Lift, Strain, Bugger.*

The title of this post comes from a terribly tragic re-enactment of me attempting to lift my suitcase, after having a trial packing run. *If I had more room, this post would have been titled "Exactly how many books can one cram into a suitcase when moving overseas in (holyshit) 38 days?" As you can imagine, it's not going real well.

I always thought that selecting what clothes to take would be the hardest part of the packing process. Ha! If only it were that easy. Add shoes, bags, dvds & teaching resources to the mix, and you've got yourself a very frazzled young woman.

That brings me to the book situation. I'm a reader. I've always been a reader. I'll always be a reader. That's just how I roll. I'm also an extremely fast reader, so my book collection is very well-worn. Once I find a book or series that I love, I can read them over and over. Besides the wall to wall bookshelf downstairs, there is a cupboard in my room that is/was half filled with books, especially the ones that I hold dearest to me. Realising that I couldn't actually fit all of them into twelve suitcases, let alone one with a 20kg limit, was a very sad time for me.

So then came the hardest part: What book(s) do I take? I adore the Outlander series by Diana Gabaldon, but seven heavy books? Errrrrr. Same goes for poor Harry. (I don't know how I'm going to cope without him.) I've decided to squish three books into my packing somehow. Only three. 3 (!) Yipes. (No, I haven't made the final cut yet. I'll get there!) That leads nicely into today's question.

This one is from Noelle, who you should pay a visit to because not only did she break bones this month? She's also continued with NaBloPoMo. That's dedication, right there. Noelle asked me: "What is your favorite book?"

I'm going to cheat, of course. I can't just pick one. These are some favourites;

# The entire Outlander series, by Diana Gabaldon, particularly book two: Dragonfly in Amber. I'm not joking when I say that I've read this book so much, that entire pages are now falling out of it. I love Scottish history. I love romance stories that make your toes curl with glee. And I love Jamie Fraser. And Roger Mac.

# Anything by Australian author Matthew Reilly: Ice Station, Temple, Seven Ancient Wonders are my favourites, though. He's so talented.

#Year of Wonders by Geraldine Brooks. I don't know where I found this book, but I know it's one I am always strangely drawn to.

#The Bronze Horseman by Paullina Simons. She is a wonderful writer, and I would recommend her books to anybody.

#The Historian by Elizabeth Kostova: It's a long, sometimes drawn-out novel, but it will suck you in and keep you hooked.

#Angels & Demons by Dan Brown: Better than the Da Vinci Code.

#The Time Traveller's Wife by Audrey Niffenegger: I find this story fascinating.

No more book purchases for me for a while, not a one. Not even the new Paullina Simons book that has just been released. Sigh. I think it's therefore appropriate that we all take a moment to think about my poor, lonely books that are being left behind, that are no doubt already anxiously awaiting my return to Australian soil.

Edit: I know I'm not moving to the middle of Antarctica where there are no handy-dandy bookstores or libraries around, but I'm going to miss my books. Am strange like that. (And also, we all know how I need to whinge about something!)