The Worst Part of Going Away for a Semester

I wrote this yesterday, but I haven't had time to post it yet :p

So it has come to time to do the dreaded deed; the worst part of packing and by far the hardest. It is time for me to pick which books I’m taking with me.

Now cutting down my clothes by a third? Easy. Deciding not to bring crochet? Fine. But only allowing myself to bring 3 to 5 books? This is going to take a lot of time to figure out. I mean I take around 20 to 30 books with me to school and that is always a difficult process narrowing down from the thousand books I own. The books I take to school generally consist of most of my favorites, books I haven’t read or finished yet, and a few extras that just appeal to me when I pack them. And, although I usually do not get the chance to read all of them during the semester, the range of well-loved stories allows me to match my reading choices to whatever mood I’m in for the most enjoyable results. How can I give myself a good range of story and quality with only 3 to 5 books?

So now it’s time to make the choice. I unpack the books I took to Beloit last semester, and, as I place them back into their alphabetical slot on the shelf (yes, I do alphabetize, by author, my around 1,000 books), I can already see some cuts. Rick Riordian’s new book that I haven’t read yet? It’s hard and big, and I don’t know if its story quality will make the bulk worth it yet. One down. The Time Traveler’s Wife is soon is cut for similar reasons, and then many of my soft and small “realistic” dramas are put away. They’re some of my favorites, but they’re small and I’ve re-read them so much that they aren’t appealing re-reads currently. On a Pale Horse, The Oresteia, Dragonsinger (how did Anne McCaffrey get in here?), The Immortals Quartet, and my three anthologies quickly join the ranks of the re-shelved.

But amidst the cuts, I have found two that are coming with me: Tamsin, which I have known was coming with me since before finals, and Beast Behaving Badly (thank you Allison!). Now, if I’m good, what to choose for the third book? As I gaze at the shelves, eight books immediately call out: The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, Goddess of Yesterday, The Red Tent, Women’s Lip, The Haunting of Alaizabel Cray, Blood and Chocolate, any book in the Tiffany Aching Series, and Ella Enchanted. Now this will be hard.

After long deliberation, The Red Tent and a Tiffany Aching book are cut out of the ranks due to their sizes (and if I cut them out maybe I can have five books? Please?). Women’s Lip goes next by matter of the fact that I could basically quote that book word for word and so don’t need it physically in order to read it. After much denial, Blood and Chocolate is the next cut; I remember what happened the last time the story went to Europe (that is definitely one movie on my “It Didn’t Happen” list). This is a book that needs to stay in the states. It’s also very much a story to be read in the summer, and I look forward to reading it when I return home to hot temperatures.

I’m now down to four books, and I have not a clue left. Should I choose Hitchhiker’s Guide (the perfect traveler’s companion with an interesting voice), Goddess of Yesterday (because I love Greek mythology and my copy of The Iliad/ The Odyssey is way too huge), The Haunting of Alaizabel Cray (the only darker toned book on my list), or Ella Enchanted (what can I say, it’s a favorite)?

After a good solid ten minutes spent staring at the bookshelf in silence, my mother reminds me that I can choose three from this list and makes some suggestions. Luckily, this breaks the lock and I now have the five books I’m bringing: The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, Goddess of Yesterday, The Haunting of Alaizabel Cray, Beast Behaving Badly, and Tamsin.

Hopefully it’s enough!