It's warm, it's congested, there's no need for a jacket, and oh my god - there are so many people! Just over for a week, to get away from London, where my last holiday (or day off) was in January, and I've been feeling overworked and stressed. It's so nice to get out of there, and just do nothing, albeit I have to admit that doing nothing doesn't really come naturally to me. It's always like, so what's next?! As expected, many a book came with me on my holiday. However, I have to make some wedding photo books, and there's work to continuously catch up with, so not sure how many I'll actually end up reading, if at all. I am the earliest riser amidst my friends, so morning's seem like a good shout.
Soooo, what am I carrying? Well, there's:
- Jennifer Egan's A Visit from the Goon Squad
- Haruki Murakami's The Wind Up Bird Chronicle
- Michael Faber's The Crimson Petal and the White
- Michael Chabon's Wonder Boys
- Gustave Flaubert's Madame Bovary
I really am not quite sure what prompted me to carry five books on a ten day break, special considering at least two of them are fairly chunky. I did pack under eight minutes though, as I thought my flight departed later than it actually did... yes, the OCD super-organised control freak was not organised this once. It shows - I forgot my contacts, some prescription drugs, nightclothes etc. Oh well... C'est la vie.
Also, during my travels, my beautiful shiny MacBook Pro that I've had for about two years now, with not as much as a single scratch, got this massive dent. I'm not sure how. I was carrying it in my backpack - it wasn't there when I left London, and boom! When I got to the other side of the world, there it was. I keep staring at it, lamenting. That's taken some of the shine off this holiday. Poor little MacBook Pro! :(
I have been reading Madame Bovary for about two weeks now, and am not really getting into it. Should I abandon it or press through? Murakami sounds like a good holiday bet, but... suggestions please, on the reading front! Thanks!
xoxo