When embarking on your summer adventures, there is always the possibility of finding yourself:
· Sitting
in an auto repair shop waiting for a part
· Stranded
in an airport waiting for a flight
· Finding
that perfect remote haven and deciding to stay
· Or the proverbial stranded on a deserted island…
·
One must pack for the unexpected. Part of careful packing requires picking just the right books. We would like to suggest some titles that would meet any travel adventure (or misadventure). These are books that we think will continue to delight and inspire read after read after read. Don't leave home without them!
A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens. It is so much more than Tiny Tim and Scrooge. Ann reads this book nearly every year as sustenance to keep up the fight. Try reading it in July and it becomes an entirely new story.
John Bell says that Witter Bynner's translation of The Way According to Lao Tzu is "a bit of the 60s that has traveled with him very well.
On her many water adventures, Jean Dunn packs Rivers Running Free: A Century of Women's Canoeing Adventures, edited by Judith Niemi and Barb Wiese. A traveler can use these stories and essays to fill a few minutes or a few hours. Jean says the reader does not need to remember where he/she left off, and the book offers inspiration as well as camaraderie.
Anna suggests Mansfield Park by Jane Austin. Anna appreciates Austin's sly witticism
and subtle social commentary. She finds Jane Austin in general insightful and
light years ahead of her time.
Anytime Anna picks up a book by
Kaye Gibbons, she feels assured of a good read. Top on her list is Charms for
the Easy Life, a novel about three generations of women in the south. The
grandmother is an independent spirit who practices holistic/alternative medicine
in her role as a midwife and challenges the traditional practices of
predominantly male physicians in an era during which women's perspectives were
not generally solicited.
Ann Halbach suggests In the Time of the Butterflies by Julia Alvarez. Although too new to be timeless, she found it a quick, yet powerful, read. Ann said that the author's ability to weave fact with fiction makes the Mirabel sisters and their story come alive. The courage of these women to stand up against the corrupt and domineering Trujillo regime is inspiring. Ann recommends reading it aloud to the family on those long, ugly stretches of Interstate.
Jean Dunn suggests that part of every packing list should include a small paperback book that the traveler has always wanted to read but doesn't ever seem to get to. Paperbacks fit in any pocket, backpack, or, pannier, and it feels so rewarding to strike those titles from your book list.
We wish you all a summer filled with adventure, relaxation,
and good books.
-Ann Rulseh, Jean Dunn, Anna Park
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Summer 2003 Table of Contents