As my friend used to say, the way to achieve your goal is to follow KAP
routine: Knowledge - Action - Perseverance. I've already started the first
stage - Knowledge, and it involves reading plenty of books relating to the
countries I want to go to, travel guides, tips on what to pack, how to keep
your things secure etc. Today I have found few books in my favourite recycling
centre in Chagford, if you ever wander to that area, I strongly recommend it. A
browsing heaven, run by a team of new hippies, who love to collect, and people
ever so often donate to them unwanted items. I never left empty handed,
and they've got separate sheds for books, clothes, kitchenalia, furniture,
crafts - you get the idea. But now... I'm drifting away from the topic...
Well then, I have stocked up on some vital literature on the Gap Year
subject - I think it will be widely useful, more then the guides targeting
tourists, as obviously tourists will be focused on sight-seeing, going to fancy
hotels and restaurants, and if they spend a week in a tropical place, saving
money is not their priority. So I think this book will be focused on more
practical issues, as to how to save money on accommodation, how to look for
jobs, what to pack and so on.
Another book is a South American handbook, written for people who want to
explore this land and want to get to know it to really enjoy it. It has got
over 1600 pages, which are very thin, that's why this book doesn't look bulky,
but could be the one to take with me, as it's all in one, but won't take much
space. I will leave a decision until last moment, as will probably go through
many more books by the time I leave.

The third travel book is a Latin American Spanish phrase book. I know that
Spanish that is used in Spain and Spanish in Latin America differ, I suppose
like British and American English, maybe even more. I remember when I arrived
to UK I used to hang out with some Spanish friends and they used to giggle when
we were watching 'Desperado' as it was set in Mexico, so they used Mexican
Spanish. Anyway, this phrase book covers all the places you might find yourself
when traveling, so obviously the restaurant menus, hotel accommodation, bus
tickets, camping, but also phrases relating to sport, post office, health and
emergencies. It is pocket friendly, and I will definitely make a room for that.
One more thing I would love to get, is a 'Point It' booklet, where there are
various pages with images, like children books, but for people who don't know
local language. What you do, is simply point to the image you are interested
in, like apple, when shopping, or bus stop when asking for the direction.
Could be useful, but I like to think that I'm super-fast learner, and might not
need it in the end? I could pick up phrases by talking to people, listening to
the local conversations etc. by the end of the day that's how I learned
majority of English when I arrived to UK. Should be fine.
Now the last book, is not a travel guide, but a wonderful biography by
Nelson Mandela 'Long Walk to Freedom' - I have heard about it many times, and
finally found it today, it will be a wonderful read, let's just hope I find
sufficient time to go through all these books now! I have currently 10 lying on
my side table :)