What books do you take on vacation?! A plea for help.

I'm going on a trip in May. I think one of my favorite things to do when preparing for a trip is planning what books to take. The thing that is unique about this trip is that it is three weeks long. I'm stumped on what titles to take, and how many of those titles is an appropriate amount to travel with.

I have no way of knowing how much I will be reading, or what kind of book mood I will be in while I'm away. There are so many books that I want to read - I keep a very long list - it's hard to narrow down my reading potential to a few titles.

Here are the main contenders:



I've been meaning to read Then We Came to the End for quite awhile now. I've heard amazing things about it from coworkers and everyone else. I'm 90% sure that it will make it into my suitcase.

I just finished reading Mysteries of Pittsburgh my Michael Chabon, and I've decided it would be fun to read his books in order of publication date. Wonderboys is his second novel and sounds petty interesting.

I've read many of Margaret Atwood's books and I've never been disappointed. I'm tempted to throw Alias Grace in as a safety. If all else fails at least I have Margaret?

The Ruins of California. Laura read this novel awhile ago and convinced me to buy it, but I haven't been in the "right mood". For some reason I'm hesitant to pick it up. Fear of not liking it? If it's just me and the book on a plane wouldn't that force me to read it and undoubtedly like it as much as Laura did? I trust Laura's opinion. We're "kindred spirits" when it comes to books, she likes everything I've loved and vice-versa...

The Savage Detectives recently came into the store in paperback. It sounds phenomenal, but Patrick said it was a little strange. He wasn't saying that it was bad it is just off the beaten path. I secretly wondered if he thought it was too smart for me and hence wasn't recommending it strongly.

Fieldwork - a National Book Award finalist. That alone makes me want to read it... It's kind of a mystery, but literary...whatever that means.

I put Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao on the list, and then I took it off because it is a hardcover. For some reason people don't like traveling with hardcovers, I guess it's because they are heavy and cumbersome, but Oscar Wao is pretty petite for a hardcover. I've heard increasingly good things about Oscar (and Junot Diaz). When it first came out it got a stellar review and we couldn't get any it back in the store. Since then it just keeps getting more popular. It was just given The Rooster via The Morning News Tournament of Books - brought to us by the fine people at Powell's Books.

Side note: The Tournament of Books has to be the most creative thing in the book world. It's like March Madness for books, it's over now, but you can still read the reviews of the 16 beloved books from 2007. This also made me want to read Remainder by Tom McCarthy.

If anyone has any input on these titles let me know!
I'll keep you updated on who makes it into the suitcase and who is left on my nightstand at home.