Let’s Talk with James M. Jackson
Vacation Reading by James M. Jackson
When I go on a vacation that involves airplane travel, my reading habits change. I leave my to-be-read (TBR) pile of physical books behind and rely on my Kindle to supply my reading needs. My physical TBR pile consists mostly of books I have obtained at mystery conferences acquired from conference goody bags or purchases I made at conferences. My pile is supplemented by Christmas and birthday gifts, which run to nonfiction.
My primary electronic reader is a Kindle, although I do sometimes read on my Android phone. I have an Amazon Prime membership that allows me a free book each month, plus an unlimited number of borrows—both from limited selections, of course. Because these are “free,” I feel liberated to take chances on new authors, different genres—whatever strikes my fancy.
While traveling in and around Antarctica last month, we had several “at sea” days. I spent lots of time on the deck watching and trying to identify pelagic birds, but that still allowed plenty of time for reading. In preparation for the trip, I downloaded the maximum ten books I could borrow plus a Prime First Read. I already had many unread books on my Kindle, including a few either Jan or I had purchased.
Over the three weeks I read six books, starting with two mysteries from favorite authors. Then I started experimenting with books by authors I didn’t know. I alternated between mysteries and YA fantasies. I was lucky in my choices and didn’t pick up any klunkers. In fact, I enjoyed two of the new-to-me authors—one from each genre—well enough to want to read more of their books. That’s a good success rate for me.
How about you, do you change your reading habits when you go on vacation?
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Posted in Let's Talk, with James M. Jackson, zed: Former Authors • Tags: BLB Discussion, James M. Jackson, Kindle, reading, TBR, vacation | 4 Comments
Yes, on vacation I like to read for pleasure. This is mostly scifi/fantasy, some YA fiction, historical romance or mystery. I’ve found a lot of new authors through The Fussy Library and go on to read their entire series. I belong to Prime, also, and thought we were only allowed one borrow per month. Has their policy changed?
I used to travel with a ton of books, ones I thought I’d read and leave behind. Now I leave them behind before I go and take only my ereader. My reading habits don’t change much, although if I’ve promised to read an ARC, I might slip out of my top-preferred genre. Last year, I read nothing but books for contests, so it’s nice to be back to choosing what I want to read and catch up on my favorite authors.
I always take my Kindle when I travel – but most of my reading is done on the plane/on the train/en route somewhere.
Yes, in that I actually get to read whole books at a time instead of cramming them in willy-nilly. Ah, the luxury of it all.