Back in the old days, people would sometimes talk to the person in the seat next to them. Now, no longer. Everyone is stuck to their phones or tablets.
Some people get paid to work on planes. Not me. When I’m in the air, it’s like taking a break from life. I’m afraid of the day when people can use cell phones on planes. I don’t want to hear a man arguing with his wife or a woman making a business deal.
When I’m in an aeroplane, I can believe things more easily than when I’m on solid ground. I can enjoy magical realism and stories with strange plots more. When it comes to movies, I give up all critical thinking and not only choose but also cry at Hollywood movies that make me cry.
This is something that has been studied in depth. Stephen Legg, a professor of ergonomics at Massey University in New Zealand, has studied the effects of mild hypoxia (low oxygen levels in your tissues) caused by cabin pressure. This may help explain why movies make us cry so often when we’re in the air.
Back to books, though. If you’re smart enough to make sure you have some books in your bag, here are some suggestions for books about travelling.
The majority of them are books. There are always useful books to read before going on a trip. I like to know a little bit about the city’s past and how it is now when I go there. I’d rather go where I want without an Arthur Frommer guide and just follow my nose.
On a plane, mysteries also seem more interesting (is it the lack of oxygen again?). You can read anything by Agatha Christie, Louise Penny, Tana French, or Jane Harper.
Then there are books about where you want to go.
Visiting Spain?
“Homage to Catalonia” by George Orwell, “For Whom the Bell Tolls” by Ernest Hemingway, “The Pilgrimage” by Paulo Coelho, “The Dinner Guest” by Gabriela Ybarra, “A Heart So White” by Javier Marias, and “Leaving the Atocha Station” by Ben Lerner.
(Note: Many of my female friends who are feminists won’t read Hemingway.
I say boo-hoo for you.)
Italy?
Any of Donna Leon’s Inspector Brunetti books, Elena Ferrante’s “My Brilliant Friend,” Sarah Winman’s “Still Life,” Giuseppe Tomasi di Lampedusa’s “The Leopard,” and Helena Attlee’s “The Land Where Lemons Grow.”
Is it Paris?
The story of the famous bookstore Shakespeare and Co. is told in “Books, Baguettes, and Bedbugs” by Jeremy Mercer, “Perestroika in Paris” by Jane Smiley, “All the Light We Cannot See” by Anthony Doerr, and “Henry and June” by Anais Nin.
(I say Paris because it is its own world and could be in a different country than other parts of France. There are a lot of books about foreigners fixing up old houses and working with cute but annoying local craftsmen. (No thanks.)
To Mexico?
“Pedro Páramo” by Juan Rulfo, “The Death of Artemio Cruz” by Carlos Fuentes, “Faces in the Crowd” by Valeria Luiselli, “Recollections of Things to Come” by Elena Garro, and “Leaving Tabasco” by Carmen Boullosa are some of the best examples of Latin American literature.
And finally, I ordered “The Spider’s House” by Paul Bowles, “The Secret Son” by Leila Lalami, and “The Sacred Night” by Tahar Ben Jelloun before my recent trip to Morocco.
What are some of your favourite books about places you want to visit?
Please write me and let me know.
