Does anyone else find it difficult to decide what books to take on holiday? In the days before I set off, I keep changing my mind about which books to pack.

What if I finish all of them before the holiday is over? What if I don’t care for the ones I’ve chosen? Not a problem if you’re visiting an English-speaking country where there’s a good chance of finding a book-shop in a decent size town. But northern Portugal? Forget it.

In the age of e-books, the absence of options to buy physical books is no longer a problem of course. Even so, I still found it hard to decide what to take for my holiday in southern Ireland last month. As always in those circumstances, I end up taking far too many books. And then I bought another one in an excellent bookshop we found in our very first stop, Waterford.

Did I read them all? Did I run out of options and have to go shopping again?

Nope.

I think I read far less on this holiday than in any I can remember. I was part one through the third on the ferry back home — and had two more untouched novels stashed in the car.

Never mind, I enjoyed what I did read which is the really important thing. I can also claim these three books for #10booksofsummer.

AfterLives by Abdulrazak Gurnah

This was my first encounter with the work of the Nobel winner Abdulrazak Gurnah. Though it took me a long time to read — it’s packed with info about the history of East Africa — it was well worth the effort. My review is here.

Winter People by Gráinne Murphy 

This earned its place in my luggage because it’s set in southern Ireland — I do like to read something set in the country I’m visiting if possible. What I hadn’t realised until I began reading the book was that it is set in the exact region we would be visiting — the wild Atlantic coast around the county of Cork. It gave the book added resonance because I could look out onto the kind of beaches and headland she describes and visit small towns so like the one in her narrative. My review is here

Quartet by Jean Rhys

What a bleak, melancholy novel my Classics Club spin novel turned out to be. And yet I found it hard to put down. Rhys’s debut gets under the skin of Paris in 1928 with a tale of a young wife left to fend for herself when her husband is arrested. She’s taken under the protective wing of a painter and her avuncular English husband. But not all Samaritans turn out to be good eggs. I’m still marshalling my thoughts before I attempt a review of this book.

In case you’re wondering….

I never did get around to reading East of Eden by John Steinbeck or Black Mamba Boy by Nadifa Mohamed. And the book I bought in Waterford, Flashlight by Susan Choi, came home unopened.

Future Plans??

I’ll be continuing with #10booksofsummer, counting only books that were in my TBR before the end of 2025. I’ve also been tempted by #ParisinJuly, hosted by Emma at WordsandPeace. If I can’t get to France in person this year, then I can at least pretend I’m there through reading. First up will be The Conquest of Plassans by Emile Zola – thus ticking three boxes: Classics Club, #10booksofsummer and #ParisinJuly.