If you could only take one book?...

[TheFifthElement]

I'm about to go off camping and am facing the usual dilemma of not being able to take my entire library with my, and having to settle on just the one book. I was going to take Marcel Proust's In Search of Lost Time but find I haven't the will for it right now, so have instead settled on The Magus by John Fowles which I've read before but a long time ago and can't entirely remember. I guess I've traded the slight familiarity of a book I know I've read and enjoyed before, for the danger of taking a book I might not enjoy and being stuck with it for a week.

So if you were going away and, on account of having very little in the way of available space, could only take one book with you what would it be?

[spookymulder93]

Probably a short story collection but I don't know which one.

[Intuition]

I would probably re-read the Pevear/Volokhonsky Anna Karenina translation.

[Paulclem]

I'd compromise on your dilemma by choosing an author I know I'll like. I tend to choose by author, and rely on book reviews etc to discover new ones. I do pick up the odd crime or historical one by an author I've not read, and so sometimes hit on rubbish. (I don't like anachronistic renditions of historical speech where clearly modern idioms are used inappropriately... ok I can be a grumpy...)

[Intuition]

If you aren't going to be gone for too long, and have to only settle on one novel... why not try re-reading one that you've already enjoyed? I see that you're most likely referring to The Search in terms of the novel that you are already familiar with-- why not read the Lydia Davis translation of Swann's Way? It has garnered some critical acclaim of its own.

[ChicagoReader]

Blood Meridian by Cormac McCarthy, there's just something about the book that I can't get enough of. Actually, I'm starting to re-read it today!

[Gilliatt Gurgle]

There are several factors to consider; Is this a backpacking adventure or RV / car camping?
If backpacking, then weight, volume and durability of the book are crucial aspects to consider.
If RV’ing (which really isn’t camping in my book) or car camping then obviously you would be able to bring along many books.

In either case, you can’t go wrong with Peterson or Audubon Field Guides on birds, trees astronomy, insects, etc. If the weather is forecasted to be clear, the moon is new or not much more than a crescent and you are remote from City lights then I would bring a field guide to stars and constellations that includes stories behind the origins of the constellations.

If you are with a group and you plan to have a campfire, then you can’t beat a good collection of ghost stories to share. By the way, if you do go that route, have someone casually disappear into the woods when no one is paying attention before you settle down for the readings, then have them make appropriate sounds to scare the hell of the rest.
Another option is to bring along books related to the place you are going perhaps as it relates to the history or geography.

Last but not least, poetry relative to natural themes is always nice as you settle in to your bag.

.

[Buh4Bee]

Watership Down

[Vautrin]

Since you'll be out in the wilderness, then how about Lord of the Flies....

[laymonite]

If I were to go away for a while and had to bring a single book that would keep me from becoming mentally malnourished, I'd pick either Ulysses or Infinite Jest. They both have a bit (or a lot) of everything. They both appeal to the neurotic side of me and the metafictionist in me. Ulysses is absolutely breathtaking and bursting at the seams with knowledge, creativity, and humor. Jest analyzes so many things that our current generation suffers under the weight of. And, of course, both works demand re-reading.

[Emil Miller]

I'm about to go off camping and am facing the usual dilemma of not being able to take my entire library with my, and having to settle on just the one book. I was going to take Marcel Proust's In Search of Lost Time but find I haven't the will for it right now, so have instead settled on The Magus by John Fowles which I've read before but a long time ago and can't entirely remember. I guess I've traded the slight familiarity of a book I know I've read and enjoyed before, for the danger of taking a book I might not enjoy and being stuck with it for a week.

So if you were going away and, on account of having very little in the way of available space, could only take one book with you what would it be?

I agree that Proust is best avoided on holiday. Some years ago, I was holidaying in Villefranche on the Riviera and was reading Swann's Way in a bar when a woman came in and asked me what I was reading. When I told her, she laughed and said she didn't read that kind of thing. Anyway, after a few extra drinks, we went back to her place and Proust has remained unread and unlamented to this day.

[Calidore]

If you want to bring something new, try out a few first. Read the first chapter or two in advance, and if one grabs you, bring that one. Otherwise, you'll have a week to kill, so make it one you'll be able to make last a week, whether through length or depth.

Can you "officially" pack one and hide a few more in the car trunk?

[Darcy88]

Leaves Of Grass.

[Intuition]

I agree that Proust is best avoided on holiday. Some years ago, I was holidaying in Villefranche on the Riviera and was reading Swann's Way in a bar when a woman came in and asked me what I was reading. When I told her, she laughed and said she didn't read that kind of thing. Anyway, after a few extra drinks, we went back to her place and Proust has remained unread and unlamented to this day.

No offense, but-- you were reading Proust... in a bar. There was your mistake.

[Calidore]

No offense, but-- you were reading Proust... in a bar. There was your mistake.

Considering the end result, it doesn't sound like a mistake.

[Intuition]

Considering the end result, it doesn't sound like a mistake.

Unless that woman happened to be a Goddess-- there was a greater loss not reading Proust.

[Emil Miller]

No offense, but-- you were reading Proust... in a bar. There was your mistake.

On the Riviera it's either a bar or a beach and I never was a beach person.


Unless that woman happened to be a Goddess-- there was a greater loss not reading Proust.

She wasn't a Goddess but turned out to be more interesting than the usual pick-up and eventually served as a model for one of the characters in my first novel.

[Intuition]

On the Riviera it's either a bar or a beach and I never was a beach person.

Well, you do have a point-- if you're on a vacation, then reading is most likely one of the last things you would like to do.

Although, I still think it's a loss to never have read Proust. The only other writer from France who I could deem more worthy of an indulgence for-- would be Flaubert.

[Emil Miller]

Well, you do have a point-- if you're on a vacation, then reading is most likely one of the last things you would like to do.

Although, I still think it's a loss to never have read Proust. The only other writer from France who I could deem more worthy of an indulgence for-- would be Flaubert.

Agreed, I much enjoyed Madame Bovary and l'Education Sentimentale.

[TheFifthElement]

Thanks for the thoughts and suggestions everyone. I took The Magus in the end and also sneaked a copy of The Foxes Come at Night by Cees Nooteboom, which is a collection of short stories. Got about 1/3 of the way throught The Magus and very, very much enjoying it (again).

Loved the idea of taking a book by an author you know you like, and the books about stars and mythology. I might do that next time.

Next time I also need to remind myself that even whilst camping, you can't read that much in a week. One book is enough, as long as it's thick enough :D