Books and Reading while travelling: A Cautionary tale of addiction

I have always had a problem with books. In the sense that I tend to buy and collect books faster than I can read them. I currently have 4 bookshelves in my room and despite pleas from friends and family I have no intention of curbing my growing library. I am in fact determined to transform my room into a mini version of the library from Beauty and the Beast.

The trip began hopefully. For the first month I didn't buy a single book and only read 2: a biography on Marilyn Monroe and The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes lent to me by a friend.

It wasn't until Argentina when I had enough leisure time (no longer being on the tight schedule of a tour) that I could return to indulging my addiction. I bought One Hundred Years of Solitude and Madame Bovary in Buenos Aires and would have bought more if it wasn't for the wise advice of my two travel friends who thought starting a travelling suitcase version of the Beauty and the Beast library was a terrible, terrible idea.

However I experienced a severe relapse in Italy. From Rome to Bologna there was not a single bookshop safe from my raging compulsion to acquire excessive amounts of literature. My loyal travel companion at this stage, knowing what was best for me, tried reasoning with me, appealing to my hatred of carrying around heavy luggage, even simply saying 'No' and walking me out of the shop.

Her greatest successes were stopping me from buying $70 AUD worth of literature in Bologna. Among the picks were The Perks of Being a Wallflower, Breakfast at Tiffany's, Of Mice and Men and I think a Michael Ondaatjee.

After raiding the surprisingly good book exchange shelves at our hostel in Milan, she also managed to convince me not to 'adopt' The Beach, On the Road and Heroes and Villains  by Angela Carter (which I had never heard about and was super intrigued by!! I must find another copy again..). Seeing my despair though she allowed me to take the Angela Carter upstairs to 'look at it.' I believe I slept with it under my pillow that night.

Despite the intimacy the book and I shared that night, I did have a rare moment of clairty and when we left the next day I had the strength to leave it behind.

That said this moment of clarity came a bit too late. Soon after whilst checking funds I had a cold hard wake up call and a refreshingly pragmatic email from my father informing me that I had no money left. I had not even left Italy. I was supposed to travel EUROPE. Not only was I disappointed and shocked but I was annoyed  I was disappointed and shocked. Of course I had run out of money. I am an addict and addictions are expensive especially when the aussie dollar is worth a pittance of the Euro.

So, as always it was a book that catalysed a revelation, in the sense that I had to come to terms with the fact that I couldn't travel to half the places I wanted to in Europe because I had speent too much money on books?! I didn't know whether to laugh or cry.

Inthe city of debauchery, Amsterdam, my addiction sunk to new levels. I fought the impulse to the best of my ability for the first three days...but even though I knew it was wrong, and that I really had no excuses left now, I caved in. Feeling sheepish and before I could really question what I was doing I found out from my hotel reception where the nearest second hand bookshop was that stocked english copies, was there within 5 minutes (turned out to be around the corner it was too near to pass up) and 30 mins later I emerged with Stephen King's The Shining and A Pair of Blue Eyes by Thomas Hardy.

To be fair it couldn't possibly have been books that broke the bank. What forced me into bankruptcy in Europe was indulgence. But even I, an addict who flits beetween denial and acceptance, can acknowledge that for me indulgence and books go hand in hand...probably always will.

The only other thing I can imagine I have spent as much on would be museum entries. Oh and croissants.

Books bought overseas:
The Book Thief
One Hundred Years of Solitude
Of Mice and Men
Breakfast at Tiffany's
Madame Bovary
The Shining
A Pair of Blue Eyes
Book on the history of the Medici Family
A french phrase book

Other books accumulated but not bought:
A Clockwork Orange
The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes
Wallpaper Guide to Paris
Biography of Marilyn Monroe (actually this one was brought from home, purchased in Canberra)