Books and shoes

You know it is important to be political correct these days. Not to ruffle
the feathers. If it wasn't I'd make some sort of analogy about women,
packing and clothes. It would lead nicely up to talking about me, packing
and books.

I can't for my life pack right when it comes to books. This Easter I went
to Prague for a fortnight. For that trip I brought 24 books, and bought 4
while I was there. Now the real reason for bringing books is not
necessarily to read them. It is to know that they are "there". I would
imagine the same goes for Aunt Olga bringing the woolen mittens to
Mallorca.

Obviously this is not going to work on the camino. According to Raju I am
likely to be "surprised at how little time there is for reading". However,
I am stubborn. Aunt Olga will probably be told that the chances for snow
are small in Mallorca. I can't see why there would be little time to read.

So what do we bring? Preferably something that can occupy the mind while
not being too heavy. The collected works of Barbara Cartland is pretty
much out then. Considering the blisters, tendonitis, snoring, heat,
emotional strains, rain and the like, bringing Epictetus or a book by
another stoic seems to be a good idea.

I did some hiking this weekend. Three days with 4 hours walking each day
without the backpack. The shoes seem alright so far. I swapped to just one
layer of socks. It works better than the double layer I use for my hunting
boots. The tight fit of the shoes do not permit using double layer.
Smartwool socks are as good as ever.