Packing idiosyncrasy

When preparing to go on a trip each person has their own priorities for packing. Some, like my mom, start packing weeks in advance, intentionally planning each article of clothing and accessory. Others wait until the very last minute and are pulling their clothes out of the dryer and throwing them into a suitcase while everyone else is sitting in the car ready to go (this would be my dad). I think I fall somewhere in between the two. I like to start thinking about what I'm going to bring in advance, and sometimes I make lists to ensure that I don't forget things, but I'm usually still throwing things into my suitcase at the last minute.

Clothes, accessories and toiletries are all important but here's my packing idiosyncrasy: the very first thing that I consider when I start preparing for a trip is what books I'm going to bring.

This may seem trivial to some, but books are so important to me. I love reading and trips are a great time to get in some good books. I usually remember what I read on a trip and associate them with my traveling. Picking the book up again reminds me of wherever I've been and memories come flooding back.

When I went to Italy with my friend Cassie I brought Dan Brown's Angels and Demons. I had been wanting to read a Dan Brown book for a while and this one turned out to be great. It was set in Rome and so as I traveled around the city I was able picture the book so much more vividly, because I was seeing what he was describing! Sometimes I like to bring challenging books with me that I wouldn't read otherwise and other times I bring fun books that are just enjoyable and make the time on the plane pass quickly. When I went to Milwaukee over Labor Day I brought Same Kind of Different as Me because I had heard great things about it, but couldn't make myself sit down and read it. Being on a plane with nothing else to do, I opened it up and couldn't put it down. It was incredible! On my spring break trip last year to England I brought Sophie Kinsella's Confessions of a Shopaholic and it was so much fun because it was set in London and I could identify with a lot of the references because I was there. I ended up buying the second and third book in the series on my trip because I couldn't get enough of them!

I usually bring two or three books to make sure that I never run out things to read - haha, I'm kind of embarrassed to admit this, but I think one of my biggest fears is facing a plane ride without adequate reading material.

So, in preparation for my trip to Taiwan, (which keep in mind is a 13 hour plane ride each way) I'm already thinking about what books I'm going to bring.

Here are some of my options -

Remember Me? by Sophie Kinsella
Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress by Dai Sijie
Love walked in by Marisa De Los Santos
The Gospel According to Lost by Chris Seay (my new Thomas Nelson book review book)
The Year of Living Biblically by A.J. Jacobs
Chasing Harry Winston by Lauren Weisberger
Persuasion by Jane Austen
Sparkles by Louise Bagshawe
Traveling with Pomegranates by Sue Monk Kidd and Ann Kidd Taylor

This is quite the compilation, I realize, but they are all books that I have bought or received recently and want to read. I'll let you know what I end up picking - probably a combination of fun/fluff and interesting/challenging. While you are laughing at me and thinking how crazy I am, ask yourself this question. Do you have any packing idiosyncrasies?