A few months ago I penned an article for The Writer magazine titled “Filling the Tanks: Pack your vacation time with creative fuel that will last all year.” The gist of the piece (available here) is that vacation is the perfect time to devour all the books and TV shows that get stuck on the back burner throughout the year. Inspiration behind the article comes from an interview with Hollywood writer-director-producer Joss Whedon, who revealed, “I got two weeks every year. And in that vacation I read, in 14 days, 10 books. My wife and I saw, like, nine plays, and that’s all we did. We just filled the tanks.”

While at the onset of my RTW trip I pictured ample time spent in front of my laptop in an exotic location, finally free to put pen to paper fingers to keyboard and write to my heart’s content, that scenario never really played out. Instead, I gorged on novel after play after non-fiction adventure best-seller (an underrated genre), and then followed up with a second course (lots of eating metaphors, folks) of TV episodes in my spare time. It was glorious.

The result, as I discuss in the article, was an uptick in my own creative impulses. I’d never tried my hand at writing song lyrics before, but after getting wrapped up in a few episodes of the soapy drama Nashville I found myself jotting down the chorus of a catchy country tune. I reread Pride & Prejudice and noticed my everyday language shifted, temporarily, to a more formal tone. A few chapters into Junot Diaz’s collection of short stories This is How You Lose Her and my language pattern shifted again, this time in a more colloquial direction. The voices of these authors have added dimension to my own.

While the pay-off is less clear in the short term, I have no doubt the influences of the works I’ve consumed will impact my artistic choices down the line. Each novel or play or TV episode is like a seed lying in wait for my brain to find an unexpected connection: an idea, a metaphor, a voice that in some small way harks back to these works. I used my vacation to stock up my arsenal of art.

So now I’d like to share what I actually read and watched during this trip… and my brief thoughts on each one.

18 BOOKS

Book of Joe by Jonathan Tropper — 4 stars

A Connecticut native moves to the Big City and writes a tell-all book about his hometown. Years later he returns home for his father’s funeral and faces the belated wrath of an entire town.  [image via]

The Year of Magical Thinking by Joan Didion — 4 stars

Following the unexpected death of her husband, Didion explores her grief process and attempts to deal with the unbearable pain that accompanies the loss of a loved one.  [image via]

Delirium, Pandemonium, and Requiem — a trilogy by Lauren Oliver — 4 stars

I’m a sucker for YA dystopian lit. This Hunger Games-esque trilogy features Lena, a teenager who escapes the confines of a highly restrictive society and trades stability for freedom, all while juggling two promising love interests.  [image via]

Where’d You Go, Bernadette by Maria Semple — 5 stars

My favorite of the whole bunch. Once a rising star on the Los Angeles architect scene, Bernadette unravels in her new life as a stay-at-home mom in suburban Seattle. Penned by a former Arrested Development writer, this is one of the funniest things I’ve ever read. Bonus points for the Wallingford references (my CT hometown). [image via] 

The Art of Racing in the Rain by Garth Stein — 3 stars

A story about the love between a man and his dog, told from the perspective of the latter. Make sure your hankie is nearby.  [image via]

The Normal Heart by Larry Kramer — 5 stars

Award-winning play about the rise of the AIDS crisis in the early 1980s in New York City and the inspired activism by a group of passionate individuals. Its devastating conclusion will rock you.  [image via]

Mr. Penumbra’s 24 Hour Bookstore by Robin Sloan — 3 stars

A caper about a secret literary society struggling to keep up with the times. Google intervenes and saves the day.  [image via]

Pride & Prejudice by Jane Austen — 5 stars

What a treat to re-read this classic tale of Elizabeth and Mr. Darcy’s tempestuous dance towards the alter. I forgot how funny Ms. Austen can be.  [image via]

Eat Pray Love by Elizabeth Gilbert — 5 stars

Does it bother me that this book is over-hyped in the travel world and beyond? No, because it’s actually quite good and impressed me almost as much as the first time I read it six years ago.  [image via]

Freedom by Jonathan Franzen — 5 stars

A winding account of decades of family drama. I was immediately hooked and couldn’t put it down during my time in Bali.  [image via]

The Homecoming by Harold Pinter — 2 stars

I was perplexed and frustrated by Pinter’s play, in which an adult brother returns home to his family with a new wife. Behaviors and reactions of all characters are WEIRD and left me muttering out loud at times about how nothing makes sense.  [image via]

Unaccustomed Earth by Jhumpa Lahiri — 4 stars

A book of short stories about Indian-Americans assimilating to U.S. culture while struggling to balance a connection to their roots. The characters are so well-drawn that I wish each story could have been its own complete novel.  [image via]

To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee — 5 stars

I relished the chance to re-read this classic about two young siblings growing up amidst racial tension in the South during the 1960s. Atticus Finch for Father of the Year.  [image via]

100 Years of Solitude by Gabriel Garcia Marquez — 4 stars

A long-time favorite of mine, I picked this up in a Tokyo hostel just before hiking to Mt. Everest Base camp (all of these books are tied in my memory to wherever I was traveling at the time). It was a joy to escape each freezing night of my trek to the Buendia family’s century-long rule in Macondo. The multi-generational saga approach reminds me of a soap opera.  [image via]

Into Thin Air by Jon Krakauer — 5 stars

I read this on the heels of my Everest trek and immediately became engrossed in Krakauer’s own journey to the very top of the tallest mountain on earth. He recounts the harrowing details of his team’s quest for the summit, during which half of them perished. Perhaps the most gripping book I’ve ever read.  [image via]

This is How You Lose Her by Junot Diaz — 4 stars

A collection of short stories partially sprung to life from a supporting character in Diaz’s Pulitzer Prize winning novel The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao. All dwell on relationships and the ways Dominican men have failed their women. Diaz’s mesmerizing way with words — even as he deftly navigates between English and Spanish — often rendered me speechless.  [image via]

7 SEASONS OF TV SHOWS

Nashville season 1 — 4 stars

I completely dig this soapy drama that peeks into the lives of two majors competing stars on the country music scene. Think Reba McEntire and Taylor Swift, dramatized and fighting over men. Each episode features original music and I invariably download one or two songs from iTunes after every show.  [image via]

Smash season 2 — 4 stars

So much better than critics or hate-watching fans admit! I loved season 2 of this Broadway-themed drama and would be devastated about its cancellation if it weren’t for the stellar way the show’s writers concluded the series. Both seasons encompass the entire life of a Broadway musical, from inception to Tony time. Yes, it’s often less-than-realistic, but that’s part of the fun. The production numbers are top-notch (Spielberg is a producer) and I’d pay top-dollar to see either of the fictional shows — the Marilyn musical Bombshell or underground sensation Hit List — given full productions in New York.  [image via]

Scandal seasons 1 & 2 — 5 stars

How can I begin to express my love for this show? It’s about a political fixer in DC who is having an affair with the President. It’s hot, steamy, and fast-paced. Major bombs drop in each episode, as you might’ve guessed if you’ve noticed your Facebook feed blow up on Thursday nights. I’ve just downloaded season 3 and cannot wait to dive in.  [image via]

Downton Abbey seasons 2 & 3 — 5 stars

Thanks to a lack of cable at my old apartment in Los Angeles, I was late to the party on this one. But I thoroughly enjoyed playing catch-up on the past two seasons and escaping to this elegant and electric world for an hour each night. Looking forward to season 4 airing on PBS next week.  [image via]

Sherlock season 1 — 5 stars

AHH! This show!! Brilliant, fast-paced (I can barely keep up), and highly watchable. These modern Sherlock and Watson capers remind me of a cross between CSI and Veronica Mars with a whole lotta Benedict Cumberbatch thrown in. If you’re not watching now, jump on the train just in time for season 3, which airs in a few weeks.  [image via]

I won’t recap the next batch of movies or theatrical experiences, but I wanted to list them here for posterity (and my own personal record). I saw dozens more movies and plays / musicals in the States in 2013, but here are the ones I saw while abroad.

5 MOVIES

• The Great Gatsby
• The Attack
• A Place Beyond the Pines
• The Heat
• Elysium

4 THEATRICAL EXPERIENCES

• Midnight in Moscow (Wellington, New Zealand)
• American Buffalo (Melbourne, Australia)
• The Maids starring Cate Blanchett (Sydney, Australia)
• Idina Menzel concert (Sydney, Australia)

…and a partridge in a pear tree.

I’d love to hear what’s made the cut on your own Amazon wish list. Or what shows are sitting in your Netflix queue, just begging for your attention?

NOTE: This post contains Amazon affiliate links. Should you click on them to purchase anything, I’d get a tiny (tiny) commission.