The most stressful part about packing for vacation – at least for me – is picking what books to take. This, right now, is what I’m bringing with me to a week in Florida (though I suspect I’ll finish Arm Candy before I go. It’s too fluffy juicy to put away for long). Why stressful? Because if I pick bad books, I’ll be stuck with nothing to read. I know, I know, they do have bookstores in Florida, but it’s so much easier to pick something out of my bag, which is probably why I pack more than I’ll ever read in one stint.

I read the first few pages of each of these books to vet them for vacation reading – nothing to heavy or depressing, and NO SELF HELP.

How do you pick what books to take on trips?

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Jen Miller

Jen Miller

Jen A. Miller is a an author and freelance writer. Her memoir, Running a Love Story, was a Philadelphia Inquirer best book of the year. Her work has appeared in the New York Times, Washington Post, SELF, Buzzfeed and the Guardian, among others.

2 Comments

  1. Sue on January 25, 2010 at 4:19 pm

    I tend to fall back to books I haven't read by favorite authors or biographies on people I really like reading about. I like light and fluffy on vacation, and I found that Lorna Landvick, Elizabeth Berg, and Anne Tyler make great vacation reads.

  2. Fuddster on January 26, 2010 at 9:07 am

    I'll either reread favorites from my sci-fi library, or new books by favorite authors. I've also been known to read geeky non-fiction. For example, I have a books by an astronomer and an astronaut in my to read pile…

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