I know I should be checking travel details like: Do we need Malaria tablets? What do I do for money? Can I find my walking shoes? And what about the fact my backpack needs replacing?

But I am most concerned about what and how many books I & Eleri need for two weeks travelling. As a bookseller this is always my first concern and one I share with booksellers the world over. The fear of running out of books or having the 'wrong' books is palpable and needs it's own medical term.

I have to consider size, genre, pleasure, and the fact that Eleri usually reads 'how to manuals'. She did make the offer that she likes books about bikes & cyclists. She also hates books with adjectives.

Choosing to disregard any of Eleri's suggestions these are the books on the shorlist:

Freedom by Jonathan Franzen. It's a hefty tome that has had my fellow booksellers raving. It's a contemporary family & political saga and promises to be as compelling as The Corrections. I just hope those 562 pages don't include too many adjectives.

The Old School by P.M Newton. About to make a big splash on the crime writing scene this thriller is set in Bankstown and features the Australian-Vietnamese female detective Nhu 'Ned' Kelly. Buried bodies, dark family mysteries, ICAC and the infamous Roger Rogerson should appeal to Eleri. I think I'll also choose it for my "It's a Bloody Crime! Bookclub" which meets once a month and supports my secret crime addiction.

Started Early, Took My Dog is the strangely titled new book by Kate Atkinson and continues the story of sometime detective Jackson Brodie. Atkinson is one of those authors who straddles the fence of genre writing and literary fiction. While obviously uncomfortable for her the last three Jackson Brodie novels are seductively compelling such that this will be my plane book.

Booksellers across Australia have been badgering me to read Jasper Jones by Craig Silvey. A coming of age story set in a country town I've managed to avoid this award winning novel but my time has come. Hopefully it's not too 'emotional' for Eleri.

I also really want to take In the Company of Angels by Thomas E. Kennedy. A novel about poetry, torture under Pinochet's regime, passion and pain. I've read this first four short chapters and I'm hooked.

But I better go look for my sandshoes, find my passport and maybe just check this shortlist one more time.

Fiona