without a good book to read comes from an experience I had in the Kansas City airport several years ago. I had just finished a great visit with my family and was flying back to Chicago, where I went to college. There was bad weather in KC and Chicago, so my flight kept getting delayed, and I ended up finishing the only book I had packed for the short trip back. Not wanting to resort to buying magazines (this was before I discovered the wonder that is The New Yorker), I wandered into one of the airport quickie-marts to check out my options. The KC airport isn’t nearly large enough to warrant having an actual bookstore, so the snack stands have an *interesting* selection of mass-market paperbacks and second-rate chick lit. I wound up with a horrible piece of rubbish entitled Eliot’s Banana. Let’s just say there’s a good reason I just saw it online for $1.79. Ugh. Now, when I travel, no matter how short the flight is supposed to be, I pack at least 2 books in my carry-on and, depending on the length of my trip, an assortment of other TBRs in my checked luggage, and I’m happy to report that I haven’t had to read any awkward scenes involving self-pleasuring with bananas since. The thought of this book still makes me cringe.
I do have a few favorite bookstores that I visit when I’m on vacation. Bookman’s Alley, which I described in last week’s post, always gets a visit when I’m in Chicago, and when I visit my family in KC, I try to make a trip to the B & N at the Country Club Plaza. It is four levels of gorgeous mahogany and that perfect bookstore smell, and I have many good memories of time spent there.
No related posts.
Yes, indeed, it’s critical to never be caught short of books. I had to overnight at someone’s house unexpectedly a few years back and since I was bored, checked out their bookshelves for something to pass the time. Eeep! Bad Robert Ludlum books, bad Freddie Forsythe…I think I finally made do with an old PEOPLE magazine.
Won’t find myself in THAT position again any time soon…
Sounds like Eliot and his banana might be overpriced even at $1.79!
I loved your comment about being able to see the stack of books in your honeymoon photos! People teased me about how many books I was bringing on our honeymoon, but when my husband got sick for a couple of days, they sure came in handy!
I’m happy to report that I haven’t had to read any awkward scenes involving self-pleasuring with bananas since. The thought of this book still makes me cringe.
You’re kidding, right? Please tell me you are kidding about that being in ANY book whatsoever!
Wait, didn’t The Gargoyle have the banana peel thing? *shudders*
Ewwwwwww! Makes me laugh at the thought of it though.
LOL! Thanks for the warning on Eliot’s Banana. Yikes!
the b&n you mention reminded me of this fabulous bookstore i went to in atlanta once- i don’t remember the name- but it was sort of like that, huge, multilevel, lots of stuff, wonderful coffee smell from their cafe-
oh- to answer your question- i don’t have any literary plans for Vegas, I was more talking about San Fran!
I don’t think of Vegas as a literary place, but I’m seeing a friend who lives there so maybe she knows a good spot- I’ll have to find out! 
You must pack for vacations like me – forget about having extra socks or underwear, just make sure you’ve got enough good books in case of emergency!
Eliot’s Banana? Wow…
I would rather bring my own book than take a chance with what a airport store has in stock. :p
I “stock up” as well. I usually bring 2 or 3 books on a single overnight trip so you can imagine how I’d feel about a longer one.
[...] like this are hard to find on TV today, and characters like Cousin Andy (who could probably teach Eliot a thing or two about self-pleasuring and bananas) don’t come around often [...]
[...] an airport and won’t have enough reading material. (Read about my airport reading disaster here) Now, I take the book I’m reading and 2-3 extras in my carry-on bag, so if I finish the one [...]