Hi all,

Going to Nisbet on Saturday - May and June were horrible months and we'll be glad to spend 10 nights on Nevis.

It's our 25th anniversay on Monday so we are looking forward to a nice drive around the island - perhaps lunch at Golden Rock and a quiet dinner in the Big House - sounds perfect to the pair of us.

So far I have:

The Boleyn Inheritance - Philippa Gregory
Expecting Adam - Martha Beck
P.S. I love you - Cecelia Ahern
The One To Watch - Shane Watson
The Joy Luck Club - Amy Tan

I'd like to take:

Middlesex - Jeffrey Eugenides
The Borgia Bride - Jeanne Kalogridis
I'm Dancing as Fast as I Can - Barbara Gordon
So Me - Graham Norton

I also have some gently used books for the schools.

Perhaps I should take fewer clothes

Big House???? You can tell it's late

Honest, I did mean to say 'GREAT House', and it is great - especially the food.

I can forsee a diet coming on in early July

alya, I had to laugh when I read it because I could've written the post myself! I have the same dilemma for every vacation I take, and I usually come to the same solution you joked about--take fewer clothes!

I try to take one book for every full day I'm gone, plus one extra in case I get into a book and find it's not as much to my liking as I'd thought it would be. Which means I don't take many clothes and the ones I do are quick drying so that I can wash them out in my room and they dry overnight!

But in the interest of full disclosure, I didn't do that for my last trip because I had a separate suitcase full of books and clothing and whatnot to give away, so I just put a slew of my own books in with them (had to pay overweight charges, but oh, well) and went from there. Which means I had the luxury of filling my suitcase with actual clothing and snorkel gear rather than reading material.

Anyway, have a fantastic time on your return trip to Nisbet. May your vacation make up for your horrid months of May and June. Happy Anniversary! But be careful around the Big House--that could get you in trouble!

p.s. I always read the first chapter of every book i want to take with me to make sure it's something i'll enjoy reading once I'm down there. Maybe that will help?

Even so, I've made a few mistakes, but not so many as if I were choosing the books based solely on other recommendations or reviews I've read.

Whenever we go to a beachfront place we travel with few books. The surroundings are so spectacular, I can't concentrate on the book. The sea, sky, and other sights are hypnotic.

Of the books you'd like to take I've only read Middlesex -- and I read it on a vacation and it was a VERY absorbing read (great airplane reading). I HIGHLY recommend it!

I've also read The Joy Luck Club and loved it as well. I'm not a huge fan of Philippa Gregory -- I can't stay focused on her books for some reason.

I'm heading to Jamaica tomorrow and I'm taking the following books:

London by Edward Rutherfurd
Bleak House by Charles Dickens
A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith
Like Water for Chocolate by Laura Esquivel

and maybe:
Confessions of an Ugly Stepsister by Gregory Maguire

Have an excellent trip and enjoy your reading!

I travel with several used books, it is a must for me, for flights and beach time, but I take used ones so I can leave them there and free up some packing space.

Hi Alya,

Happy Anniversary ! The "big house" huh ? Maybe you've been watching too much coverage of Paris Hilton ;-)

I travel with equally balanced, usually overweight, suitcases filled with books and *beauty aids*. I left many at Nisbet last summer. Check their library for recent hardcovers of the murder mystery genre.

"I'm Dancing As Fast As I Can" is something I read many years ago and the title still serves me well in many situations.

I'd also suggest "Angry Housewives Eating Bon Bons" by Lorna Landvik, as well as anything by Elizabeth George and Deborah Crombie. I recently discovered David Baldacci and love his writing style.

Emjoy every second and don't worry about pounds/diets

Please give my regards to Steve Tyson, Roslyn and Patterson in the Great House and a special hello to Joan Maynard who may be your housekeeper.

CELEBRATE !!!

Marion

I always have this problem. I could use a carry-on for clothes, but my books... I was even considering sending them on ahead, but I've read several posts suggesting that customs complications and shipping expenses might make this a gamble even if sent wayyyy in advance. My biggest rule is that hardcovers stay home no matter how intriguing. Your Nisbet plans sound lovely, hope you have a wonderful relaxing trip.

I won't travel with hardback books, mostly because of weight and space issues. I also tend to leave books behind at a location, but only if I didn't love it. I left several books behind in Grenada last month but I brought back with me the following because I intend to read them again or pass them out to a friend:

Harry Potter & the Half Blood Prince
The Road by Cormac McCarthy
Inheritance of Loss by Anita Desai
Acts of Faith by Philip Caputo
No Country for old Men by Cormac MCcarthy

All were excellent in their own very different ways. I've not read any of the books you're considering, alya. Sorry!

To the younger ones ;-)

I'd rather not travel with hardbacks either, but there comes a time when the eyes insist on them

Marion

I have found Philippa Gregory to be fun, fast, kinda sexy historical fiction. Great beach reads, a notch beyond drug store or too predictable romantic fiction (Danielle Steele,Maeve Binchy), Expecting Adam is a good read and worthy of thought and discussion- a recommendation from Chinaberry Books(www.chinaberry.com) which though primarily childrens' has had some wonderful selections. Kiterunner, Secret Life of Bees, Poisonwood Bible were all Chinaberry recs. before they hit the NY Times list. Joy Luck Club I use in my honors English Class-intricate character development which I particularily like (this is a case where the movie is also worthwhile if you are ever looking for something other than a new release.
I too leave books behind. I always ask myself, would I pass this on to my mom, one of my daughters or a colleague? If not- it becomes a free beach read for someone else. I love it when someone leaves behind a book that I have always been curious about. I always try to bring an assortment of "beach reads" and "should reads." My concentration level is different in the sun or in the airport from when I am in my room, relaxed with the ceiling fan on in the evening. Gosh, I hope my eyes hold out...

Alya, I'm about to start on Middlesex. Just read Time and Again by Jack Finney and found it imaginative, inventive and informing. It combines a little sci-fi, a little romance, a little history. I'm dying to get The Starter Wife by Gigi Grazer. I think the TV show is so much fun, and some reviewers say the book is even better.

I really liked Middlesex.

I love The Joy Luck Club.

Have you read The Kiterunner? It is excellent.

I don't know if you like travel memoirs, but I read a book several months ago that I really liked, Honeymoon with My Brother. It's about the author, who was dumped shortly before his wedding ceremony, and instead of calling the honeymoon to Costa Rica off, he decided to go with his brother, the success of which prompted both to quit their jobs and travel around the world for a couple of years. It is a great read, very funny and it makes you think about what is most important to you.

We took several books along on our last trip to the Caribbean. We decided that one was best as a vacation book. It's by Amy Tan: Saving Fish from Drowning. The setting is Asia, but the main characters are taking a vacation tour, with plenty of serious and funny pitfalls. I left that one in Grenada for the next vacationer who may have brought not enough or the wrong books.