The Atlas Outlaw – From Disney To Disappointment

As a young girl, I was a gigantic fan of dress up. I had an antique trunk bursting with an array of clothes 5 times my size. I found myself usually favoring the princess route. If you know me at all, you shouldn’t find yourself surprised. However, my usual go-to Disney character was someone who was not adorned with a diamond-encrusted tiara.

The gypsy Esmeralda, from The Hunchback of Notre Dame was — in my childhood mind — one of a kind. She fearlessly tumbled through the streets of Paris, owning the town square, all the while dancing barefoot in her bright purple skirt adorned with tinkling golden coins. I swear she was the source of my obsession with bangles and head wraps all through middle school.  Flash forward a decade, and there I was doing research before my journey to Spain.

The Atlas Outlaw – Literature Over Laptops

The amateur’s guide to traveling with literature.

Whether you’re adventuring to bucket list lands or testing your luck on Vegas slot machines, packing is usually a last minute panic. Maturely you give yourself a pep talk, “this time I really am only going to pack the essentials.” All the while envisioning your suitcase packed and standing sentinel by your front door.  It might just be me, but that whimsical mental promise has been actually fulfilled a grand number of zero times. Although I might not be a leader in the land of luggage organization, I do know how to pack a killer intellectual carry on.

St. Augustine once said, “The world is a book and those who do not travel read only one page.” I strongly support the theory that travelling should be physical and mental. Whether you want to get a jump start on your upcoming culture change or simply want some cheap entertainment, books should be a necessity. So while I was preparing for my post college trip to Europe, I considered what tips I would give to travelers who might need an extra push when it comes to literature over laptops.

Tip #1- Assess your personal reading speed.

Packing light is vital, unless you hired a Sherpa; no one wants to lug a heavy carry on. By knowing your reading speed you can decide how many books is realistic for you to bring along. Like any true book lover, I love the feeling of physically flipping the feather light pages, but when it comes to trips that thought flies out the window.  Which leads me to my next trick…