Later this summer we are headed to Maine. Typically our trips to Maine are all about reading, eating, scrabble, and jigsaw puzzles. But this year we are going to have 7 house guests one week and 5 the second week. How the hell am I going to have time to read anything? Really looking forward to seeing friends and family, but more often then not, it is just the two of us and Lucy.
So how many books do I need for such a vacation? Seventeen apparently. I went alphabetically through my shelves and picked out things that provided a lot of variety and seemed like something I was in the mood for. I happened to be in one of those “I want to read everything” kind of moods, so I was in the mood for everything.
I know I have picked way too many and I know I will by plying the used bookstores of mid-coast Maine–and there is always the chance of good books in the rental house–but hey, better safe than sorry. If I manage to get through at least seven of these in two weeks I will be very pleased. Anyone want to place any bets?
hogglestock 
I bet you’ll have read five of them but will have read at least half the ones you bought on your trawl round the bookshops.
LikeLike
I think you will get through 7 or 8. It is hard to get ALL the reading in when entertaining. I flew for 5 days and only bought 1 book. All else is on the Kindle as I am too old to shlep a bag of books on a flight. I am going to the new Books and Books here in Key West, so I am sure I will have to cart a few new ones on the plane.
LikeLike
Ha, ha, ha! So refreshing to see someone else as overoptimistic as me! I’ve packed my suitcase for the move back to the UK – or rather, I packed a whole bunch of books that I would like close to hand, just in case the removals people take too long to deliver, or the Kindle runs out of batteries or, or, or…
House guests are a bit incompatible with reading, I admit, unless you can convince them that a group read out in the garden is just the thing…
LikeLike
7 might be optimistic. Whichever you read I hope you enjoy them and the holiday. The Grass is singing is excellent. I think you’ll read 5.5.
LikeLike
I think six and I think you’ll buy as many if there are second-hand shops there.
LikeLike
Vacation house guests? Maybe you can fake a migraine and retreat to your room to read. I’m going to have a similar problem when my husband and I leave in 2 weeks for our Quebec cottage rental. So much I want to read, but we’ve invited family in back-to-back chunkettes. Let’s see . . . I think you’ll read 7 books, one every other day. Have a great time!
LikeLike
Ooh is that a new Meg Wolitzer a the top of your pile? I loved The Interestings. Have a great vacation.
LikeLike
Hi, I am a new reader to your blog. I think I got here by googling “Barbara Pym”!
I will guess 8/17. I just got back from a cottage vacation and was delighted to see a P.D. James in the rental (Death in Holy Orders)…but even more delighted to see a pristine paperback copy of Pym’s An Academic Question in the “free to take” box at the local grocer’s!!! Loved it more on the 2nd read. The only Pyms I have left to read are The Sweet Dove Died (if I can get my hands on a copy) and Civil to Strangers.
LikeLike
I don’t know how many you’ll manage (I don’t think you even told us how long your hols will be), but I do hope The grass is singing and The gate of Angels will be picked, and Being Dead, too !
LikeLike
“The Woman Upstairs” by Claire Messud is one of my favorite books ever! You should definitely put it on top of your TBR.
LikeLike
I agree, you’ll finish about seven total but at least two of them will be new-to-you books that you’ve found during your vacation.
I packed seven books for my overseas move but I’ve only finished three of them — one of the first things we did after arriving was find the library on base, and I went a little crazy checking out newish books that I’ve been putting off (and also DVDs which take up reading time). I also found a used bookstore on base and found a great book there.
And of course our household goods arrived much faster than we expected, they only took about six or seven weeks to arrive when we expected at least three months! So now I have all 200 or so unread books that I packed which I fully intend to finish in the next three years.
LikeLike
7 sounds fair :-) I brought 2 nearly finished books to our summer house, planning to leave them there, and voila – have 2 fewer at home! Then I went to a great 2nd hand book shop and bought 5 new ones :-)
LikeLike
I’m new to your blog, but have been listening to The Readers podcast for years. I just returned to the DC area from my annual 2-week vacation in Maine and had to tell you that you did very well to read 4-5 books during your vacation. I brought a bag of carefully selected books with me and probably read less than 30 pages of the book I was reading before the trip. Family, friends, boating, walks, eating, puzzles, some shopping, and lots and lots of talking. Gone are the 3-month summer vacations of my teenagerhood when I found time to read loads of books.
LikeLike
That first week in Maine, I actually did find time to get that 3-month summer vacation feeling. There was one afternoon where I read and napped for about 5 hours while everyone else was away.
LikeLike
Very nice.
LikeLike