I am trying to pack for 6 days in just a carry on bag. I think I’ve done it. I just have to track down a 1 quart size baggie for my toiletries. Let’s hope that there is no major delays with my flight tomorrow. I am scheduled on a 7pm flight with an arrival at 10pm – so I’m hoping to be to my uncle’s place by midnight. We’ll see. I tend to call up bad luck when it comes to my flight itineraries. As in, the times printed on them are merely suggestions and not actual goals.
Book selection is key to good travels. [This time of year, I don't have much choice on the knitting front: must knit from the Christmas list.] I once traveled while reading Rohinton Mistry’s A Fine Balance. Although it is a very good book, I wouldn’t categorize it as an uplifting, joyous tale. I was an emotional basketcase. It really brought me down. And then I missed a connecting train. And then I was directed onto an overnight train that was going in the wrong direction, so I didn’t realize it until it was too late. [I specifically asked if that part of the train was going to Barcelona and I was told yes, indeed it was, and I didn't figure out that I was on the part of the train that was dividing off toward Madrid until too late.] Too sad. Every once in a while I find myself in a bad travel situation reading a depressing book. Sometimes it’s just best to find a lighter one.
This morning I set aside Eye Contact by Cammie McGovern. It’s a book about a murder that was only witnessed by a boy who has autism. It looks quite good. I actually bought it for a colleague of mine [now, unfortunately, retired] who returns gifted books to the giver after she’s read them. I can’t complain. I know enough to pick out books I know I’d enjoy reading, too. Now I’m thinking this book might not be the right one. So, I also have The Man of My Dreams by Curtis Sittenfeld set out as well. I really enjoyed her last book, Prep, and I look forward to reading this one. Perhaps they will both come along.
I finished reading Special Topics in Calamity Physics by Marisha Pessl. I don’t really know what I think of it. It was, for the most part, enjoyable, but I found the constant parenthetical references to great literary plotlines, classic movies, and other cultural bits highly distracting. Okay, I get it, the main character it smart – move on. The story line was compelling and became even more so in the last 90 pages. The main character, a sixteen or seventeen year old high school student, was pretentious and hard to relate to at times, which was appropriate for the character. I’m still deciding on this one.
