Vacation Reading? Or not. . .

I've been out of town a lot the last few weeks, weekend trips to see family and Vegas for a wedding (sadly not my own). You'd think I'd get a lot of reading done but it's pretty hard to read a novel while driving. If I could, I would, but I feel the safety of the other people on the road, plus my desire to live to see another day, trumps my need to read.

Books on tape? Good option but unfortunately they aren't for me me. They put me to sleep. Really. I've tried but they make me soooo sleepy. Again, being awake is good for the health of myself and others when I'm behind the wheel. I'm better off singing along (badly) to 80's pop songs. And Broadway musicals.

What about flying? Yes! I can read while on an airplane! I flew to Vegas but those short flights are so distracting. You go up, you go down and I have to be alert, in case the pilot misses the runway or something. I am easily distracted and find that I have to be well into a book if I'm going to take it on an airplane. It's rare for me to be able to start a new book because of all the distractions. I did pretty well reading on the way home but not so much on the way there.

What about in the hotel? Sure! I can read when hanging out in my hotel room, not a problem. If I have time. Funny thing was I never seemed to have the time this trip. I finished one book and started another but that was in short bursts here and there. It seemed like every time I'd get settled in to read, I'd get called by one family member or another to go do something. Plus it was Vegas! I can't sit in my room the whole time.

Speaking of Vegas, I don't think they sell books there. There was a nice shopping center right next door and there wasn't a bookstore in sight. I guess the casinos don't want us reading when we could be wasting our money in those terrible slot machines (I want my $40 back). Stupid machines. The Star Wars machine? Totally didn't recognize my loyalty. If it had, surely it wouldn't have taken my money so quickly.

My point? As much care as I put into selecting books for vacation, it's pretty much a waste of time. Unless I'm on a cruise, I'm not going to have time to read. Anyone else have trouble reading on vacation?

Books to Cruise On

I just skulked around Borders during my lunch break. I hate doing it then but sometimes it's the best I can do. I just always feel rushed. I usually only go if I have a goal, which I did, but I still like to have more time. Anyway, I bought three new books which I obviously don't need, but wanted.

My question today is what books should I bring on my cruise? I'm leaving in a couple of weeks and I need around five books to keep me happy. I'll probably end up with more but I think I read 5 books on my last cruise and this one is more port intensive. I won't have as much time to read.

At one point I was thinking The Historian would be good because it's long, but I heard that it's hard to get started with. I really want to bring The Host but I don't want to lug around a hardcover. I could go the easy route and bring the next Stephanie Plum book (I think I'm up to 5) or the next Women's Murder Club book. I probably will because I know those are easy to get into. Take a look at my list over on the right. Do you see any books that would be perfect cruise reads? If so, let me know. I need help!