"In the Place of Last Things" by Michael Helm

One of the aspects of Helm's novel that most drew me in was how it reminded me of another famous road novel, On the Road by Jack Kerouac. I have always had the dream of, like the characters in both books, taking an extensive road trip throughout North America and discovering things about myself along the way. My ideal trip would go from Toronto to Vancouver and then down to California, across the US to New York, to Montreal and then back to Toronto.

This led me to think about the most important things that I would need to take with me on a road trip: good books, good friends, good music, and a camera. Imagining the music that would make the cut on my own road trip soundtrack was helpful because when I'm reading, I often set the narratives of books to music, and it helped me identify with In the Place of Last Things.

Road music:

1. Phoenix - Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix
2. Tegan and Sara - Sainthood
3. Gossip - Music for Men
4. Coldplay - A Rush of Blood to the Head, Parachutes, Viva la Vida
5. M.I.A. - Kala
6. Vampire Weekend - Contra and Vampire Weekend
7. Jay-Z - The Blueprint III and The Black Album
8. Santigold - Santogold
9. No Doubt - The Singles Collection
10. The Smiths - The Very Best of the Smiths
11. Regina Spektor - Far
12. Lykke Li - Youth Novels
13. Wilco - Wilco (The Album)
14. The Strokes - Is This It? and Room On Fire
15. Metric - Old World Underground, Where Are You Now, Live It Out, Grow Up and Blow Away, Fantasies
16. Passion Pit - Manners
17. Madonna - The Immaculate Collection, Celebration
18. MGMT - Oracular Spectacular
19. The Eagles – Greatest Hits
20. The Ting Tings - We Started Nothing
21. Notorious BIG - Ready to Die
22. The Smashing Pumpkins - Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness
23. Michael Jackson - The Essential Michael Jackson
24. Tokyo Police Club - A Lesson In Crime
25. Blink-182 - Greatest Hits
26. Fleetwood Mac - Rumors
27. The Arcade Fire - Neon Bible and Funeral
28. Death Cab for Cutie - Narrow Stairs, Plans, and Transatlanticism
29. Broken Social Scene - You Forgot It In People
30. Coconut Records – Microphone and Young Baby
etc.

Maybe I should look into investing in an iPod adapter before I embark on this trip...