Tomorrow I start for Spain; a week in Catalonia. As one of my favourite parts of going on holiday is planning which books to take.
This is what’s accompanying me (you might notice a curious lack of Medieval and Renaissance titles):
As I walked Out One Midsummer Morning – Laurie Lee
A birthday gift from a friend. Lee’s autobiography from his journeys in Spain in 1934.
Homage to Catalonia - George Orwell
A classic of the Spanish Civil War. Long overdue.
The Skeptical Romancer: Selected Travel Writing - W. Somerset Maugham
The part of which concerns Spain. Trips to China for reading variation.
After the Death of Don Juan - Sylvia Townsend Warner
An accidental find. I’m a fan of Sylvia’s, and this was written during the Civil War and apparently reflects some of the turmoil in against the backdrop of eighteenth century Spain.
Hemingway’s For whom the Bell Tolls I read in Oxford. Am very much considering – as an antidote to overindulgence – Vladimir Sorokin’s Ice Trilogy, but we’ll see what the good ole bags can hold. Sadly missing from the cache is Don Quixote and Federico Garcia Lorca, but perhaps I will find English books in Barcelona…
I've never been to the Mediterranean and so will be taking notes. Back in a week.
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