A Book in My Back Pocket
Whenever I travel, I rarely pack fewer than 3 books. Though I try and edit my carryon before I walk out the door, attempting to convince myself that books are unnecessary, that I can look up just about anything on my laptop, the writer within me wins out. I am compelled to have written materials by my side.
This is not a newly formed habit. When I was in grade school, I used to reach for library books that would fit snugly in the back pocket of my jeans. We didn’t have subways where I grew up, so I had never heard of a subway book, but with three younger sisters, I was accustomed to waiting. And while I waited, I read.
With all the new technologically advanced ways to access written and published material via computers, practicality tugs at me to conform to twenty first century ideals. Still, I cannot imagine a day without a book in my back pocket.