Reading material (yes, I have this much to say about books)

As my departure looms ever closer, I am increasingly preoccupied with one very urgent question:  What will I read on my trip?

This is an important issue, for several reasons.  First, I cannot adopt my preferred method of packing reading material, i.e. inclusiveness.  If I were to do this - considering that I will be traveling for five weeks, but that cities in European countries are known to contain English-language bookstores (I actually have a whole list of such bookstores in Paris, although I am of course eager to add to it if you know of any) - I would bring perhaps half a dozen novels that I haven't read (two fluffy, two long and engaging, and two serious), a couple of magazines, two to four books on writing (recall that I will be attempting to do a lot of that in Paris), two nonfiction books (for example I have a less-ancient-than-GEB Hofstadter book I've been meaning to read), and perhaps half a dozen favorite novels for inspiration.  Plus my Paris walks book, two Paris guidebooks (one is not really sufficient as it often has a bias), possibly a more general France guidebook, a phrase book, and perhaps small guidebooks for my time in Iceland and Germany.

Sadly, I do not think the airline would let me on the plane with such a cache.  I'm not sure exactly what my baggage restrictions are - the airline's website does not seem to agree with itself on that, even, so I will have to call them - but I'm pretty sure two dozen or so books (plus other things I might need during my month away, such as several pairs of shoes and possibly a change of clothes) is crossing the line.

So I will need to pare back.  I will bring the Paris walks book, one or possibly two additional guidebooks, and a phrasebook.  Aside from that, I will limit myself, although I am not going to commit to any firm numbers at this time.  It will be necessary to be efficient, considering both what I am most likely to read (the Hofstadter, which survived two cross-country flights and a week at my grandmother's without much progress, is perhaps a better project for a rainy day month in New York), what is hardest to buy en route, and what I would be least sorry to have to jettison.  It will be important to start with at least two novels, because the first thing I will do is spend six hours on a plane, and it would be unfortunate to endure that experience with only one book unless it is a long one that I very much like.

Aside from the issue of space, there is also the issue of appropriateness.  I like to read the right kinds of books when I'm traveling, especially if I'm traveling alone, because I feel that the book sets the tone for my trip.  Often, reading the book is the first thing I do in the morning and the last thing I do at night; when I'm in transit, I may spend hours reading at a time, and even when I'm not in transit reading often forms the backdrop of my time as I take periodic breaks from walking or sightseeing.  Of course the internet - which I did not have frequent access to on previous journeys of this magnitude - may change that, but in some ways I don't want it to do so.  The internet is the same everywhere; a book can take me somewhere new.

My first instinct is to read books set in the place I am at, but I find this is usually a bad idea; often these are period pieces, which I find dull in most cases.  It's not so much that I don't like historical fiction or books set in foreign locales; I think it's more that for such books to have penetrated my awareness (and to be available in the bookstores where I browse) they have to be quite serious, which makes them hard to read in snippets while traveling and often depressing.  It's important, I think, to read books that are not too depressing - especially while travelling, when one sometimes needs cheering up, and when a pleasant respite or lighter book may not be available.  Also, sometimes one needs a break from one's scenery, which is the whole point of reading.

Another option is to read books about traveling.  I really like doing this, although it can be hard to find books in this category that meet my other criteria (small size and weight so I can carry it, modest price so I can jettison it, not set in Tuscany because these books really annoy me).  There seems to be a not-insubstantial subgenre of books about American women visiting or living in Paris; I can't decide if such a book is perfect for my situation or totally wrong.  Of course selecting among the genre is complicated; most such books are memoirs in form, and the most important thing about a memoir is not whether the plot is good or the writing is good or anything else you can learn from a review; it's whether you like the narrator (I think this is why Tuscany books annoy me; I don't think I have much patience for the sort of women who go to Tuscany after their divorces).  (And, yes, I have read the Diane Johnson books; I was lukewarm on them.)

Here are my current thoughts:

• I have found early novels of Elliot Perlman and Lionel Shriver on the markdown shelves at my local bookstore.  Both are serious authors; I have read one of each of their later works and enjoyed them both.  Marked-down trade paperbacks are ideal since they are more comfortable to read than mass-market paperbacks and inexpensive enough to trade or give away with too much regret.  However, these books could be a lot of work to read; if I am only going to bring two or three novels to start with then at least one of them should be much easier than this.
• Also on the markdown shelves are any number of books of varying degrees of seriousness with one of two basic plots, Single Girl Finds Love and Self and Married Woman Loses Husband and Finds Self, with occasional wrinkles involving friends, bridesmaid's dresses, and offspring.  Some of these books are quite good, and some are quite awful, and sometimes I can tell which is which by reading the first two pages (although the really good ones I usually get to before they are marked down).  It seems inevitable that one of these books will find its way into my suitcase.
• I own many books, of which a couple seem like viable candidates: Fire, by Katherine Neville (I loved an earlier novel of hers, although this attachment was formed as a child and so may not be reliable) Reading Like a Writer by Francine Prose (it seems very meta, to start off a trip that will involve a good deal of reading and writing by reading about reading and writing; on the other hand I would not like to jettison this book; on the third hand it might make a good reference)
• Children's books.  There are some very good books written for older children and young adults (for example, most of Madeleine L'Engle's oeuvre as well as the Harry Potter series). The advantage of these books is they tend to be highly readable; the disadvantage is the difficulty in finding good books without having already read them (I would hate to be stuck on a plane with New Blood or whatever the latest drooling-over-vampires novel is).  
• The easiest choice is personal classics, i.e. books I have already read that I know I will likely enjoy rereading.  Many of these are actual classics and even appropriate to the tone of my trip, i.e. The Great Gatsby, The Hobbit, Emma (to keep my bag company), but this seems like not a good way to expand my horizons.

In the end, of course, I will probably end up bringing far more than the one or two non-guidebook-books that a reasonable non-me person would think I actually need.  Especially if it turns out that I can check more than 44 pounds worth of luggage.  I will try not to allow myself to buy a new suitcase for just my reading materials, but as I mentioned in the last post I do need another one anyway.