The 3 types of books you need to bring on a holiday

As I’m writing this, my suitcase is glaring at me from across the appartment. Because I’m leaving for a weekend away with the bf in about 3 hours and I still haven’t made it. You see, I’m one of those people. I start thinking about what to pack pretty early. It’s just that I always get stuck on one thing: what reading material am I supposed to bring along? Well, at least, that used to be me. Because I’ve made myself a nice little system – featuring the three types of travelling books I need to take on any holiday!

1. Serious literature

Take at least 1 book from this category

I try and get some variation in my reading at all times. That’s basically the reason I’m always reading at least two books at the same time, you know? One of those elements of variation is more serious literature. Now, this could be non-fiction (I’ve been loving historical books lately) or fiction. The point is: this is the type of book that you won’t get read in just one or two days.

So a holiday, when you have a little more time to read and focus? When you might have more mental space to actually invest into that book? That’s just the type of thing I want to have ready for a holiday!

Recent examples

A Short History of Nearly Everything, Bill Bryson (review)
At Home: A short History of Private Life, Bill Bryson
Queen Victoria’s Children, John Van der Kiste (review)
De Tragedie van Swerthout-Wittebeek, Karolien Joossens

Current options

Problem Solved, Michael Johnson
The Secret History, Donna Tart
The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, Stephen R. Covey
Tuesdays with Morrie, Mitch Albom

2. “I’ve been meaning to read this”

Take at least 2 books from this category

Now, there could be some overlap here with the previous category. However, this is actually a lot broader. For example, I have an entire list of chicklit I still want to read. There’s a bunch of series I started at one point and have been meaning to finish forever. And sure, the books from the first category could probably be listed here as well. But personally, I prefer to keep this category a lot lighter. Because, well, you know… It’s a holiday! You need to relax and have some fun with your reading, right?

Previous examples

Fast Friends, Jill Mansell
Good at Games, Jill Mansell
Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda, Becky Albertalli
Between Sisters, Cathy Kelly

Current options

Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine, Gail Honeyman
The Chronicles of Chrestomanci (part 5, 6), Diana Wynne Jones
The Cakeshop in the Garden, Carole Matthews

Decisions have been made! When going on a holiday, probably the hardest thing for me is to choose which books to bring… So I guess it’s a good thing I’ve developped a nice little system to help me with that decision! (Link in bio!) . . . #walkingthroughthepages #read #reading #reader #instagood #bookstagram #bookblogger #bookblog #booklovers #bibliophile #bookaddict #blogger #blog #instalove #instabooks #instapic #literature #goodreads #amreading #bookphotography #greatreads #whattoread #bookworld #belgianblogger #holidayreading #tbr #holidaytbr

A post shared by Saar (@walkingthroughthepages) on Apr 6, 2018 at 3:08am PDT

3. The old favourite

Take at least 1 from this category

Now these are the books that you loved. The ones that make you feel all warm and fuzzy inside, that never fail to make you happy … In other words: the ones that are a sure way into your personal happy spot.

And yes, I’m aware that not everyone likes to reread old favourites. So sure, you could substitute this with the previous category. But, I mean, I don’t know. There’s just something so calming about going back to a previous favourite that it just always gets me right in that holiday mood. And that’s what you want from your reading, right?

Forever possibilities

Anything by Jane Austen
Anything by Enid Blyton
Harry Potter-series
Chronicles of Narnia
Basically all classics and books that I loved as a kid with some romance thrown in for good measure

Looking back now, I can see that even as a kid, my holiday reads could largely be divided into these three categories. Any time me and my family left on a holiday, we would go to the library and choose five books each. Of course, me and my sisters would have to coordinate a bit, because by the time we had arrived at our destination? We would probably have already finished our “own” five books. So then we had to switch out. Oh, and yes, we were those kids where our parents put a maximum limit on how many books we could bring. Because otherwise we, or at the very least: I, would have been all too happy to spend the entirety of the holiday with our nose in a book.

Anyways, these are only my three categories. How do you decide what books to bring? Do you have a preference for certain genres when travelling? What format do you typically take with you? Physical copies? E-books? Audioversions? Be sure to let me know below!

-Saar