Uploaded July 2026 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
I'm Mike - this is Riff Raff's Reading Renaissance. Welcome!
What books should you pack for a holiday?
Today I'm taking part in the Packing Heat Tag, created by Heather Gregg, and sharing the books I'd choose for travelling, summer reading, and literary adventures—even if it's currently winter here in South Africa!
In this video I discuss:
📚 What kinds of books I pack when travelling
✈️ Whether to take light reads or ambitious classics
🌍 Why travel guides and local literature enrich every journey
📖 My favourite short story collections from around the world
🧳 Why every reader should leave room in their suitcase for books
🌎 The best travel books for readers who can't travel
Along the way we discuss authors including Agatha Christie, P. G. Wodehouse, Michael Palin, Bill Bryson, Stephen Fry, Eric Newby, Thomas Mann, Franz Kafka, Patrick White, Tim Winton, James Joyce, Virginia Woolf, James Baldwin, Kurt Vonnegut, Raymond Carver and many more.
Books featured include Infinite Jest, The Things They Carried, Unravelling Power, A Book of Lands and Peoples, America, Weekend Wodehouse, Prisoners of Geography, and numerous outstanding short story anthologies.
Whether you're planning a holiday, looking for travel reading recommendations, or simply enjoy BookTube tags, I hope you'll find plenty of inspiration.
I'd love to hear from you:
📚 What books would you pack for a holiday?
🌍 Which travel book has made you feel as though you've visited another country?
Please like, subscribe, and join me for more conversations about books, classics, reading, and literary discovery.
Chapters / Timestamps
00:00 Introduction
01:48 What Books Do I Pack?
03:34 Favourite Holiday Reading
04:08 Short Story Collections Around the World
07:55 Leaving Room for Book Shopping
09:10 How Many Books Should You Bring?
10:13 Best Books For Armchair Travel
15:26 Final Thoughts
Books mentioned include:
The End of Normal Max du Preez
Agatha Christie novels (general reference) Agatha Christie
Weekend Wodehouse - P. G. Wodehouse
The Penguin Book of English Short Stories Edited by Philip Hensher
The Penguin Book of German Short Stories Edited by Michael Hofmann
The Granta Book of the American Short Story Edited by Richard Ford
The Penguin Book of Australian Short Stories Edited by Nicholas Jose
Death in Venice Thomas Mann
In the Penal Colony Franz Kafka
The Things They Carried Tim O'Brien
Infinite Jest David Foster Wallace
Stephen Fry in America Stephen Fry
A Book of Lands and Peoples Eric Newby
A Short Walk in the Hindu Kush Eric Newby
Love and War in the Apennines Eric Newby
Prisoners of Geography (mentioned in passing while discussing travel books) Tim Marshall
Other books or series referred to
Lonely Planet travel guides — Lonely Planet
DK Eyewitness Travel Guides — DK Publishing
Michael Palin's travel books — Michael Palin
Bill Bryson's travel books — Bill Bryson
The following works were specifically named while discussing the short story anthologies:
Death in Venice Thomas Mann
In the Penal Colony Franz Kafka
The Things They Carried Tim O'Brien
Authors represented in the anthologies
The following authors were specifically mentioned as contributors:
English Short Stories
Joseph Conrad
Rudyard Kipling
H. G. Wells
Saki
Walter de la Mare
G. K. Chesterton
W. Somerset Maugham
P. G. Wodehouse
James Joyce
Virginia Woolf
D. H. Lawrence
Dylan Thomas
Muriel Spark
Doris Lessing
Ian McEwan
J. G. Ballard
American Short Stories
Robert Penn Warren
John Cheever
Shirley Jackson
Eudora Welty
Flannery O'Connor
James Baldwin
Kurt Vonnegut
Raymond Carver
John Updike
James Salter
Amy Tan
Tim O'Brien
Australian Short Stories
Mary Fortune
Marcus Clarke
Edward Dyson
William Astley
John Arthur Barry
Arthur Hoey Davis ("Steele Rudd")
Henry Lawson
Barbara Baynton
Katharine Susannah Prichard
Marjorie Barnard
Patrick White
Hal Porter
John Morrison
Christina Stead
Elizabeth Jolley
Morris Lurie
Olga Masters
Helen Garner
Beverley Farmer
Frank Moorhouse
Tim Winton
Janette Turner Hospital
Marion Halligan
Amy Witting
Delia Falconer
Pinned Comment
If you were packing for a holiday tomorrow...
📚 Which ONE book would definitely make it into your suitcase?
🌍 And which book has transported you to another country without ever leaving your armchair?
I'd love to hear your recommendations!
And for the almighty algorithm :
#BookTube #TravelBooks #Reading #BookRecommendations #BookTag
I'm Mike - this is Riff Raff's Reading Renaissance. Welcome!
What books should you pack for a holiday?
Today I'm taking part in the Packing Heat Tag, created by Heather Gregg, and sharing the books I'd choose for travelling, summer reading, and literary adventures—even if it's currently winter here in South Africa!
In this video I discuss:
📚 What kinds of books I pack when travelling
✈️ Whether to take light reads or ambitious classics
🌍 Why travel guides and local literature enrich every journey
📖 My favourite short story collections from around the world
🧳 Why every reader should leave room in their suitcase for books
🌎 The best travel books for readers who can't travel
Along the way we discuss authors including Agatha Christie, P. G. Wodehouse, Michael Palin, Bill Bryson, Stephen Fry, Eric Newby, Thomas Mann, Franz Kafka, Patrick White, Tim Winton, James Joyce, Virginia Woolf, James Baldwin, Kurt Vonnegut, Raymond Carver and many more.
Books featured include Infinite Jest, The Things They Carried, Unravelling Power, A Book of Lands and Peoples, America, Weekend Wodehouse, Prisoners of Geography, and numerous outstanding short story anthologies.
Whether you're planning a holiday, looking for travel reading recommendations, or simply enjoy BookTube tags, I hope you'll find plenty of inspiration.
I'd love to hear from you:
📚 What books would you pack for a holiday?
🌍 Which travel book has made you feel as though you've visited another country?
Please like, subscribe, and join me for more conversations about books, classics, reading, and literary discovery.
Chapters / Timestamps
00:00 Introduction
01:48 What Books Do I Pack?
03:34 Favourite Holiday Reading
04:08 Short Story Collections Around the World
07:55 Leaving Room for Book Shopping
09:10 How Many Books Should You Bring?
10:13 Best Books For Armchair Travel
15:26 Final Thoughts
Books mentioned include:
The End of Normal Max du Preez
Agatha Christie novels (general reference) Agatha Christie
Weekend Wodehouse - P. G. Wodehouse
The Penguin Book of English Short Stories Edited by Philip Hensher
The Penguin Book of German Short Stories Edited by Michael Hofmann
The Granta Book of the American Short Story Edited by Richard Ford
The Penguin Book of Australian Short Stories Edited by Nicholas Jose
Death in Venice Thomas Mann
In the Penal Colony Franz Kafka
The Things They Carried Tim O'Brien
Infinite Jest David Foster Wallace
Stephen Fry in America Stephen Fry
A Book of Lands and Peoples Eric Newby
A Short Walk in the Hindu Kush Eric Newby
Love and War in the Apennines Eric Newby
Prisoners of Geography (mentioned in passing while discussing travel books) Tim Marshall
Other books or series referred to
Lonely Planet travel guides — Lonely Planet
DK Eyewitness Travel Guides — DK Publishing
Michael Palin's travel books — Michael Palin
Bill Bryson's travel books — Bill Bryson
The following works were specifically named while discussing the short story anthologies:
Death in Venice Thomas Mann
In the Penal Colony Franz Kafka
The Things They Carried Tim O'Brien
Authors represented in the anthologies
The following authors were specifically mentioned as contributors:
English Short Stories
Joseph Conrad
Rudyard Kipling
H. G. Wells
Saki
Walter de la Mare
G. K. Chesterton
W. Somerset Maugham
P. G. Wodehouse
James Joyce
Virginia Woolf
D. H. Lawrence
Dylan Thomas
Muriel Spark
Doris Lessing
Ian McEwan
J. G. Ballard
American Short Stories
Robert Penn Warren
John Cheever
Shirley Jackson
Eudora Welty
Flannery O'Connor
James Baldwin
Kurt Vonnegut
Raymond Carver
John Updike
James Salter
Amy Tan
Tim O'Brien
Australian Short Stories
Mary Fortune
Marcus Clarke
Edward Dyson
William Astley
John Arthur Barry
Arthur Hoey Davis ("Steele Rudd")
Henry Lawson
Barbara Baynton
Katharine Susannah Prichard
Marjorie Barnard
Patrick White
Hal Porter
John Morrison
Christina Stead
Elizabeth Jolley
Morris Lurie
Olga Masters
Helen Garner
Beverley Farmer
Frank Moorhouse
Tim Winton
Janette Turner Hospital
Marion Halligan
Amy Witting
Delia Falconer
Pinned Comment
If you were packing for a holiday tomorrow...
📚 Which ONE book would definitely make it into your suitcase?
🌍 And which book has transported you to another country without ever leaving your armchair?
I'd love to hear your recommendations!
And for the almighty algorithm :
#BookTube #TravelBooks #Reading #BookRecommendations #BookTag
