Monday, October 15, 2018

Ramblings from the Stacks - Reading and Traveling

Reading and travel are two of my very favorite things.  I love exploring new places and visiting old familiar places about as much as I love exploring new authors and visiting old familiar series.  Years ago I used to bring stacks and stacks of books anytime I went anywhere.  My Kindle made that much easier.   I typically bring one or two paperbacks and a fully stocked Kindle.  That's about 400 books give or take.  But how many do I read?

I'm writing this the day after returning from a week long vacation.  I brought my Kindle and 2 books.  I read maybe 15 pages in that whole week.  Unless I'm really careful reading in the car makes me a bit motion sick so unless I'm really into the book I tend to avoid it.  So that leaves the vacation itself.  Maybe it's because I have an 8 year old but our vacations don't tend to be particularly relaxing.  If we do have down time it's normally spent in the hotel pool or something like that and we tend to go places that involve lots of activity.  I love the idea of sitting on the beach or the balcony reading my book but in actuality it doesn't seem to happen.  I suppose there is the possibility that when the Tornado gets older reading on vacation will be a thing but my track record on this issue isn't great.  

Do you read on vacation?  Where are your favorite spots to read?  

12 comments:

  1. We were away for nearly 2 weeks and I read nothing... not a thing. No listening either. Reading and traveling don't seem to work well together for me either :(

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  2. You made me laugh, Katherine! How could one read while at DisneyWorld? I don't think I ever did. And I get motion sick as well, so no reading print in the car. My husband and I do listen to audiobooks when we travel, but that wouldn't have worked when our daughter was young. Part of the change might come with an older kid or a grown kid. Or maybe you just don't want to read on vacation and that would be fine too, right? My husband plays golf when we are on trips. That allows me to how some down time to read. We each get our relaxation and then we do more active things together. I read a lot on some vacations and not so much on others. The Kindle has been wonderful though, as have audiobooks. I used to pack more books than clothes. LOL

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  3. I take books on vacation and usually get almost NO reading done, because we always seem to be going. Although oddly enough I used to read MORE on vacation!

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  4. I used to be a big vacation reader--until my daughter came along. LOL I imagine that will change as she gets older perhaps? I hope you had a nice time!

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  5. Yes... when my children were very young, I went for 6 years without reading a single book, other than a couple on childcare - I look back on that period with some disbelief, but I do know it's true. And when the grandchildren come to stay, I don't get much reading done, either. But these days, I can happily power through a book a day on holiday and regard being able to sit and read without interruption as part of the break:).

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  6. I used to take large stacks of books on vacation (pre-Kindle days) and I would read maybe 2 but I always liked to have a choice :) Now, I have my fully loaded Kindle. I still read maybe 2 books, but we usually go to beaches and we have no kids. Plenty of reading time.

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  7. I think I try to read some while relaxing by the pool.

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  8. Ahh... I can totally relate to this. We went away in spring for a little under a week and I packed two books (& had my Kindle, although it is a tablet so more for that use than reading - as had my books)… I don't think I even read two chapters, let alone two books! Holidaying with a child is full on, and exhausting - there is no time for reading. Haha! My son is 4 (nearly 5), so I definitely think age plays a part in that also.

    I hope you had an amazing time away!

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  9. I just got back from a week-long trip to South America. Considering the looonnnggg plane rides, I figured I'd be able to read at least four books, so I took two paperbacks and my Kindle. I was so tired on the plane rides and we were so busy otherwise that I only ended up reading one of the paperbacks and half of the other! Crazy.

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  10. I always take books on holiday with me but never seem to read them! My dad and I like going on holidays where we can visit places of interest and shop for books and dvds so we're on the go all day and by night, I'm looking for an early night and am too tired to read!

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  11. I have never read on vacations because there is so much to look at. Why spend money to go somewhere special and different and then do an activity you can do any old time. Ha ha. Getaways are different. If you are renting a cabin or cottage to relax for a couple of days, thats different. 🌞

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  12. I always take more books than I need, too. I feel guilty reading in the car these days if my hubby is "working" by doing the driving.

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