The Bookworm’s Dilemma
Before I pack for a trip, one of the thornier questions I ponder involves books. Long past the days when I’d lug my satchel of books to the backseat of my parents’ car and read until daylight was gone, I need to consider my reading more thoughtfully. When reading in busy settings (like the pool or at airports), I prefer works that forgive a few interruptions. I also need to think about bulk, since my travel accommodations rarely are spacious. By the time I’m ready to zip my bags, the question of what to read often slides into whether I should bring a book along at all. Will I read this book on my trip?
Travel and Reading
Sometimes, the trips I’ve taken didn’t allow much room for rest and relaxation, let alone reading. Sarah Tinsley discusses the need for respite in our daily lives, referring to an anecdote that concludes our reason for taking pricey vacations is to compensate for the stress caused by our overpacked lives. Yet, we may unintentionally bring this frenetic energy with on holidays. Itineraries, cataloguing sights to see, tend to turn into checklists to complete and leave many travelers feeling as unrested as they were when they left. Whether it’s the notion that vacation time is too precious to waste sitting or the fear of missing opportunities, there can be little time to reflect on whether we enjoyed ourselves. For those who like alone time and a good read, this vacation plan isn’t worth writing home about.
Niches of Quiet
For the avid reader who finds reading restorative, the solution isn’t forgoing a dream vacation. When we book travel, we should look for moments to build in some free time, giving ourselves time to relax, reflect and read with abandon. Driving to destinations, poring over maps, and queuing for tickets genuinely require our attention, but we can also devote a few minutes to find niches of quiet. It’s easy enough to read a few pages before bedtime or spend some time with a book while waiting for a coach tour to begin. If you’re a reader, taking the time to read the book you brought will make your getaway even better.
Happy reading, fellow travelers!
Rita E. Gould: An Artful Sequence of Words 
Too true! I went for the Kindle option this time (although it does upset me not to have a page to flick) and read two books over two weeks. Finding little pockets of time to read is really important. In the past, we’ve planned far too much in a short span and not felt particularly rested, so this time we tried to balance it out so we could have some adventuring and some relaxing. Which is of course where reading comes in!
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I haven’t tried Kindle but it’s tempting even if it lacks the aesthetics of a paper book.
Balance in travel really is key, isn’t it? Getting some down time to read made my travels so much more relaxing.
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