I first heard of the word, bookpacking, in the Suite101 post. I think it is great to have an actual, understandable, word for something I have been doing since I learned to read.

In the bookpacking post the writer combines bookpacking with exercise. I haven't always done it that way, at least not deliberately. I do take the bus, walk along downtown, go shopping or even take a day trip or road trip. I always pack a book with me (and my camera for the past several years).

Are you one of the people who typically carries at least one book around with you, where ever you go? Even if you might not get a chance to settle in somewhere and have the alone, or quiet time to read... do you always have a book, just in case? I do.

I don't think you can take an eReader on a bookpacking excursion. It might get bumped and banged around, it could get wet or you may not have enough battery power to keep the lights on. Besides, there are always times when the old reliable paperback is just what you need.

The Elements of Successful Bookpacking

First, the book you want to read. Not just any book you happened to pick. You need a good book and a book you are in the mood to read. You could pick a book which is well written and seems to have a great story... but you just aren't in the mood to read it for some reason. So, you need the right book at the right time.

Second, you need something to carry your book and other accumulated gear around with you. These days we often carry around more stuff in order to be green. I keep a backpack with cloth bags for grocery shopping, sometimes a reusable coffee mug too. The mug doesn't work out so well if you stop at a second place before you have washed it out.

My backpack gives me space to stash my purse inside it too. If I'm on a longer trip I carry a map book, my camera, paper and pens and assorted other standard stuff (for me).

Make sure whatever you use to carry around your stuff is easy to carry around. Don't pick something which is already a bit heavy, even before you pack it up. It's only going to get heavier.

Next up is location. Not everyone can read just anywhere. I like semi-quiet. A little distraction with people watching is nice too. I tend to pick coffee shops. I really like enjoying a coffee while I read. Other nice places are libraries, museums, restaurants... pretty much any place with a comfortable chair, table and a niche that blocks out noise if it's a busy place.

Assorted Extras

Bookmarks. Of course, you can turn down the top of a page. But this contributes to making books dog-earred. Meanwhile you can use anything slim enough as a bookmark. You could even use a real, actual bookmark.

Those real on-the-go sort of bookpackers might want a portable chair. However, this isn't practical for the added weight of hauling it around yourself. For those with a vehicle to haul a portable chair around for them, it seems a bit redundant when you already have a nicely padded chair in the vehicle. But, it could be nice if you are on a bicycle or motorbike and want to take a break to read in the great outdoors. (Even then it occurs to me that a picnic blanket would be a better choice for it's weight and multi-purposeness).

One thing I can not do is read on a moving vehicle. So, you may find yourself enjoying to read on the bus, ferry, and so on. There really are endless great locations to pull out your book and read a few pages or a few chapters if you have the time. If you do discover you can't read on a moving vehicle either, just put your book away and try to look off into the distance for awhile. You may need to abandon the vehicle for at least a short time. Stop off at a coffee shop and read awhile, outside the vehicle or while the vehicle is parked.

On a Side Note...

There are a few times and instances when you shouldn't bring out a book and read. Your brother may not think well of you if you bring a book to his hockey game and sit in the arena with your nose stuck in a book, not really watching his hockey game more than the odd quick glance up. Every once in awhile this comes up in my family. But, I am the only true bookpacker in the group. Still, its good to remember that not everyone is into bookpacking.

Gerry Bartlett Writes the Real Vampire Series with Gloriana St. Clair

Just when you think it's easy being a vampire... gorgeous, never aging, an endless supply of money, the ability to lure men and then snack on them as your devoted slaves...

Gloriana St. Clair is a vampire with curves. More curves than she really wants. She's also a small business owner living on a tight budget. Though she does seem able to attract men easily she doesn't drink blood (usually). She prefers synthetic blood.

Turned vampire while she was a widow working for William Shakespeare (washing dishes mainly), Gloriana was a size 14 when she became stuck in time - at least when it comes to her physical body.

Gloriana longs for real food, chocolate, chips, all of that good smelling stuff. But she really wishes she could just lose a few inches and fit into more of the vintage clothes she sells in her vintage clothing store in Austin, Texas.

Her curves are very much appreciated by her long time lover and vampire sire, Jerry Campbell. A Scottish warrior, stubborn, proud and wtih a few battle scars from his life before being a vampire. Jerry protects Gloriana, though she rebels against it, wanting to be her own, modern woman. For years Jerry hired Valdez as Gloriana's body guard. Valdez is a shape shifter, living in dog form during the years Gloriana worked as a show girl, got over a gambling addiction and then revamped her life in Austin by starting her own small business. In later books, as the series progresses, Valdez becomes his own man... literally. Suddenly Gloriana is faced with a Valdez who isn't just a guard dog and best buddy.

The image for 'Defend the Blueberries' comes from a fan page. (Link below). The Defend the Blueberries campaign started when Gloriana was dating rockstar Israel Caine and some of the media were a little rude about her size - she's no size 6! Gloriana was tempted to jump into bed wtih Ray (Israel Caine) she has been fangirling about him for years Glory has a little shrine in her apartment as well as CDs and posters for Israel Caine. But she stays just friends. Until finding out she was never actually human at all, but started out as a Siren. Jerry leaves for his castle in Scotland, the family home where is parents still live (as vampires).

The Siren part of the plot seems a bit thrown in but Gloriana has always had a fear of the water which she never understood. She also took far longer than other vampires to get used to shifting her shape - which is the best method vampires have to defend themselves. Now Gloriana is discovering who she was, as a siren, and new powers she is able to learn to use.

Gloriana is not all about the men. She has strong women friends along the way. Some closer than others. Florence, is her best friend, someone she can always count on. Even though Florence is a perfect size six and Gloriana does get a little envious at times. Other friends are shapeshifters, vampires, and sort of friends include sirens and a demon who seems determined to hang around even though she really isn't all that much of a friend in any way.

Resources for Fans of the Gerry Bartlett Real Vampires Series

Gerry Bartlett Homepage The homepage of Gerry Bartlett, author of the Real Vampires series, featuring Glory St. Clair.

Real Vampires - Glory St.Clair Fan Site Fan site for Gerry Bartlett's Real Vampires book series.

There will always be something special about a hard cover book. I mean, a real hard cover, not what passes for them now in the world of publishing and retail outlets. Those big sized soft cover books will never be hard covers, just cheap stand-ins. It bugs me each time I see them called ‘hard cover’ because there is nothing hard at all about those covers.

I don’t know when I was given my first hard cover book any more. Likely it was from my Grandmother, she was a book person. My Dad’s Mother, people on my Mother’s side of the family aren’t much into reading. They’ve been known for cooking, baking and stealing horses somewhere in the distant past. My Dad’s side were the educated, reading, law abiding sort of people. My Grandmother wrote and self published a few books of her own.

Not surprisingly, the first hard cover books I had were story books, fairy tales and fantasy. I can remember books by Enid Blyton and the series of Katy Did books by Susan Coolidge. Later I would read Nancy Drew. They were only out in hard cover editions then.

I miss holding a real book – the way the spine wouldn’t bend and the pages would fall open differently than any paperback book. Bookmarks suit a hard cover book. They never look so elegant and romantic in a paperback.

Depending on your age, you may remember fixing hard covers, adding a bit of tape to the bookbinding. Or, recovering your hard cover book with a soft cover of some kind which would keep the hard cover from getting messy. Some hard covers were shiny or real leather on the older books. They would show fingerprints if you didn’t give them a temporary paper kind of cover. Now there are only paperback books, the hard covers are gone. Just the word and a few elderly books are all that remain.

Bookpacking is custom made for people who like to read. Many backpackers have packed a tattered paperback novel into their rucksack in case they are held hostage by rain pummeling the outside of their tents.

Packing a book for a bike trip, a hike or boating excursion engages both the body and the mind into an outing.

via Bookpacking Combines Travel With Reading | Suite101.

I think it's great someone has come up with an actual word for this. I bookpack every day. Even when I'm not hiking, exploring or road tripping.

Kimberly Raye Writes the Dead End Dating Series with Lil Marchette

Lil Marchette is a fashionista vampire. Labels matter and she does like her clothes. But, keep reading. Lil wants her own life. She begins her own dating agency for paranormals like vampires and werewolves (who are real party girls). Lil struggles to keep her business afloat while keeping her vampire status from her friend and solo employee.

Lil meets Ty, of course there has to be a hunky vampire guy... but Ty is not for Lil. Ty isn't a born vampire and only born vampires are able to have children. Lil's parents would never approve and though she wants her own life she can't leave her family behind. Even though they are pretty high on the eccentric level. (Not by their own born vampire standards of course).

Dead End Dating is the ongoing story of Lil as she tries to balance her life, her business, help friends and dating clients and keep her family from intruding into what she has built as her own life, for herself. Plus, she is a vampire and has those kind of needs too.

I don't identify with the world of the fashionable types. It was a big plus for me that Lil is written as a woman who likes life, colour and being her own person. I like Lil because she wants to make something of herself and she doesn't give up. I also like her efforts to pay her bills and get her dating agency off the ground. Things don't always go her way, like someone in a romance novel.

Resources for Dead End Dating Fans

• Wikipedia - Kimberly Raye
• Goodreads Kimberly Raye