In Which I Prove, Once and For All, I Am Hopelessly Addicted to Books

As I mentioned below, I leave tomorrow for San Antonio and won’t be back until April!  I intend to keep blogging, as long as I have some kind of internet access, although it might be infrequent (really, though, this whole month has been infrequent!).  But the big question is…which books do I take with me for two weeks?  Since I’m driving, weight isn’t important, but even though my sister is used to my bookworm ways, I decided to put a limit on myself.  See that bag (it’s about two feet tall-you can click to see it bigger)?  I could only bring as many books as I could fit into it.  All of the books you’re about to see were in that bag when I took the photo.  Want to see how awesome I am at packing?  Here’s the money shot (you can click to make it larger, but it’s a bit blurry-note how not awesome I am at photography):

Since I’m taking four non-fic hardcover, the few mass market paperback fiction books on my shelves had an advantage.  But here’s what I picked and why, going through the piles left to right and top to bottom. WARNING: the following exhaustive list will only be interesting to fellow book addicts; others might not understand my intense need to have a balance of books from all of my favourite genres, and mix new authors with old favourites, and hit some challenge books while I’m at it.
Free For All by Don Borchert: I won this ARC from Iliana. It’s a memoir of a the author’s experiences working in a public library in LA. How did it make it into the bag? Well, it’s about books and it’s also a bit zany. None of the other non-fic I picked was zany, so I thought I might want to lighten the mood!
West With the Night by Beryl Markham: mooched after reading a review at Estella’s Revenge, it’s a memoir of a British adventuress who grew up in west Africa. It’s in the bag because it ups my international quota, I loved Out of Africa, and it’s a memoir.
My Ox is Broken! by Adam Troy Castro: an ARC for CurledUp.com, this is a fan book for the TV series The Amazing Race. Why did it make it into the bag? Well, since it discusses all of the seasons, it’s broken up into more bite-size pieces, so I can dip in and out of it if I want. It should be an interesting take on a travel book, and it gets major kudos for the title!
Musicophilia by Oliver Sacks: a library book (I know, I’m brave) snatched up after reading Ted’s review, written by eminent psychologist Sacks about music and how people react to it. It’s in the bag because I love Sacks, and it’s a completely different topic (neurology/psychology) than any of the other non-fic books. Also, it’s divided up into different parts/stories so it’s versatile.
The Supreme Court by Jeffrey Rosen: another library book, this one is about the Supreme Court (really shocking, I know). Why is it in the bag? Well, it’s part of my study plan for the Foreign Service test, and it’s relatively thin. Also, this is my second time checking it out from the library (I checked it out last fall and returned it unread), and so I really want to get to it this time! I thought about going to law school, because law just fascinates me, so I think I’ll really enjoy this one.
Snowball Earth by Gabrielle Walker: the last library book (because I’m not crazy), this one looks at the Cambrian explosion and one eccentric Harvard professor’s theory as to its cause. It’s in the bag because it’s one of my Planet Earth 2008 challenge reads, and I refuse to take Annals of the Former Earth with me (it took up way to much space for the lack of pleasure I’m getting from it) so I wanted a sub.
King Leopold’s Ghost by Adam Hochschild: a recently mooched look at the horrific history of Belgium in the Congo. This is in the bag because I realised otherwise I didn’t have any ‘international relations’ books, and the idea of not having access to any horrified me! I’ve been wanting to read this one forever, and have heard great things about it.
So as you can see, I chose my non-fiction by making sure I had a big variety of topics and lots of good reviews! I wish I could have fit in Will Storr vs. the Supernatural, and I still may try.
Next pile: MM fiction.
Death in a Strange Country by Donna Leon: the second book in the Commissario Brunetti mystery series. In here because it’s mass market, it’s a mystery, it’s international, and I loved the first one. How could it not come along?
The Grand Tour by Caroline Stevermer and Patricia C. Wrede: the sequel to Sorcery and Cecilia, which I read last year and loved. This is the only fantasy book I’m bringing (*gulp*), and it’s YA and historical as well. Also loved the first one, it’s coming with me in case I need something light and airy!
Cat’s Eye by Margaret Atwood: I have no idea what this one is about, because I’ve been avoiding reviews and the back cover. I’ve read and enjoyed Atwood before, so I want to come to this one with a completely blank mind. It’s in here since it’s the March pick for the Reading Dangerously challenge, and I’ll be in Texas the rest of March!
Clouds of Witness by Dorothy Sayers: a Lord Peter Whimsey mystery. This will be a reread, because I’ve neglected Lord Peter long enough! I love Sayers, so this will give me some serious comfort reading.
Nine Stories by J.D. Salinger: I think the title pretty much explains the book. The only short story collection I’m bringing, it’s here for the numbers challenge and so I have something to write about on Sundays! Also, it’s small, and I’ve heard good things about it. :)
Les Miserables by Victor Hugo: this book kicked my butt in high school, so this time I’m reading it with a group Danielle set up. It’s French, a classic, a chunkster, and we’re supposed to start reading it tomorrow, so into the bag it goes! (And I’ll second Danielle’s thankfulness for its compactness, despite being over 1,000 pages)
Note the latest edition of The Economist! I’ll have two issues to catch up in when I get back, but I’m hoping to draw this one out so I can get my fix while I’m down there. Finally, on to trade paperbacks…
Northanger Abbey by Jane Austen: because it’s physically impossible for me to go on a trip with Ms. Austen, but I almost always bring P&P, so I thought I’d change it up.
The Watermelon King by Daniel Wallace: I love Southern literature, I loved the movie Big Fish (and this book is set in the same ‘world’), and Nymeth recommended it. What more can I say?
Train to Pakistan by Khushwant Singh: a novel set during the division of India from Pakistan. This is a What’s in a name? challenge selection, and I need to read one this month to keep on schedule. Honestly, I went with this one, because it’s the smallest of the ones I have left and space was at a premium!
Digging to America by Anne Tyler: a novel about international adoption and fitting in set in modern-day America. This is the only ‘contemporary’ book I’m bringing, but I was excited to bookmooch it since I’ve been fascinated with international adoption since middle school. And I’ve heard great things about Tyler!
The Tale of the Murasaki by Liza Dalby: since I’m not bringing much international fiction, I though this historical novel set in Japan and centered around The Tale of the Genji would give me some more options. Plus, Danielle recommended it, and so far both the books she’s recommended I’ve loved.
Five Children and It by Edith Nesbit: a children’s fantasy story (oh! so I do have another fantasy book in here! awesome!). Because sometimes I just need a children’s book, and this is also a Numbers Challenge selection.

Whew. For those who care, that’s 12 fiction and 7 non-fiction, for a grand total of 19 books. Coming with me on a two week vacation. But hey, a girl’s gotta have options!

Updated: after typing up the above, I realised I was sadly short of international lit. So, I chose the two slimmest books from my world shelf, and managed to fit them in: News of a Kidnapping by Gabriel Garcia Marquez and Dreams of My Russian Summers by Andre Makine. And I cleverly repacked enough to fit in Will Storr vs. the Supernatural by Will Storr, a fascinating sounding non-fiction book about the author’s attempts to find ghosts (I know I read about it on a blog, but I can’t remember which one). So now the grand total is 22 books. For eighteen days (I realised looking at the calendar I’ll be gone for closer to three weeks! Which somehow justifies the bookhoarding even more!). But they still all fit in the bag, and now I feel very, very good about my selections. It’s like a portable microcosm of my bookshelves (except, of course, I’d have to have some Gaiman in there if it was truly representative…I’m sure I could stuff Coraline in if I tried, but she deserves better than that!).