EVERYONE Has Read This but Me - The Catch-Up Book Club discussion

A couple of years ago I decided to buy a book wherever we where vacationing. I made it a point to visit a book store and get recommendation for a local writer or story. Mainly I wanted it to be a book about the city or place we decided on exploring that year. Since, I have discovered books I would have never came across and enjoyed every minute of the stories at the place where I was at the time. The last such book I read is Downriver by Will Hobbs. I loved reading about the teenagers adventures down the Colorado river when my husband and I where staying at a cabin on the edge of the Grand Canyon.

Do you have a book you bought on vacation that made you feel as if you where a part of the story?

Ailine: this is something that my wife and I have done for years. Whenever we travel (whether a car trip or international travel), we always research small independent book stores that will be in our area and we always make a point of supporting those stores with a purchase or two. We haven't necessarily sought out local authors, but I love this idea and plan to implement it on our next trip. To answer your question, one of my favorite purchases was a history of the Shakespeare and Company bookstore that we visited while in Paris.

Ron, thank you for your comment. I hope you are already planing the next adventure. My mission started when I visited the public library in Galveston. I ask about local writers and was amazed how many there are. They also had a resell store inside the building and I was able to purchase the book I had selected right there. Please stop by if your travels ever bring you to Galveston and explore the fascinating history of the building and the extensive book collection. Happy reading!

I love this thread! I have started choosing to visit a local bookstore and bring home a book (often multiple) from places I visit as my souvenir. I always wrote in the front cover when and where I got it and who I was with. I love your idea of looking for local authors and local stories and will definitely incorporate this into my future travels!!!!!

Lindsay, I will be adapting your idea as well and write the date in to the cover. Thank you for the tip! Hopefully you will be able to expand your 'souvenir collection' very soon. Happy reading!

I don't think I've ever bought a book on vacation, because I've always brought them with me (tree book days), or had them ready to go on my tablet. Gift shop books have always been prohibitively expensive, and my idea of a vacation is visiting museums and other informative sites, not shopping. I don't buy souvenirs, either, same reason. And never mind having to pack them to go back and hoping not to need another suitcase to hold more stuff!

If I ever did buy a book on vacation, it would have been in the 70s or 80s, and that's far too long ago to remember the title.

I like visiting LFLs, thrift stores, and libraries for their 'friends of the library' sale shelf, while on road trips. But the books aren't souvenirs; they're just discoveries that are sometimes delightful.

When I went to London my children were small and I bought them Paddington Bear books. I think I did buy a "Cat Who" book decades ago our library did not carry back when interlibrary loan was a much more difficult process (preinternet day when our library had not joined a contortium). I am not much of a shopper and I generally bring enough to read with me. Add in my perpetually rushing husband, browsing is never an option. That includes natural wonders. I think it comes from being on farm over 40 years ago. MUST GET BACK TO WORK! Perhaps I have bought others but I do not recall.

I bought this one on vacation, for delivery to my home upon my arrival: Extinctions: How Life Survives, Adapts and Evolves Hardcover – October 17, 2023 by Michael J. Benton.

I found this book on board while cruising on Viking Orion. That ship is filled with quiet little reading nooks, and each of them stuffed chock full of volumes about all kinds of topics. I started reading Extinctions after finding it in the Wintergarden, and wanted to keep reading after disembarkation.