Packing List (Books) for the Car Trip

Alright, going rogue is all well and good but I need to be at least a little organized for a three week road trip. I was originally going to bring only doorstoppers, and there are still a few in there, but a lot of those fell under "should read" rather than "excited to read." Every book on this list is something I'm excited about for some reason or another and there is limited space in a civic with three passengers. (I'll probably be shipping boxes home as I finish things.)

1. Abaddon's Gate by James S. A. Corey (Book 3 in The Expanse) - It could be considered a doorstopper but more importantly is the third book in a series and it's been sitting on my list for a few months so I've been staring at it, wanting to find out what happens next and the randomizer just wasn't picking it.
2. Cibola Burn by James S.A. Corey (Book 4 in The Expanse) - Same as Abaddon's Gate.
3. The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexander Dumas - I've been wanting to read this book actively for over a year but it's been a comedy of errors. On my first attempt I realized that I had a heavily abridged copy, so I put it down. I received this more complete copy and it's just been sitting on my list. Got to love random systems. I've always liked Dumas, I first read The Three Musketeers in middle school.
4. Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett - Mom recommended this one to me years ago and because it is a doorstopper, I just haven't picked it up but it does look like a really good book. My literature taste doesn't overlap with Mom's all that much, but where it does I can attest to her excellent sense of writing so I'm looking forward to this one.
5. The Devil & Sherlock Holmes by David Grann - A year ago or so, I read The Killers of the Flower Moon with my mystery class kids. I'm not a big one for true crime but it was an excellent read and several of my mystery kids became dedicated fans (These were not big readers to begin with.) I tripped across this one, randomly, at a used book store and I'm super psyched to read it just so I can share it with my mystery kids.
6. Beggars in Spain by Nancy Kress - I do a lot of research for my Literature Electives and I tripped across this one while researching for Sci Fi. I know there are some content issues with reading it in high school so I didn't select it for the class that year. However, it seemed like an interesting read so I bought a copy. It's sat on a stack ever since. I'm going to read it. I'm teaching Sci Fi again in the spring so maybe I'll get to teach it too.
7. Portrait of a Thief by Grace D. Li - TBR recommendation. There are three of these on this list but I really trust my recommender: Amanda. 
8. John Eyre by Mimi Matthews - Another TBR rec. (Finished 7/15/2022)
9. The Five Wounds by Kirstin Valdez Quade - The third TBR rec.
10. Romancing Mister Bridgerton by Julia Quinn (Bridgerton Series Book 4) - I'm not a huge romance reader but when I like them, I really love them. So this is a guilty pleasure that I don't generally make time for. This particular one has been sitting on my lists for a least three months and Rando just wasn't selecting it. I'm preempting it just cause I want to. (Finished 6/28/2022)
11. To Sir Philip, With Love by Julia Quinn (Bridgerton Series Book 5) - Same as Romancing Mister Bridgerton. (Finished 6/30/2022)
12. City of Ghosts by Victoria Schwab - Victoria Schwab and V.E. Schwab are the same writer. She, wisely, publishes her adult work as V.E. and her YA as Victoria. That's the only difference. She's written so much work that I haven't read yet, but I'm an intense fan of her "Shades of Magic" series. I bought this one for my classroom library but I've been sitting on it because I want to read it. Enough of that; I need to read it and stop hoarding it. (Finished 7/6/2022)
13. War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy - Doorstopper of all doorstoppers. This one probably seems like it should fit into the category of "literature bran muffin" and I suppose it is, but I also really want to read it. I read Anna Karenina  a few years ago and loved it, even though it was one of the more difficult books I've read. However, picking up War and Peace is this weird proposition. Karenina took me close to a month to get through, and I suspect that this could as much of an undertaking. Nevertheless, I really want to do it.
14. Spin by Robert Charles Wilson - This is another book I discovered in my research for Sci Fi lit class. This one I did take a risk on and offered to the kids even though I hadn't read it, which is why I have a copy. The kids picked something else, but I'm thinking I might read it and try again. (Finished 7/26/2022)