The Iliad & The Odyssey ~ E.V.Rieu trans. ~ Penguin Classics

These were more than likely found in the stacks of the legendary Shakespeare and Co, then stuffed into a backpack before a treck along the coast of the Balkans. These E.V. Rieu translations of Homer's foundational epics—the Iliad and Odyssey—arrives with the unmistakable patina of a life well lived: coffee rings from Albanian cafés, creases from long waits at border crossings, scuffs and tears from of an overzealous customs inspection in Tangiers.  Ready for the next adventure.