Coping with Abibliophobia

Abibliophobia as some of you may know is the fear of running out of something to read!  And yes, I was worried before I went away to Australia for six weeks.   With a limit on my luggage weight, and a reluctance to have to buy anything I would need, I stuffed my suitcase pretty full, was only a pound or two overweight, and was really over-taxed to haul the big beastie around with me from airport to airport.  That is just the big suitcase, there was my carry on as well, and my purse which held all important documents, bank cards etc., and a book!  I worried about this for a few weeks before I left, what if I read something too fast and then was caught between flights without something to read?  With only two previous flights to refer to I had not taken into account the perks of a more modern plane, and I was also anxious about the battery running out on my Samsung tablet before I got to where I was going.  I had bought the tablet last spring with the idea of using it to communicate with my family while I was gone, I had decided against buying a new cell phone for the time I was there not wishing to use up my money on something I didn't think I would use very much, and that would be obsolete by the next time I came back to Australia.

So the tablet was the plan, my main means of communicating.  It has  a great, long-lasting battery, but I didn't want to be without it whilst traveling as it was my means of checking in with DH and the rest of my family.  Of course, once I had loaded on it the important applications, banking  etc., I had some space for music and books, but that does use up power, hence the need for an actual book to keep me company as well.
As it turned out I had just begun Catch 22 by Jospeh Heller, a week before I left, and I didn't want to leave it behind (it is a thick and somewhat heavy book, which made me hesitate), but take it I did, with  A Short History of Tractors in Ukranian by Marian Lewyka as a backup in case I finished the first one.
Laugh at me if you must (I can laugh at myself now...almost), I should have remembered this from the last time I went home eight years ago.  When you travel it is not as easy as you think to carry so much luggage about, and really, some books just aren't the travelling type.  Catch 22 was one of these.   My first lesson; it was hard to get into in a busy airport, I couldn't focus on it as much as I needed to, which tells me that when I travel again and insist on bringing a book, I will limit it to just one book, I will make a protective bag for it so that it will not recieve damage in my well stuffed carry-on luggage, and lastly, I will choose something that does not require a lot of effort to read, something smooth and amusing like say P.G. Wodehouse or, as I discovered when I could read on my tablet due to the fact that the seat in front of me had a plug so that I could charge my tablet and read, listen to music etc., that Doctor Who and The Dresden Files were great reads for long flights, or for travelling in general as they were easily engaging, didn't require to much mental effort and were just comfortable reads in general for the person who doesn't know when next they can settle down to a good book.
Even after I got to my destination, reading Catch 22 was still a difficulty due to my mind being very occupied by the events that happenend on this last trip, and whatever I had read I don't think I had really registered at all ( I will be revisiting this book next month).
So.  these are the lessons that I have learnt from this last trip.  There are provisions for travelers who have electronic devices to charge up when they need to, a small, easy-to-read book is best, and some sort of protective casing for your book to avoid those dings and folded over edges etc., and the very last thing, you can always buy a book where ever you go so just budget for it!