Packing Heat! The Books I'd Pack for Any Holiday

I'm Mike - this is Riff Raff's Reading Renaissance. Welcome! What books should you pack for a holiday? Today I'm taking part in the Packing Heat Tag, created by Heather Gregg, and sharing the books I'd choose for travelling, summer reading, and literary adventures—even if it's currently winter here in South Africa! In this video I discuss: 📚 What kinds of books I pack when travelling ✈️ Whether to take light reads or ambitious classics 🌍 Why travel guides and local literature enrich every journey 📖 My favourite short story collections from around the world 🧳 Why every reader should leave room in their suitcase for books 🌎 The best travel books for readers who can't travel Along the way we discuss authors including Agatha Christie, P. G. Wodehouse, Michael Palin, Bill Bryson, Stephen Fry, Eric Newby, Thomas Mann, Franz Kafka, Patrick White, Tim Winton, James Joyce, Virginia Woolf, James Baldwin, Kurt Vonnegut, Raymond Carver and many more. Books featured include Infinite Jest, The Things They Carried, Unravelling Power, A Book of Lands and Peoples, America, Weekend Wodehouse, Prisoners of Geography, and numerous outstanding short story anthologies. Whether you're planning a holiday, looking for travel reading recommendations, or simply enjoy BookTube tags, I hope you'll find plenty of inspiration. I'd love to hear from you: 📚 What books would you pack for a holiday? 🌍 Which travel book has made you feel as though you've visited another country? Please like, subscribe, and join me for more conversations about books, classics, reading, and literary discovery. Chapters / Timestamps 00:00 Introduction 01:48 What Books Do I Pack? 03:34 Favourite Holiday Reading 04:08 Short Story Collections Around the World 07:55 Leaving Room for Book Shopping 09:10 How Many Books Should You Bring? 10:13 Best Books For Armchair Travel 15:26 Final Thoughts Books mentioned include: The End of Normal Max du Preez Agatha Christie novels (general reference) Agatha Christie Weekend Wodehouse - P. G. Wodehouse The Penguin Book of English Short Stories Edited by Philip Hensher The Penguin Book of German Short Stories Edited by Michael Hofmann The Granta Book of the American Short Story Edited by Richard Ford The Penguin Book of Australian Short Stories Edited by Nicholas Jose Death in Venice Thomas Mann In the Penal Colony Franz Kafka The Things They Carried Tim O'Brien Infinite Jest David Foster Wallace Stephen Fry in America Stephen Fry A Book of Lands and Peoples Eric Newby A Short Walk in the Hindu Kush Eric Newby Love and War in the Apennines Eric Newby Prisoners of Geography (mentioned in passing while discussing travel books) Tim Marshall Other books or series referred to Lonely Planet travel guides — Lonely Planet DK Eyewitness Travel Guides — DK Publishing Michael Palin's travel books — Michael Palin Bill Bryson's travel books — Bill Bryson The following works were specifically named while discussing the short story anthologies: Death in Venice Thomas Mann In the Penal Colony Franz Kafka The Things They Carried Tim O'Brien Authors represented in the anthologies The following authors were specifically mentioned as contributors: English Short Stories Joseph Conrad Rudyard Kipling H. G. Wells Saki Walter de la Mare G. K. Chesterton W. Somerset Maugham P. G. Wodehouse James Joyce Virginia Woolf D. H. Lawrence Dylan Thomas Muriel Spark Doris Lessing Ian McEwan J. G. Ballard American Short Stories Robert Penn Warren John Cheever Shirley Jackson Eudora Welty Flannery O'Connor James Baldwin Kurt Vonnegut Raymond Carver John Updike James Salter Amy Tan Tim O'Brien Australian Short Stories Mary Fortune Marcus Clarke Edward Dyson William Astley John Arthur Barry Arthur Hoey Davis ("Steele Rudd") Henry Lawson Barbara Baynton Katharine Susannah Prichard Marjorie Barnard Patrick White Hal Porter John Morrison Christina Stead Elizabeth Jolley Morris Lurie Olga Masters Helen Garner Beverley Farmer Frank Moorhouse Tim Winton Janette Turner Hospital Marion Halligan Amy Witting Delia Falconer Pinned Comment If you were packing for a holiday tomorrow... 📚 Which ONE book would definitely make it into your suitcase? 🌍 And which book has transported you to another country without ever leaving your armchair? I'd love to hear your recommendations! And for the almighty algorithm : #BookTube #TravelBooks #Reading #BookRecommendations #BookTag