Choose wisely

Some of us spend an immense amount of time deciding what clothes to bring on a beach vacation.  Some of us even spend an immense amount of time lying under a tanning bed to be already tanned for the vacation that was supposed to get you tanned.   And then there are some of us who spend an immense amount of time deciding what book to bring.  Can you guess which person I am?  

Yes, it is true, I am going away to visit water.  Lovely, warm waters with dolphins  jumping in them and beers magically appearing as soon as you sit in a lounge chair...this is my dream.  Dune girl is still Dune Mommy and has Dune Son with her so there will be less beer lounging and more beach chasing than anything but I digress.  Choosing the book to accompany one on a vacation is rather an important decision.  You will be stuck with this narration in your head the entire time that you are away.  There is the chance that you might arrive at the waters of your choosing to discover that you do not want to read about horses but would rather read about cows.  There you are stuck with horses in your head the entire time, rereading the same pages over and over again because you just cannot connect.  Once home and years later your only memories of the trip that you spent a bazillion dollars on so you could  sit next to water is  forever memorialized by an unhappy feeling about horses.  The wrong decision can ruin, RUIN, an entire trip.

So, with this in mind I begin to pack.  

It is quite daunting but I believe in my abilities in choosing wisely.  After all I am a seasoned vet with many book memory scars and triumphs to learn from.  For example do not pack  The Kite Runner  if you are looking for an uplifting tale to accompany a trip home.  Tears, only tears came out of that trip.   When I look back on some of my happier trips I wonder if the book I chose has more to do with the overall success or if I was just too drunk to remember.  Ah, booze, how I miss you.  I seemed to have digressed again. 

Here is a lis to of some of my favourite vacations and the books that accompanied me.

1. Maui, Hawaii  with Bruno and Boots by Gordan Korman - I was in grade 6 with my parents and brother and it was awesome.
2. 1st, 2nd and 3rd trips to Newfoundland with books from the Harry Potter series - For some reason every trip we took a new book from the series came out.  It was awesome.
3. Honeymooning in Italy - Agatha Christie collection of bound books and yes, it was awesome reading mysteries from the 20's while relaxing on a cruise ship in the Mediterranean.  I saw intrigue everywhere that trip.
4. P.E.I. and Nova Scotia -  Anna Karenin by Tolstoy (odd choice I admit but you cannot get more awesome than Tolstoy if you are driving through the Atlantic provinces, pregnant and unable to drink.)

I guess I should address the two elephants in the room. The first being that yes, I am going away.  My posting most likely will dramatically drop down to nothing.  I have to be honest here, I am going to be by water with a slight chance of drinking.   I really can't see myself typing away at a computer even though I love it so.   The second issue is of course that I have not mentioned a single science fiction book in this post.  I hate to say it but yes I do read other things.  I am quite mad about mysteries and will venture into "literature" from time to time.  Try not to freak out.  There is a 99% probability that the book I choose for this  trip will be sci-fi.  

As I am about to pack up my suitcase and fly, fly away would you like to know what book I am taking?  So would I, I cannot decide!