Book Club.

With six weeks in america fast approaching (6days) i am taking it upon myself to choose the books i shall be reading out there, scarcely relating to the states i am visiting.

The choices are (and reasons behind them...)

Jack Kerouac: On The Road-I think this would have to be the ultimate american road trip book (bear in mind i havent read it before so it could be a huge failure on my behalf). Places in this book involve New york, Chicago, San Francisco, Los Angeles all of which we are visiting so it would be good to vicariously live through the book whilst in some of these cities. Harper Lee: To Kill A Mockingbird- Described in the southern gothic genre this is a book i can see my self reading this while in Georgia and North Carolina as it relates to the southern states but i have tried reading this before and it was a hard read...will it get better and is it worth taking? John Steinbeck: The Grapes of Wrath-I am a big fan of steinbeck but the shere size of this book will take up half my luggage although i could finish it easily in the two weeks we have in California as it is the main setting in the book. There are many californian and LA books i am considering though...I could re-read one of my favourite all time books Less Than Zero and pretend i come from a rich family in the san fernando valley while in LA? Or Option for some Charles Bukowski short stories based on this quote "Since I was raised in L.A., I've always had the geographical and spiritual feeling of being here. I've had time to learn this city. I can't see any other place than L.A". I feel i could learn a lot more about the city since my first visit two years ago. Alternatively, however not quite geographically specific to anywhere particular in america but something i want to read if my mum remembers to give me the book later this week is Audrey Niffenegger's The Time Traveler's Wife as i am secretly hoping to catch the LA premiere of this when we're over there, poor excuse i know. Okay i do actually want to read it as i like to confuse myself with time travel and of course, read a hopeless love story.

Am i putting too much thought into this? I hope not. I see it as just trying to fully embrace the culture...

Hannah