Vacation Reading Anxiety

Ah....vacation. One part exciting, one part anxiety-inducing for the reader because WHAT IN THE WORLD AM I SUPPOSED TO PACK TO READ????

Ahem. Sorry about that little outburst, but this hits a little close to home. I'm leaving for a trip soon AND finishing a novel the day before we leave. It's a stressful situation because not only do I need to choose what to read next, it will be my reading material for the next week, without my home library at my disposal.

Picking the next book to read is tricky, especially after reading (or in my case, re-reading) a 17-book long series since early 2020. My first thought is to pick something different in tone and genre than the series I'm finishing. "The Dry Grass of August" by Anna Jean Mayhew, which is a family drama set in 1954 North Carolina, amid the anti-integration sentiment that had spread across the South, might be a great pick, if I want something different.

But do I really want to jump out of fantasy and right into literary fiction? Maybe I want to ease myself out of the fantasy genre. Gradually. Magical Realism instead of out-and-out Urban Fantasy. Do I really want to jump head-first into a historical family drama after spending a year and a half battling vampires, fallen angels, and a titan? Maybe "The Midnight Library" by Matt Haig is what the vacation-doctor ordered. After all, it's basically touted as a modern non-Christmassy retelling of "It's A Wonderful Life".

What's going to happen if I don't like either of these books? What if they don't fit my mood for the coming week away from my home library? I'm going to be stuck, bookless, or on a seemingly never-ending search in bookstores for something to read. (Oh, the HORROR.../endsarcasm) I know this is where the ereading community will say, "Well, if you had a Kindle you'd have an endless supply of books." But the thing is, I've tried. I've had Nooks and Kindles and tablets with reading apps. None of them work for me. I cannot concentrate on the screen. When I'm ereading, I feel like I'm working, staring at a screen. I need a physical book in my hand. Oddly enough, I have no problem with audiobooks.

Then again, maybe I should bring something I've already read and loved, like Rainbow Rowell's "Landline", which is a big-time comfort read for me about remembering the magic in a relationship after you've been together for a long time. Also, there is a magic telephone which thrills me to no end. If I pack "Landline", there will be no surprises. I won't have to go through the "getting to know you" phase of a new book where you're not quite sure if you actually like the book, figuring out the main characters and where the story is going. I already know Georgy and Neil. I know about the magic telephone.

And yet, if I bring Landline....there will be no surprises. No "oh!" or "aha!" moments. No falling in love with a storyline or a particularly beautifully-written phrase. No possibly finding a new favorite character. I won't get discover the magic telephone (or whatever plot device or prop is used) of this new book, because there is no new book, only one I've already read.

Then again....I did just buy "The Conductors" by Nicole Glover and it's a murder mystery being solved by former guides on the Underground Railroad....

Maybe I'll just pack all four and see what happens.

How do you plan for vacation reading?