The company behind Field Notes, of which you know I'm a fan, has come up with the idea to test the theory that books and place affect one another. Meaning where you read a book has just as much of an affect on your feelings about the book and what you feel while reading the content of the book as the book itself does.
I like that idea and it immediately made me realize that I can picture my surroundings the majority of the time while I read each book I have ever read. Thus, in my mind, proving the theory. Try it yourself, think of one of your favorite books and not only does the content of the book come to mind, but to me the place appears also. This is greatly related to this blog because I am a fan of both travel and books among many other things.
When I travel I try to read a book that is in some way related to the destination. This not only helps you get a feel for the place but also gets you in the mind set of the destination before you arrive.
As Jim Coudal, of Coudal Partners and Field Notes, states:
"Complicating the quest for a tidy conclusion is the fact that sometimes the place where we read a book is not just a geographical spot but also a psychological one. In fact, the most compelling Field Tests in this collection are the ones in which a book, a physical place, and a significant emotional moment collide."
And instead of trying to come up with an answer as he says:
So rather than trying to prove the unprovable, we act like good scientists and we observe. We conduct Field Tests. We look over the shoulders of lots of smart people while they read lots of interesting books in lots of familiar and unfamiliar places and see if we can detect patterns.
Buy the book here.
And as a bonus, when one of these books is purchases they make a donation to the First Book program that buys books for underprivileged children.
A great way to think about books from a great American company that is doing some good.
Where will you be going this Summer and what will you be reading there?
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I like it.
ReplyDeleteWhen Mom and I went to Ireland and Scotland, I tried to read books primarily by Irish and Scottish authors about those locations. It definitely made the trip more interesting and gave me a bit of insight into the countries that I would not have gotten otherwise.
One thing I like to consider on a trip that involves light-packing is to take a book with you that you don't mind leaving behind. If you take a nice hardback, you are practically forced to lug it around the rest of the trip, even if you have finished reading it. On the other hand, if I bring a second-hand paperback, I am much more comfortable leaving it in a hotel room for the next occupant.