Christmas 'holiday'

Anyone who has ever been on a trip with me knows I always pack too many books (I don't know what mood I'll be in, so need to take a variety. Obviously!), and also usually have some kind of project to work on. My projects are often writing or knitting ones, but I'm also studying Italian, so the last few trips I've taken have included books in or about 2 languages, just to make my bags a little bit heavier. Over Christmas S and I are going away, first to his folks, then to mine, and I'm beginning to plan my holiday reading. I find planning which books to take more fun than packing clothes and stuff, so have found myself desperately stuffing pants and socks around the pile of 'essential' books in the middle of my suitcase, but I'm going to try to avoid that this year.

When I get to my parents', I think I'm going to re-read the Chronicles of Narnia, having watched most of the wonderful BBC adaptation in my knitting circle over the last few weeks (we're up to episode 3 in 'The Silver Chair'). Narnia always makes me feel Christmassy, but my childhood copies are still in Sussex so I'll have to wait until next week. In the meantime, I've had some exciting packages from Amazon that have included a book or two for myself in with the Christmas presents for my family. These have included The Athenian Murders by Jose Carlos Somoza, The Dante Club by Matthew Pearl, The Alchemist's Daughter by Katherine McMahon and a book of easy Italian crosswords, which may very well end up in my bag. I'm also planning to take my copy of The Earth: An Intimate History by Richard Fortey in case I have any questions (my brother is a geologist). Obviously, I'll be taking my laptop so that I can do some writing, and if I need any inspiration I'll have Solutions for Writers by Sol Stein and The Seven Basic Plots: Why We Tell Stories by Christopher Booker. There will also be a bag of wool somewhere in the car, because I've got to a rather complicated bit in the cardigan I'm making (yes, on top of the two scarves that are in progress for Christmas presents I'm also making a cardigan. And another scarf. But they aren't time-sensitive, so that's OK.) and I need a bit of help from Mum the Expert Knitter. In between all the reading, Italian, writing and knitting, I might spend some time with family and friends, and maybe even work on my sleep deficit.