My Real 2014 Vacation Reading List

Last week, I posted a list of my perennial favorite vacation reads, books I’ve read over and over on leisurely days when I want to revisit their familiar worlds. Chances are good that this weekend, when we actually leave for vacation, I’ll toss one or two of them into my book bag, as comforts and in case the appeal of the other books in my stack runs out. And oh, friends, I have a stack. A sizable stack.

I never know how fast I’m going to read on vacation. I might read as much as a book a day. And I never know what mood I’m going to be in at what time. So I have to account for all the possibilities. Because I’ll be far away from my well-stocked bookshelves, I have to be prepared. The last thing I want to have to do is find a bookstore and pay full retail (ha!). I like to bring along a mix of fiction and a variety of nonfiction – something to suit every possible whim.

Weeks ago, a vacation book stack began to form on my bedside table. I set aside the remaining unread Elin Hilderbrand books I’ve been hoarding. Then a library book by an author I’ve been wanting to try. Then the controversial 2013 Pulitzer winner. And so on and so forth, until the stack was 11 books high.

Here are the books in it, and why I chose them:

The Goldfinch by Donna Tartt. The 2013 Pulitzer winner in fiction has received highly controversial reviews. Some say it’s just not good enough to be Pulitzer material, but everyone seems to agree that it’s a good read. Time to decide for myself.

The Castaways and Summerland by Elin Hilderbrand. These are two of my last three Hilderbrand books, and I’ve been saving them for this week. I’ll have one last book, A Summer Affair, to read on Labor Day weekend.

Beachcombers by Nancy Thayer. Nancy Thayer just might be my next keeper Nantucket author. I enjoyed Summer House, and I’m going to see how I feel about a second book.

The Girl You Left Behind by JoJo Moyes. This is the library book I’ve been saving. I keep seeing JoJo Moyes books everywhere all of a sudden, and she gets great reviews.

The Enduring Shore: A History of Cape Cod, Martha’s Vineyard and Nantucket by Paul Schneider. I love reading about the history and culture of cities and regions that interest me (I have entire collections of books on the history and culture of Paris, Chicago, and certain parts of Africa), and it’s safe to say I’m sort of obsessed with Cape Cod and these two islands right now. If I’m in the mood for a more cerebral piece of nonfiction, this is what I’ll go for.

Provence, 1970 by Luke Barr. This is the foodie piece I’m taking along. I always have to have one foodie book. The account of a summer in Provence, France shared by Julia Child, M.F.K. Fisher, and James Beard should be right up my alley.

Half the Sky by Nicholas D. Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn. I’ve been wanting to read this treatise on women overcoming oppression through micro-enterprise ever since I read Jesus Feminist by Sarah Bessey.

Restless by Jennie Allen. This is the book my co-leader and I have decided to use in our fall women’s small group, so it’s sort of my homework piece. I’m super excited about getting a bunch of women super excited about their long-buried dreams.

7: An Experimental Mutiny Against Excess by Jen Hatmaker. I adore Jen Hatmaker – her razor-sharp wit makes me laugh like no one else – and have been wanting to really dive into this book on radical, intentional simplifying for months.

Write Away by Elizabeth George. A good writing book is like fertilizer for a writer’s brain, and there’s no better time to read one than when you’re on vacation and not doing much actual writing.

So, friends – that’s it. That’s my stack of reading material. What’s in yours?

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