On a recent trip to Las Vegas, I took my iPad in case there would be time to read a few pages of the novel I was half into. As luck would have it (Yes! I was lucky in Vegas!), there was no time to read. I was fine with that because there was a lot to keep me busy.

I recall trips where I had plenty of time to read, even whole books. One of my favorites was The Other by Thomas Tryon, a horror novel. I read it during a camping trip that involved a lot of travel by car and sitting around the campsite. When I finished the book, I narrated the tale over the campfire. That night my brother had a nightmare brought about by that story. It was the perfect revenge on a big brother who used to like to scare me when were kids.

During another long road trip, I discovered Victoria Holt, the popular, highly prolific author of gothic and historical romances. I gobbled up On the Night of the Seventh Moon while sitting in the cramped back seat, ignoring the sites as we entered the city of Boston, a place I’d never visited. I preferred Victoria Holt to Boston, and over the next years read all of her novels.

On yet another road trip, I read Paint it Black by Janet Fitch, a well written but gloomy story. I should have left it behind on my bedroom nightstand.

Beach reads make the best vacation companions. The books don’t require too much intellectual investment to enjoy. Leave the tough stuff at home. It’ll be there when you return.