Suggestions for road trip reading

[wokeem]

Tomorrow I will be leaving for an 8 day vacation with my family, we're going to a cousins wedding in Seattle and then cruising through Oregon the rest of the trip. To be perfectly honest I am most looking forward to the excess of reading that I'll be able to enjoy with the long car rides and afternoons on the beach and such. Of course, I still have to figure out what books to bring along.

I have a list of potential candidates below, but I'm looking to narrow it down. What are your thoughts?

The Old Man and The Sea-Hemingway
god is not Great-Hitchens
Thus Spoke Zarathustra-Nietzsche
The Antichrist-Nietzsche
As I Lay Dying-Faulkner
The Sound and the Fury-Faulkner
Brave New World-Huxley
The Bell Jar-Plath
East of Eden-Steinbeck
The Brothers Karamazov-Dostoesvky

Obviously I am open for other suggestions as well!

[Beautifull]

I've heard that the Bell Jar is very good.

[stlukesguild]

You heard wrong.:goof:

[LitNetIsGreat]

I'd leave the Nietzsche and the Plath at home, really, not good for cruising in a car or for laying on the beach, surely - leave them on the coffee table- The Bell Jar is not a barrel of laughs and it is supposed to be a holiday is it not?

Of those I'd want to take the Hemingway and the Dostoesvky as one and two and then it is up to you, I've not read the Faulkner so can't really comment on that one, but even so, definitely Hemingway and The Brothers Karamazov - as that seems to be about the second or third favourite novel on Lit Net. You could maybe do with some poetry on there or some short stories, you don't want to be too novel heavy for a trip maybe? You need something beautiful for the beach, of those, it has got to be Hem for the beach, please leave it for the beach yes. Don't forget the suncream, enjoy.

Leave the Nietzsche for later, perhaps when you get to 40 or something.

[dfloyd]

or at the beach, reading in sunlight is very hard on the eyes. Buy a battery operarated CD player with headphones so you don't disturb others. Get a supply of unabridged cds to take with you plus some replacement batteries. Save your eyes! When you reach my age, you'll be grateful to have good vision.

[Gilliatt Gurgle]

Wokeem,

Sounds like fun, but you may find that one book is enough. When I head out on a road trip, I'll pack three or four books, but at the end of the trip, I realize I barely found time to crack one open.

Anyhow, since you mentioned Steinbeck and you are travelling, perhaps "The Wayward Bus" or "Travels With Charlie"

Sir Oliver Goldsmith's poem; "The Traveller" would be a wonderful choice.

Of course TBK is a fine choice, but daunting for eight days on top of vacation activities.

Have fun.

[Rores28]

As I Lay Dying... its about a family roadtrip so you can try and draw parallels between the book and your experience :).... it will also probably make you appreciate your family more.

But that can be said for BK as well... soo.....

[LuggageFan]

I'd leave the Nietzsche and the Plath at home, really, not good for cruising in a car or for laying on the beach, surely - leave them on the coffee table- The Bell Jar is not a barrel of laughs and it is supposed to be a holiday is it not?

That was my first thought, too - too deep for a holiday.

Threadstarter, if you feel you MUST read 'quality' stuff like Hemingway, what about Moveable Feast? That's fun, and it's Hemingway! :D

Or take a biography, can you take non-fiction?

Also, for more good fiction, what about Nikolai Gogol? His stuff is funny and enjoyable.

Have fun.

[Babelfish]

My advice: Get out of that damn contraption as often as you can - especially if you're traveling through Oregon. One cannot see a damn thing from the inside of a car - and while books are a great source of inspiration for re-creation and offer one the opportunity to see the world from another perspective, they are (in my opinion) a poor substitute for individual experience. Get on your feet, strap on a pack - and walk.

You're on vacation - so vacate from your typical habit-patterns - maybe climb a mountain or something, slap a grizzly on the ***, get lost...

Don't limit your vision to the letters on a page. But then again - maybe I'm talking to the wrong crowd.

(I'm sure I'll receive some lovely comments for this post)

[Desolation]

I went on a train ride from Albuquerque to LA and back last year and didn't bring anything to read bu Nietzsche...It was not a wise thing to do.

I think that The Brothers Karamazov might be good traveling material.

[Eiss]

On the road - Jack Kerouac

[The Comedian]

Well I'd take a stack of comics, good copies of the following:

bird identification guide (I prefer Peterson's)
tree identification guide
wildflower identification guide

I'd also bring a volume of poetry -- maybe Wordsworth or Whitman or Yeats -- and a good novel. . of those on your list. . .Brave New World might be fun.

[Jeremydav]

I read As I Lay Dying on my way from Pennsylvania to South Carolina.

[EJMathews]

My last vacation I brought the Maltese Falcon, I enjoyed it and it was easy to pick up and put down.

[Dark Passenger]

Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas by Hunter S. Thompson. Funny. Dark. Brilliant.

[Syd A]

Anything EXCEPT As I Lay Dying. By the time I finished it, I was wishing I was dying myself!

[oshima]

I would recommend some short story collection that appeals to your tastes and one regular length novel that you find compelling but not (too) demanding on your focus (there tend to be many distractions on the road). For my vote I would say the O Henry 2008 Prize collection and Kafka on the shore by Haruki Murakami.

[_Shannon_]

The only choice (neither of which is on your list) for me would be On The Road or The Dahrma Bums.

[arrytus]

is she still on the road trip???