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Great suggestion, thanks! Although it is heavy...if you really want a book I recommend
The Pilgrimage Road to Santiago by David M Gitlitz and Linda Kay Davidson
It is a bit big though!
Davey
Thanks so much-- love this...yes I was also thinking poetry if I were going to take anything to readI love to read, but for me the book of the Camino is engrossing enough.
If I were to carry anything it would be poetry - something that takes me into the heart, rather than information that takes me into the head. So some John O'Donohue would be perfect, starting with this:
For the Traveler
Every time you leave home,
Another road takes you
Into a world you were never in.
New strangers on other paths await.
New places that have never seen you
Will startle a little at your entry.
Old places that know you well
Will pretend nothing
Changed since your last visit.
When you travel, you find yourself
Alone in a different way,
More attentive now
To the self you bring along,
Your more subtle eye watching
You abroad; and how what meets you
Touches that part of the heart
That lies low at home:
How you unexpectedly attune
To the timbre in some voice,
Opening in conversation
You want to take in
To where your longing
Has pressed hard enough
Inward, on some unsaid dark,
To create a crystal of insight
You could not have known
You needed
To illuminate
Your way.
When you travel,
A new silence
Goes with you,
And if you listen,
You will hear
What your heart would
Love to say.
A journey can become a sacred thing:
Make sure, before you go,
To take the time
To bless your going forth,
To free your heart of ballast
So that the compass of your soul
Might direct you toward
The territories of spirit
Where you will discover
More of your hidden life,
And the urgencies
That deserve to claim you.
May you travel in an awakened way,
Gathered wisely into your inner ground;
That you may not waste the invitations
Which wait along the way to transform you.
May you travel safely, arrive refreshed,
And live your time away to its fullest;
Return home more enriched, and free
To balance the gift of days which call you.
Consider also...poetry
I find that in general, while I love reading, I just do not miss it while on Camino. I'm too busy walking, sight-seeing, doing chores, eating, visiting, or sleeping.
Just this. The only book I have read three times.I recommend Joseph Heller’s Catch-22
Ooh, I wonder what happened to my copy? Weight for weight far more than my Saki!What about Michener's 'Iberia'?
As James Major was once reputed to have said: you can't beat a good Trollope!Just this. The only book I have read three times.
Although, on the Camino, I make a point of bringing (but on Kindle, I'm afraid) an unread classic - Vanity Fair was my last one. I'll probably take a Trollope when I set off next week.
Ooh, I wonder what happened to my copy? Weight for weight far more than my Saki!
A book which I come back to time and again is by John O'Donohue and is a posthumous collection of radio talks. It is Walking on the Pastures of Wonder, edited by John Quinn. It has recently come out in paperback and there seems to be an edition in the USA called Walking in Wonder. It is an easier read than some of his other works - very conversational. Very good on landscape, and walking, and being still, and being quiet. And much else. And it contains a selection of his poetry, one for each chapter. I haven't taken it on a camino, but a lot of it is in my head now! The only book I have taken to read in paper is a small NT. Oh and a Kindle!! - but I find I read very little when walking.Hello! I plan on starting my first Camino in September 2019: any thoughts on a book that you felt was worth its weight to carry? I am not interested in taking a kindle, or reading from my phone. I was thinking about something from John O'Donohue; or maybe the Pilgrimage book by Phil Cousineau? I would love to hear if anyone really felt the book they carried was enlightening and not just extra weight. Thanks!
I recommend Joseph Heller’s Catch-22 for whenever you’re wondering why the Camino isn’t unfolding as you expected
I read on my iPad and so weight is not an issue. If you want to read a flippant, entertaining novel set on the Camino, then I strongly recommend ‘Two Steps Forward’ by an Aussie husband and wife couple. Buen CaminoHello! I plan on starting my first Camino in September 2019: any thoughts on a book that you felt was worth its weight to carry? I am not interested in taking a kindle, or reading from my phone. I was thinking about something from John O'Donohue; or maybe the Pilgrimage book by Phil Cousineau? I would love to hear if anyone really felt the book they carried was enlightening and not just extra weight. Thanks!
What about Michener's 'Iberia'?
Yes, Trollope is always a pleasure. Great characters and observation.Just this. The only book I have read three times.
Although, on the Camino, I make a point of bringing (but on Kindle, I'm afraid) an unread classic - Vanity Fair was my last one. I'll probably take a Trollope when I set off next week.
Never in my life a book was extra weight, not even when I was climbing. People looked at me as if I was crazy thoughHello! I plan on starting my first Camino in September 2019: any thoughts on a book that you felt was worth its weight to carry? I am not interested in taking a kindle, or reading from my phone. I was thinking about something from John O'Donohue; or maybe the Pilgrimage book by Phil Cousineau? I would love to hear if anyone really felt the book they carried was enlightening and not just extra weight. Thanks!
I'm a reader too,,, but you can read on your phone,,, kindle or PDF,,, why carry extra weight
and I too agree in theory, ,,but after walking today on the Camino de San Salvador,, across the pass to Pajares,,,, I'm happy not to be carrying any extra weight!!!I agree with you in theory, and electronic readers have the very real advantages of being able to adjust font size and provide their own lighting, but there are a few of us who love the feel of a book, and have even been known to haul out our pens and use them as notebooks and address books. It's entirely irrational, but if we were entirely rational beings, we might not be stomping through the backwoods of Spain....
How about Pirsig's Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance, a good trip in more ways than one. If only because the author does a very good job of pointing out that "it's the sides of the mountain which sustain life, not the top".
I was halfway through reading it when somebody told me what happened to Chris (in real life) and I never finished it.How about Pirsig's Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance, a good trip in more ways than one. If only because the author does a very good job of pointing out that "it's the sides of the mountain which sustain life, not the top".
I was halfway through reading it when somebody told me what happened to Chris (in real life) and I never finished it.
if you really want a book I recommend
The Pilgrimage Road to Santiago by David M Gitlitz and Linda Kay Davidson
It is a bit big though!
Davey
On both Caminos I took a paperback AND my kindle. I LOVE to read so for me it was worth it. This August when I'm on St.Cuthberts Way I will only be taking my phone to read from....or maybe a paperback! Not THAT much weight to worry about.Hello! I plan on starting my first Camino in September 2019: any thoughts on a book that you felt was worth its weight to carry? I am not interested in taking a kindle, or reading from my phone. I was thinking about something from John O'Donohue; or maybe the Pilgrimage book by Phil Cousineau? I would love to hear if anyone really felt the book they carried was enlightening and not just extra weight. Thanks!
Oh a fellow Napoleonic times fan. War and peace and can double as a pillow to or self defense device. I one threatened a intruder with hitting him over the head with my Britannica, but than it just was my better half having forgotten the back door key.A copy of War and Peace would last the entire camino ... and the next two caminos too.
I'm a fan of reading classics while travelling. Great Expectations? Moby Dick? Both lighter than W&P.
Thank you for this reply! Also, I don't seem to retain what I read on a screen...it is just different, and I try to avoid itI agree with you in theory, and electronic readers have the very real advantages of being able to adjust font size and provide their own lighting, but there are a few of us who love the feel of a book, and have even been known to haul out our pens and use them as notebooks and address books. It's entirely irrational, but if we were entirely rational beings, we might not be stomping through the backwoods of Spain....
My original plan was to read Teresa of Avila's Interior Castle from the Kindle app on my phone, but I found, as others above, that I had little interest in reading at the end of the day's walk. So, I changed up and downloaded the Audible version of it and listened as I walked. I found that, as my undistracted Camino-mind slowed down, I was able to listen deeply to the nuance of text in a way that I normally couldn't if reading with my multi-tasking everyday-mind. I might only listen to a chapter and then ponder for an hour or two, or resume after a cafe stop or friendly chat with someone else along the way. On my next Camino, I walked to the audio text of Imitation of Christ to the same delightful, focused awareness of nuance and otherwise easily missed meaning. I can't imagine any book that I'd haul with me for my next Camino than can compare to walking with a good audiobook.Thank you for this reply! Also, I don't seem to retain what I read on a screen...it is just different, and I try to avoid it
Be the book you want others to read....Hello! I plan on starting my first Camino in September 2019: any thoughts on a book that you felt was worth its weight to carry? I am not interested in taking a kindle, or reading from my phone. I was thinking about something from John O'Donohue; or maybe the Pilgrimage book by Phil Cousineau? I would love to hear if anyone really felt the book they carried was enlightening and not just extra weight. Thanks!
Hello! I plan on starting my first Camino in September 2019: any thoughts on a book that you felt was worth its weight to carry? I am not interested in taking a kindle, or reading from my phone. I was thinking about something from John O'Donohue; or maybe the Pilgrimage book by Phil Cousineau? I would love to hear if anyone really felt the book they carried was enlightening and not just extra weight. Thanks!
Love this! Thank you!Thanks so much-- love this...yes I was also thinking poetry if I were going to take anything to read
Really interesting choice--thanks for the suggestion!Only on the Way for a few weeks this time, so can't read anything too demanding...... My choice? San Manuel Bueno, Martir, by Unamuno. Read it many years ago. Time to read it again.
I would say.. the purpose driven life by Rick warrenHello! I plan on starting my first Camino in September 2019: any thoughts on a book that you felt was worth its weight to carry? I am not interested in taking a kindle, or reading from my phone. I was thinking about something from John O'Donohue; or maybe the Pilgrimage book by Phil Cousineau? I would love to hear if anyone really felt the book they carried was enlightening and not just extra weight. Thanks!
… any thoughts on a book that you felt was worth its weight to carry? ...
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