Hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl
Here’s a confession that might put me at odds with the bookish community: I don’t do a lot of novel reading when I’m on vacation unless the weather is terrible, I get sick, or I’m enjoying a staycation and therefore won’t be sight seeing or reconnecting with faraway loved ones.
If I only have a week in an exciting destination, I’d rather check out their restaurants, hiking/walking trails, museums, beaches, pools, mountains, festivals, or other cool destinations instead.
Therefore, I’m going to tweak this week’s prompt to discuss the types of tales I read when I’m on vacation.
1. Long Books
I generally avoid books that have 300+ pages, but I’ll sometimes make an exception while on vacation. This is even more true if I’m travelling somewhere that is known to have unpredictable weather or if I’m travelling at a time of year when it may be too hot, cold, or stormy to spend long periods of time outdoors.
2. Humorous Books
Flying is uncomfortable and makes me nervous, so I try to download at least one humorous book ahead of time to distract me from intimidating security guards, long lines, and then being crammed into a flying tin can with hundreds of other passengers for hours. Ha!
3. Short Stories
My attention span isn’t always strong enough for long, serious reads while on vacation, so I also like to have plenty of short stories from the speculative fiction genre saved to read, too. Apex and Fireside are two of the many sites out there that publish incredible short speculative fiction stories.
4. Genres I Don’t Normally Read
It might be a fluffy romance, cozy mystery, celebrity biography, or western. There’s something about being away from home that makes me more interested in expanding my reading horizons.
5. Audiobooks
One of the other reasons why I dislike flying so much is that turbulence can make me nauseated. Nausea does not pair well with a hot, crowded plane or with my underlying anxiety about scary security guards and this form of travel in general. If I start feeling queasy, an audiobook is a great distraction while I wait for my anti-nausea medication to begin working.
A great twist on this topic. I too prefer to see the sights of a place and the last holiday where I took books to read (other than in August where I took 3, but only finished 1 and that was because I wasn’t well on a couple of days) was in 2013. This is because on family holidays we did alternate days of sightseeing and then staying by the pool. My mum and sister were the reading by the pool people, I was the let’s get out and about person!
Have a great week!
Emily @ Budget Tales Book Blog
My post:
https://budgettalesblog.wordpress.com/2022/10/11/top-ten-tuesday-book-i-read-on-vacation/
That sounds like a fun vacation! And I’m glad you get it.
I hope you have a good week, too.
I’ve been on permanent vacation since I retired. Your vacation sounds ideal.
Good for you. 🙂 And thanks.
I’m the same as far as not reading much while on vacation, though I tend to be on trains, buses, planes, etc a lot while traveling around and get my time in there. Bringing one long book seems like a good idea so you don’t have to pack multiples, but then there’s the risk of being stuck with a book you’re not that into haha
Here’s my list for the week!
That’s a very good point! You need to choose carefully if you’re only bringing one book.
i listen to audiobooks or music when I’m on a plane as well, it’s helps to relax me as well.
That’s great. I think it’s such a nice distraction.
What a fun twist to this prompt! I read a lot on vacation while travelling to and from somewhere, but not as much while I’m at my destination. The exception to that is if we just go hang out at a cabin in the mountains for a few days, which we’ve done twice in the last couple years. Then I snuggle up with books a lot 🙂
Thank you. Spending time in a cabin in the mountains sounds super fun!
I’m not sure why, but I typically avoid longer books while on vacation, too. Quick reads for the win. 🙂
Cool!
All of these sound like great things to read on vacation.
Thank you. 🙂
Audiobooks are so awesome these days. I really enjoy them and am glad you do too.
Thank you, and I agree!
I get travel sick on trains, buses and cars (except when I’m driving) and find that listening to audiobooks actually makes a big difference to reducing the nauseous feeling.
I’m glad that works for you. They’re such a nice distraction.
I like your tweak to today’s prompt. I just skipped it, LOL.
Heh, thanks. And there’s no shame in skipping prompts! 🙂
You’re not alone! I don’t do a lot of reading on vacation in general. That doesn’t stop me from bringing along my kindle and some books though. 😂 I agree that short story collections would be great for reading on a trip. Easy to stop and start again.
Yay! I’m not alone. LOL.
It’s always good to have backup books on a Kindle, though. 🙂
Love your twist on the topic! I tend to prefer sorter stories on vacation, though depending on what kind of vacation a long book could be nice indeed!
Thank you. I’m glad you think so.
I also go for the humorous books when flying, I need something to distract me during long flights.
Audiobooks is the one thing I never do on holidays, but yes, I normally do read quite a lot!
Thanks for stopping by earlier!
You’re welcome. I’m glad you like that stuff, too.
Short stories would be perfect for vacation. I actually agree, it’s kind of hard to think about reading when you are on vacation and have a lot of stuff to do or people to visit.
Exactly. 🙂
Audiobooks are great for road trips!
I know, right?
Good approach to the topic. I find flying a misery today for every possible reason so I’ve pretty much quit. I feel for those people who must do it to see their family or on business. What a hell its become. An audiobook would be a great help though.
I’m glad you get that. Good for you for finding other ways to travel.
I also don’t generally read while I’m on vacation! Except when I’m on the plane, especially if it’s a long flight.
Reading is a great way to make flights feel like they’re passing by sooner. 🙂
You do need a good book to get you through those long, miserable flights! I don’t like flying either, mostly because it’s so uncomfortable and tedious, so I like books that read fast and pull me into the plot right away. Fun take on this week’s TTT list. 😀
It’s nice to know I’m not alone. And thank you. 🙂
I totally agree with reading the different type of genre than usual while vacationing .
Cool!
Audiobook is a great alternative for holiday reading–I’ll have to keep it in mind!
I hope you love it.
Nice twist Lydia. I don’t read when on vacation for the same reasons you talked about. I don’t count spending winter in Florida as a vacation, it is just living somewhere warm. I do enjoy light, fluffy reads when I am away though.
Than you.
Spending the winter in Florida sounds so nice. Enjoy.
Really like your spin on this one! I enjoy audiobooks while on vacation most.
Great post.
Aww, thanks!
I like this twist on the topic! I like to listen to audiobooks when I fly somewhere. It’s so relaxing.
Thank you. Yeah, audiobooks are super relaxing.
I like what you did with this week’s topic. I don’t read much on vacation either, but I definitely go for shorter books when I do.
Thank you. Yeah, shorter books are so handy.
Short stories are a great pick for vacation reading! I’ve brought along a story collection several times on trips, usually if I’ll be at a beach or a pool — it’s nice to have something to read, but great to keep it low commitment!
Exactly!
I like your take on the topic! I also prefer to explore the exciting new destination as much as possible, but I find the book comes in handy late at night, or during a siesta hour during the day. I can’t read while on the move thanks to motion sickness, so maybe an audiobook would be a good option!
My TTT:
https://yggdrasille.com/2022/10/11/top-ten-tuesday-books-i-read-on-holiday/
Thank you. I hope you find audiobooks helpful while travelling if you try them.
This is a great idea for the topic. Except for audiobooks which really don’t do anything for me, I would probably have come up with the same. As you know, I found another twist.
Thanks for visiting my My TTT this week which is all about travel books.
You’re welcome. I liked your twist!
Books with humor in a win any time in my book. But I love that you read them on the plane. If that’s something that makes you anxious, humor is a great way to help distract or lighten the mood. 🙂 Thanks so much for visiting my website on this week. Appreciate that, Lydia.
You’re welcome. And, yeah, humor is a great coping mechanism. Thanks for stopping by!
I should probably do more of what you do while on vacation! 😂 I don’t often read audiobooks but I do enjoy them when travelling (it’s a great way to make time pass faster when waiting at the airport!), but I also enjoy shorter stories cos I’m easily distractible when travelling! Great post, Lydia.
Thank you, Dini!
It’s been interesting to read everyone’s comments this week about how they travel/vacation. I always bring books with me on holiday, even when I’ve got a packed itinerary. Books make the actual travel portion go by more quickly (I agree with reading exciting stories to make the time go faster). I also prefer vacations where I spend some time sightseeing and exploring and some time just sitting around relaxing. It’s true that I always overpack with the books, but I can’t stand the thought of having nothing to read in my downtime!
Happy TTT (on a Thursday)!
Susan
http://www.blogginboutbooks.com
That makes sense, Susan. It’s good to have a plan for downtime on a trip.
Thanks for the visit Lydia – Interesting that it seems the majority of responders don’t read much on vacation. I read a LOT! The plane travel to get there is boring, so, a book. Then I’m a stay up late, get up early person and hubby is the opposite. So I read more then since I don’t have to worry about being up for work. We still do plenty of sightseeing, but I actually think I read more on vacation than at home because I don’t have chores, I don’t cook, I’m up till the wee hours, and all the travel time. Hope you have a great week.
Terrie @ Bookshelf Journeys
You’re welcome. I thought I’d be in the minority there, but I guess not. 🙂
It makes sense for you to get so much reading done on vacation. I’m glad you do it. )
I love your twist this week! And thank you for stopping by my blog earlier this week.
Pam @ Read! Bake! Create!
You’re welcome. Thanks for stopping by.
I am the same way and don’t really read on vacation – except for when Grandma and I went to Hawaii and we were laying on the beach. I buy tons of books to bring home though, that’s for sure!
That sounds so peaceful. And, yeah, bringing books home makes sense. 🙂