I’m embarrassed to admit it, but ever since we started planning The Trip, I’ve become a bit of a library book hoarder. Our county’s library system consists of multiple branches, and I’ve come to realize that the one closest to our house – deep in the midst of Snowbird country — has been unofficially designated as residence to all the reject media – outdated editions, straight-to-video DVD’s and the clownish large-print versions of bestsellers. I use the library system’s online catalog and cherry-pick from the more “hip” branches to reserve travel-related resources. And because I am unable to actually see and flip through my options, I tend to get a little carried away, such as when I reserved the Frommer’s, Fodor’s, Lonely Planet, Moon, Insight Guides, Eyewitness Travel and National Geographic Traveler guides for Australia — all at once. (So far, my favorite resource has been the Rough Guide “First Time Around The World” book. Among its 328 pages are succinct reviews of each world region, recommendations for further reading, packing lists [2-4 pairs of underwear?!], visa requirements and vignettes containing words of wisdom from past world travelers.  I think I’ve reserved, checked out, renewed and then returned that book three times.) I tell myself that it’s helpful to cross-reference and compare each book’s suggestions of the best hotels, restaurants and sights. And, of course, the vast selection gives us a good idea of which versions to ultimately buy for the Kindle we plan to take on our journey. But perhaps it’s not quite fair to the librarian: He nearly fell over last Tuesday when retrieving the precarious tower of guides, historical fiction and Rick Steves DVD’s I reserved. He’s virtually a stranger but embarrassment over my bibliomania has caused me to confess my true motive for simultaneously checking out guides for Australia, South Africa, Thailand, Turkey and India. So he’s one of the very few who knows about The Trip.