T minus 15 days.

Slowly trying to sort my stuff into three piles: essential, non-essential and leave behind. The essential things I will try to bring with us on the flight home. The non-essential stuff I will give to a colleague to bring in October. Things in leave behind pile will have to be left behind.

Books are somewhere between essential and non-essential. Research books I definitely don't want to leave for four months, fiction is something I can live without for a while. They are also too heavy and bulky to fly with and the space is at premium in the car. There will be a book or two that I won't trust to postal services, the rest will be sent by post.

This actually makes four piles, but most of the books were already packed in boxes for the previous move, that makes things easier. I do have to repack some — I've bought more books to make the time pass easier. I know it's not wise to increase the luggage at this moment, but there's no Internet at the house, no TV in my room and I've listened to all my audiobooks. That leaves very limited options for self entertainment. Books fit my current need nicely.