Changing Tastes

Every vacation I go on necessitates a trip to the bookstore.  No matter how long or short the trip, I must take enough with me to ensure that should I get trapped on a dessert island, I will have enough reading material for a year.  This also tends to mean I travel with a very heavy suitcase and carryon.  Besides, I need options, even if I don't get the chance to read everything that I brought.  I'm still a little raw from our trip to San Francisco last year that necessitated me buying a book in the airport.  That's right, in the airport.  I felt dirty and a little ashamed of myself.  Taught me a lesson about being unprepared.  All of this has also taught Elton that until I invest in an e-reader for trips, we probably need an extra suitcase to tote all of my reading material, which often includes variety in the vein of New York Times Crossword Puzzle Books and an assortment of news weeklies.

Anyways, having said all that, I'll get to my actual point.  When I went to stock up for our recent trip to San Diego I discovered something that really surprised me:  my genre tastes have changed.  Having spent close to 10 years working in a bookstore, and having spent the last 20+ years as an avid reader, I was really surprised.  I have a pretty varied palette, but have always enjoyed a soft spot for coming-of-age stories of the contemporary Holden Caulfield variety.  The last coming of age story I read left me feeling rather wanting.  I just didn't care as much.  It all seemed so whiney, so cliché.  But this lack of interest ultimately left me feeling bereft.  Sure, there are a million other things i can read, but that's been a sure bet for a long time.

When you're used to working in a bookstore and you no longer have daily access to everything new and interesting, you begin to rely on those "guaranteed reads," those types of books that are sure to be quick and satisfying.  I walked out the door with only two books in hand; this was a first.  I know this means that its opening the door for a whole new genre that perhaps I've yet to enjoy, but it doesn't mean that the genre, or the feeling it evoked rather, won't be missed.