Travel Writing

Our next meeting is February 8, 2012 to discuss debut novels. I absolutely LOVE reading authors' first books, seeing where it all began. If you want to peruse a list of great debut novels, Google is a great place to start! Also, a recent issue of Booklist (Nov 1? Nov 15?) spotlighted debut novels.

April Wallace, director of the Pinson Library and faithful RA Roundtable member, is also in charge of the Project Read program. We need suggestions and recommendations for books for the program so comment here at the blog with any likely candidates.

On to the list!

The Journey North: One Woman's Story of Hiking the Appalachian Trail by Adrienne Hall
There are numerous books about thru/section hiking the AT. I would recommend these types of books to anyone interested in outdoor/hiking activities. The JCLC has a lots of AT books (a keyword search for "appalachian trail" resulted in 70 items) which include "how-to, "autobiographical, and fictional accounts of trail life on the AT.

Hall's book is an easy enjoyable read but lacks depth about the social interactions with other hikers and "trail angels" that are a huge part of hiking the AT. This is presumably because she started the AT almost 2 months before the bulk of hikers begin the AT, in hopes of avoiding "the crowds." She suffered through horrible weather (again, a reason to *wait* before starting the AT) and seemed to have a miserable and challenging time for the most part. But there were bright spots in Hall's writing, and while I would not recommend this book to someone who had not hiked on the AT, I would quickly recommend it to someone looking for an AT fix, because they will recognize and remember the AT easily through Hall's writing. Hall also drifted from personal narrative to somewhat boring accounts of historical, environmental, and legal issues related to the trail. I often skimmed these sections as I'd either read them before, or they were outdated (Hall's trip was in 1996) and felt like "old news." Plus, who wants to read 4 pages about salamanders? I don't. But for AT fanatics these type of books are still desirable, despite their flaws, because they allow us to revisit the AT (the good and the bad, the exciting and the boring) from the relative safety and warmth of our own comfy homes.
Gina, Gardendale

A Walk in the Woods: Rediscovering America on the Appalachian Trail by Bill Bryson
Michelle, Irondale

The Greedy Bastard Diary: A Comic Tour of America by Eric Idle
Mondretta, Leeds

Drives of a Lifetime: 500 of the World's Most Spectacular Trips by National Geographic
Mondretta, Leeds

How to Eat a Small Country: A Family's Pursuit of Happiness, One Meal at a Time by Amy Finley
Amy Finley felt like she'd gotten it all after winning the top spot on the third season of The Next Food Network Star, but her husband sure didn't think so. Unhappy with a laundry list of new obligations Amy had to fulfill, he mentions the big "D" word. Amy examines her life, her successes, and her choice between family and fame becomes clear. Amy, her husband, and their two small children move back to his home country of France for some bonding, soul searching, and (maybe) a healing of their marriage. Finley's descriptions of the tiny French towns and decadent food are wondrous. The stories are honest and she doesn't hide the fights, petty comebacks, and occasional cold shoulders that accompany her marital disagreements. This book will make you believe in the power of family, even dysfunctional ones...or maybe especially dysfunctional ones :-)
Holley, Emmet O'Neal

Best American Travel Writing
Jon, Avondale

Travel is a Political Act by Rick Steves
Jon, Avondale

Volunteer Vacations
Jon, Avondale

God's Middle Finger: Into the Lawless Heart of the Sierra Madre by Richard Grant
Jon, Avondale

Places in Between by Rory Stewart
Jon, Avondale

Smile When You're Lying: Confessions of a Rogue Travel Writer by Chuck Thompson
Jon, Avondale

Tony Wheeler's Bad Lands
Jon, Avondale

Lunatic Express: Discovering the World Via Its Most Dangerous Buses, Boats, Trains, and Planes by Carl Hoffman
Jon, Avondale

Off the Beaten Path: Alabama
Leigh, North Birmingham

The Geography of Bliss: One Grump's Search for the Happiest Places in the World by Eric Weiner
Former NPR foreign correspondent and professed grumpy person Eric Weiner takes on happiness on it's own turf. He travels far and wide seeking out the documented happiest places on earth and tries to get to the bottom of why they feel so cheerful. Funny, insightful, sobering, and utterly enchanting.
Holley, Emmet O'Neal

Holidays in Hell: In Which Our Intrepid Reporter Travels to the World's Worst Places and Asks, "What's Funny About This?" by P.J. O'Rourke
Travelogues of beautiful vacation spots littered the field in 1988. P. J. O’Rourke decided to write a few tips for sojourning in some of the less-desirable points on the globe, such as Beirut during the war, Seoul during a contentious political election (riots are contentious, right?), Christmas in El Salvador, and along the U.S./Mexican border. Of the many books I’ve read, this is, hands down, the funniest, and the one I place lovingly in the hands of any patron who wants humor. From “A Ramble Through Lebanon”:

“Bassboat.” “Bizport.” “Passboot.” “Pisspot.” It’s the one English word every Lebanese understands and no Lebanese can say. The first, deepest and most enduring impression from a visit to Lebanon is an endless series of faces, with gun barrels, poking through the car window and mispronouncing your travel documents.”

“…Lebanon is notably free of tour groups and Nikon-toting Japanese. The beaches, though shell-pocked and occasionally mined, are not crowded. Ruins of historical interest abound, in fact, block most streets….”

“ Spaghetteria is a favorite with the foreign press. The Italian specials are good, and there’s a spectacular view of military patrols and nighttime skirmishing along the beachfront. Sit near the window if you feel lucky….”

If you are curious about third world war zones in the 1980’s, and what it was like to have an embedded holiday, you’ll enjoy this book. It also proves that some things haven’t changed a bit! Readers’ Advisory: Among the Euro-Weenies is definitely NOT Politically Correct!
Kelly, Springville Road

Digging for the Truth: One Man’s Epic Adventure Exploring the World’s Greatest Archeological Mysteries By Josh Bernstein
910.4 BernJ 2006 Audio (Unabridged)
Read by William Dufris
Josh Bernstein is the host of the series Digging for the Truth on the History Channel. This book is a combination of biography and travel; it first chronicles how he grew up loving camping trips, wilderness experiences, and all things outdoors and then recounts his adventures and mishaps as host of his popular television series. Armchair travelers will welcome the chance to explore locales such as Easter Island and Machu Picchu from the comfort of their own homes, which will seem twice as comfortable after hearing of Bernstein’s run-ins with diseases, questionable food, and venomous or parasitic wildlife. However, none of these things can quell Bernstein’s enthusiasm for his travels and archaeological investigations. I enjoyed Dufris’ reading on the audio version, but other readers interested in this topic might want to check out the text version as well for the photographs. Digging for the Truth will bring out the Indiana Jones in you.
Mary Anne, Southern History

Don’t Go There! The Travel Detective’s Essential Guide to the Must-Miss Places of the World
By Peter Greenberg
910.4 GreeP 2009
We all hope our vacations will be flawless excursions that help us relax and leave us with fond memories. We can hope, but our dream vacations can turn into nightmares because of filthy hotels, incompetent airlines, disease-ridden cruise ships, and destinations where you stand a better than average chance of being murdered for your shoes. Greenberg, who is the travel writer for the Today show, tries to help the reader escape some of these tourist traps by listing his picks on such topics as “Worse Hotels: Paging Norman Bates”
“Worst Cruises: Ships of Fools” and “Highways of Death:God’s Not Your Copilot.” Everyone who has traveled extensively is bound to have war stories, but you could literally wind up in a war zone in “Dangerous Destinations: You’d Better Pack More Than Samsonite.” One of Greenberg’s most hair-raising accounts is of the tourist who discovered a dead body under the bed in his hotel room. Through most of this book I was torn between dismay and hilarity and while I resolved never to visit some of these locations and hotels, I thought a lot of his advice would have to be taken as a cautionary text and it would be up to me to do more research on my own if I were thinking of traveling to some of his “Dangerous Destinations”---one of which is Birmingham, Alabama. Still, Greenberg’s book could be an excellent starting point for where not to take a vacation.
Mary Anne, Southern History

A Night to Remember
By Walter Lord
910.4 LordW
Any top ten list of nightmare cruises would have to include the disastrous voyage of the RMS Titanic, the passenger liner that stuck an iceberg and sank early in the morning of April 15th, 1912, sending over 1500 people to their deaths in the icy waters of the North Atlantic. Most readers would not think of Walter Lord’s account of the catastrophe as travel writing in the generally accepted sense, but with what amounts almost to reverence for precise detail, Lord delivers a well-paced and moving chronicle of the ship’s last hours and gives the modern reader a real sense of what it meant to travel in the great age of luxury cruise ships. Lord interviewed many Titanic survivors while working on the book and so is able to provide numerous personal touches that illumine the tragedy and horror of the sinking with courage and dignity. Lord makes few overt attempts to manipulate the reader’s emotions, but his calm recital of the facts always leaves me in tears as the survivors in the too-few lifeboats are rescued by the RMS Carpathia and the distraught women of the Titanic protest against being pestered with too many questions: “Go away, we have just seen our husbands drown.” Considered by some Titanic buffs to be the definitive account of the sinking, Lord’s account was made into a film into 1958. With the 100th anniversary of the sinking fast approaching, many travel companies are offering commemorative cruises in memory of the doomed liner and the disaster victims, but a reader who has just finished A Night to Remember would probably choose to stay home---and immediately start reading the book again. Highly recommended.
Mary Anne, Southern History

What is YOUR favorite travel book?  Also, any suggestions for a Project Read selection in the spring?
Holley