Lessons Learned

Over the past few years I've learned a few things. A few of them have to do with preparing for trips.

And so it was with those lessons in mind that I went to Borders yesterday. Having good (paperback) books while going on vacation is vital to the success of the trip. You really can not rely upon the airport bookstores to have that right volume. Once I had nothing other than some hideously boring book that I can't even remember for an entire flight to Amsterdam (Other lesson - Do Not count on there being bookstores in Iceland). But back to Borders and the all important book selection. First off, all books can not be of the same genre. One should be light, almost frivolous. For this category I upgraded from the usual 'chick lit' to "The Family Fortune", a modern retelling of Jane Austen's "Persuasion," a slightly sophisticated version of the genre.

Also on the light side, but also on the uplifting, vacation-as-vision-quest vein, I selected "The Tao of Pooh". One of those books I've been meaning to read for years.

On a slightly more serious note and in keeping with my interest in reading fiction or non-fiction relating to the area I'm visiting is "Medicine Woman," by Lynn Andrews and Edward Abbey's "Desert Solitare". Don't think I'll make it Arches National Park, but I'll be close.

And of course there is the travel guide. This time I went with the lonely planet's "Zion & Bryce Canyon National Parks."

Final important lessons relating to books - do not take hardcovers for the simple fact they weigh a lot. Don't take library books. If they turn out to be awful, or you need more room in your bag, you can't leave them.

And to think, I'm only 45. What deeper wisdom awaits?