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On Holiday Reading and Bookish Presents

On Holiday Reading and Bookish Presents post image

I am one of those perennial over-packing people. I always take a bigger suitcase than necessary, and cram it with more outfits than I could possibly wear during my time away from home.

I’m the same way when I pack books. I am always aggressively optimistic about how much time I will spend reading over my holiday vacations, particularly Christmas. In my brain, I have the next several days to laze about and do whatever I want (i.e. read). In real life, I’ll be spending a lot of time just goofing off with my family… which is awesome.

This year is no exception, as I brought five books with me: Good Prose by Tracy Kidder and Richard Todd, As Texas Goes… by Gail Collins, The Atlantic Ocean by Andrew O’Hagen, Arcadia by Lauren Groff and Friendfluence by Carlin Flora. Plus, I have vague plans to read all of Ally Condie’s Matched trilogy at my sister’s recommendation. We’ll see what happens.

Slightly related, if you’re looking for some last minute ideas for great books to buy as presents, or looking for some recommendations on what to spend your Christmas gift cards on, I spent all of this week recapping my favorite reads of 2012. I hope you’ll check out these posts for some ideas:

And with that, this little blogger is on vacation through Christmas. I may have some posts up after the holiday… or I might not. We’ll see what vacation brings.

Have a Merry Christmas (or whatever festive holiday you happen to celebrate)!

Photo Credit: macinate via Flickr

Comments on this entry are closed.

  • bermudaonion(Kathy) December 22, 2012, 7:29 am

    I do the same thing when I travel! Merry Christmas, Kim!

  • Vasilly December 22, 2012, 9:15 am

    Merry Christmas!

  • Tanya Patrice December 22, 2012, 9:50 am

    Happy holidays 🙂 And I’m not an over-packer – except of books! I always take more than I need because I’m scared I’ll run out.

    • Kim December 30, 2012, 9:46 am

      That’s exactly it. I would HATE to run out. Now, if I could just learn to use my Nook more, I wouldn’t have this problem…

  • Joanna December 22, 2012, 11:35 am

    I always over pack too, it’s terrible. This Christmas we’re travelling somewhere I want to do some shopping so I need to leave space in my luggage. 🙂 I really liked the first two Matched books, nice holiday reading.

    • Kim December 30, 2012, 9:47 am

      I managed to finish all three over Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. They were exactly the sort of books I needed — fast-paced and engaging, without requiring a ton of mental energy. I liked them quite a bit.

  • Mystica December 22, 2012, 10:57 pm

    A very happy Christmas to you and thank you for the links.

  • Jennygirl December 23, 2012, 1:41 pm

    I’ve gotten much better over the years with respect to packing. That goes for clothes and activities to bring.
    Have a wonderful trip and Merry christmas 🙂

    • Kim December 30, 2012, 9:48 am

      I have gotten better about it. I can usually keep myself down to three or four books for a short trip, but even that’s a little ridiculous considering I spend most of my time at home hanging out with my family.

      • Jennygirl December 30, 2012, 2:29 pm

        true, but you can never be without a book to read. I do the same thing when I travel.

  • softdrink December 23, 2012, 8:37 pm

    I loaded too many books on my iPad…the virtual equivalent of over packing. 😀
    Enjoy your holidays and books!

    • Kim December 30, 2012, 9:49 am

      I have some books on my tablet too… I guess I don’t even count those, since I’d have my tablet anyway. So many books!

  • Andi (@estellasrevenge) December 25, 2012, 6:03 am

    Merry Christmas, Kim!

  • care December 26, 2012, 8:23 am

    Wishing you a lovely break and a fabulous 2013!

  • Jenny December 27, 2012, 5:11 pm

    Merry belated Christmas! I am a wild overpacker of books too, which is one reason my Nook comes in very, very handy these days. I added like fifteen books to my Nook before I left for Christmas break, and I’ve read like two of them so far. Not even two. But, better to be overprepared than underprepared, where books are concerned! Because it’s awful being stuck somewhere with nothing to read.

    • Kim December 30, 2012, 9:50 am

      Being stuck with nothing to read is THE WORST thing. I don’t always read when I’m waiting for things, but I like to know I have a book and have the option. Sitting without a book makes me antsy.

  • Susan December 28, 2012, 11:19 pm

    I do the same thing,I take too many books and outfits….then get mad on the way back when I don’t have enough room for the books I did pick up while away! lol I hope you had a very Merry Christmas and snuck some reading time in anyway.

    • Kim December 30, 2012, 9:51 am

      I did sneak in quite a bit of reading time! I got through all three Matched books and made some progress on my other reason, so I’d call the reading part of the weekend a success.