Vacation reading list

One of the best things about travelling long distances for vacation--whether by plane, train or automobile--is having a dedicated time to read. I fall so deeply into books that reading for 30-minute segments just doesn't do it for me. So a trans-Atlantic flight is the perfect excuse to read a new book. Thanks to recommendations from my friends (and a few purchases from my Amazon wishlist), here are a few titles I have settled on for my upcoming trip.

1. Barnheart by Jenna Woginrich




Yes, I am the weird girl that reads about homesteading and farms for fun. Call it my rural upbringing, but I love books that detail a simpler life in a modern world, and Woginrich's earlier work, Made from Scratch, was a beautiful look into the reality of living off of the land. I'm excited to see what new stories and revelations her latest book with entail.

2. The Happiness Project by Gretchen Rubin




I'm reading this at the recommendation of one of my co-workers, but it has been on my radar for a while. I don't have any past experience with the author, but the subject matter interests me. I always forget that the things you do (not just what happens to you) impact your mood and feelings. Hopefully this book will be a reminder to me to make proactive choices that lead to a happy life.

3. The Thin Man by Dashiell Hammett




I love the movies, but have never read the book. I think it might be a little more hard-boiled in tone than the book (there was already a pretty descriptive flashback with cannibalism involved in the first or second chapter... Myrna Loy would have never approved!), but I think it's worth a shot.

4. The Works of P.G. Wodehouse




I ran across some of Wodehouse's books at Full Circle a while ago, and they seemed like the exact type of fiction that I like--set in the early 20th Century, full of social commentary and tension between the rich and the wanna-be rich. Even better, because of copyright laws, a lot of his earlier works are very inexpensive in Kindle format.