In two days, Nick, Mike and I are going to Cub Scout camp. I love camp Brinkley but first I have to put myself through the gauntlet of packing. I'm starting to think of what laundry to put in and how I should clean the house so it will be nice to sit in and be tired in when we get back. I probably won't clean. I'll be too busy. The overall question for any event requiring me to pack is to figure out what book I will bring.
Today, I was at the library and I know perfectly well that I won't bring a library book when I go away, especially when I'm going to camp. Oh, and you should know that it's supposed to rain for the next week. Now, that by itself isn't so bad. I have a good Goretex raincoat and I can dress in layers. But I'd hate for my book to get wet. Regardless, I picked up three books at the library today, including 'The Summer Without Men' by Siri Hustvedt which I had supposed might be a love story based on the title. I should have read the author's bio. It sounded much too serious to be a fluff book. The main character, Mia, is coming out of a psych ward after her husband asks for a 'pause' in their relationship. After reading six pages, I'm drawn in despite myself. The next book was 'An Echo in the Bone,' by Diana Gabaldon since my friend Marty keeps telling people at quilt night how much she loves the series. I figure that if I like this one, I can always go back and start from the beginning. The third book I brought home from the library that I'm not bringing to camp is 'My Name is Memory,' by Ann Brashares. I liked the title.
The book I was reading when I walked into to library isn't bad either. It's called 'A Passionate Girl,' by Thomas Fleming. It's an historical novel beginning in Ireland and traveling to America just after the civil war. I know I intend to finish this book since I love learning history through novels. So why couldn't I be satisfied with that one book for the next four days?
It's something of the question of what three books you would bring to a desert island if you knew you would be stranded there for the rest of your life, only on a minor scale. My problem is that I seldom reread any book so I need to start with a new book with some pretty heavy recommendations. So I need to read the first part of three or four books before I can decide and even then, I'll most likely pack two or three books and maybe a book of poetry just so I'm not stuck without something good to read.
In addition to all of that, I have a book I need to exchange at Borders tomorrow and there I become open to an entirely new selection of books. I don't really NEED to exchange this book tomorrow, but I could and that would be fun.
Then, there's my bookshelf in the living room, full of books that I have not yet read. Despite my best efforts to make space on it for Mike's movies, it remains full of exciting possibilities for a four day outing. There's 'The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich,' which has called out to me since my dad tried to talk to my mother about it when I was ten. My mother took us to the library once a week, but she never checked out any of her own. My dad was fascinated by this book, but to tell you the truth, it intimidates me a bit.
There are a couple of books on my shelf by David Quammen. Oh, I have loved David Quammen ever since he wrote about the merits of earth worms in his book, 'The Flight of the Iguana.' Science really can be funny.
Then there's my copy of 'Dublin' by Edward Rutherfurd. That might go well with my Irish historical novel. I could finish Roald Dahl's 'Boy' which I can't believe I missed when I was a kid. Oh, there are too many good titles on my shelf to name. Why do I keep bringing books home from the store and the library when I have so much at home to read? Well, what is your home if not that island you choose to be stranded upon? If I read all of my books, then what will I read when it is raining and I don't want to go out? I'll need more than three to choose from when that happens.
And I have to admit that I'm plagued by my favorite question that I ask of my book-lover friends. "What are you reading?" I ask them and of course they answer and there is another whole list of books I could read on my desert island. That is why there are leaning towers of books next to my recliner and why I can't pick just one book any time I go away to Cub Scout camp for four days.
Packing is just so complicated.
Thank you for listening, jb
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