mile high book club
As Jayson mentioned, we’re feeling a little sorry for ourselves today—stuck all alone in the office and being blasted by bagpipes. (Momentary pause for sympathy.) OK. So as the rest of the team flies down to Austin, this seems like a good opportunity to discuss a very particular genre of book—the airplane read. Bring the right book along on your journey and you might be distracted enough to make it through the trip without having to keep pestering the flight attendant for teensy bottles of booze…
For me, the ideal book category for an airplane journey might just be detective noir—the prose is simple enough that it doesn’t require tons of energy to digest, but the plot lines are complex enough to keep your mind focused and totally occupied. Try some classics: the incomparable Elliot Gould narrates Raymond Chandler’s iconic Philip Marlowe series; Stanley Tucci reads James Cain’s The Postman Always Rings Twice with just the right blend of passion and despair; and the full cast dramatization of The Maltese Falcon features Sandra Oh and Michael Madsen slinging out Dashiell Hammett’s unforgettable dialogue.
If you’re feeling a little meta, you might try Dear American Airlines, Jonathan Miles’s delightfully quirky novella that’s narrated by a frustrated traveler who’s been stranded at O’Hare for hours and who gives the titular airline a piece of his mind by writing a one-of-a-kind letter of complaint. Yes, it’s super high-concept, but it hits all of the right emotional buttons.
Then there are the airport stalwarts: your Grisham, your Crichton, Dan Brown. Especially if you’re a nervous flier, there’s something rather comforting about cracking open a book that delivers exactly the kind of entertainment you’re expecting. Works better than a Xanax, I promise.
I’m always kinda fascinated by the weird mix of books at airport bookstores. Crichton, Brown, Grisham, sure, but how did Barbara Kingsolver wiggle her way in there?? Are that many people really reading Michael Pollan’s In Defense of Food? Not a knock against those two at ALL, I just don’t think I quite understand the “airport book” template.
Or just relax, enjoy life and take a train instead.
Ow, did I just sounds pretentious and european? sorry
I took a train over the holiday break. It took 13 hours. I could have read Ulysses. Twice.
Harmen, I tend to transfer all of my neuroses on to everyone else. Did that just sound American?
Survivor, on the other hand, might not be your best choice.
So when I traveled in January I noticed something strange popping up in the Airport Bookstores
L. Ron Hubbard’s early Pulp Novels !?!?!?!
WTF, not scientology’s beginnings but the pulpy s(tup)i(d)fi(ction) and “worstren” “novels”
Nergal is sad that he did not (once again) realize when SXSW was and thus is not on vaction in Austin Right Now
For pleasure listening while traveling, you could do much worse than any of the Sookie Stackhouse supernatural comic mysteries by Charline Harris: http://www.emusic.com/audiobooks/author/Charlaine-Harris-MP3-Download/12073696.html. I especially enjoy the ones narrated by Johanna Parker: http://www.emusic.com/audiobooks/narrator/Johanna-Parker-MP3-Download/12073697.html
Timely post. I’m leaving for a (quick) trip to California on Sunday. Books I’m taking:
Roberto Bolaño — 2666
Dexter Filkins — The Forever War
Alex Ross — The Rest Is Noise
Can’t speak for Yancey, but the graphic novel “Preacher” made my 8am Austin flight a lot more bearable. I was too groggy to concentrate on anything without pictures.
Daniel, if you get through all of 2666 on a quick trip to CA, you are a better person than I. Joe, yay for graphic novels, groggy or no.
Yeah, I know. There’s no chance I’ll finish 2666 on the Florida-to-California flights. Set aside the fact that it’s a long book; I’m just a slow reader (when it comes to pleasure-reading; I don’t have that luxury when it comes to reviewing case-law). Also, way too often I start novels with lots of enthusiasm, but lose interest fast. The key, for me, is to be hooked quickly. That’s what happened with Roth’s The Plot Against America. I couldn’t put it down. No way to know how I’ll react to 2666. I hear it’s good, tho.
I love to read while I travel. I tend to over pack bookwise. A few years ago on the way and through Europe I read Down the Highway the Life of Bob Dylan that a friend gave for Christmas, quite a read for Dylan fans.
Other memorable travel reads” The Naked and The Dead by Norman Mailer.
The Crying of Lot 49 by Pynchon (though some smart ass saw me reading it and bragged about just finishing Gravity’s Rainbow)
Honestly I hate to pick up a book at the airport, but if I’m on a long trip will swing by a bookstore, so eh.