What's in Your Book Bag?

I doubt that the women of Sex and the City are as particular about their purses as I am about the specifics of my book bag. I prefer a single strap bike messenger bag that used to be in vogue over ten years ago.  Evidently that fashion died a quick death and manufacturers abandoned the style for the next cool thing, leaving me without a decent bag for my daily essentials. I’ve been searching high and low, both in stores and on the internet for something to replace the old Gap® bag I brought to Spain and that disintegrated several years ago.

Yesterday I was sitting on the terrace of my favorite café when I spied a bag in the small computer repair shop next door. It looked perfect.  I was resolved to pay no more than 70€ for it in spite of my desperation. It turned out to be only 21€ and it was just about perfect. It has a slot for a phone and my wallet, a pouch for my netbook, and plenty of pockets inside for everything else. So what do I have in my new bag?

Of course, the most important thing in a book bag is the book, or books. I am currently reading El Señor Llega, the first in the trilogy called Los Gozos y las Sombras by Gonzalo Lorrente Ballester. This is widely considered to be one of the jewels of 20^th century Spanish fiction and only days after having the book recommended to me I found a used copy. I’ll write more about the book when I’m finished.