Helen's Reads » Travel

Literary Tour of London, Edinburgh & Dublin

helen — Thu, 18 Feb 2010 01:46:16 +0000

Thought I would pass this along for any of you who have dreamed of following in the steps of Robert Burns, William Shakespeare, James Joyce, Oscar Wilde, Dylan Thomas, Jane Austen, TS Eliot and Bram Stroker. I just recieved a flyer in the mail from GoAhead Tours promoting their 11 day (including airfare) Literary Tour of London, Edinburgh & Dublin. My sister and I traveled to Provence and Tuscany with this travel group a few years ago and had the best time, so I feel I can hardily recommend. AND If you book before March 12th, your companion flies for only $99. Pretty sweet. Click here for details.

Reads For The Armchair Traveler

helen — Wed, 22 Jul 2009 21:57:10 +0000

This is the final post on what Nancy Pearl (Book Lust, More Book Lust, Book Crush) recommended last month at a library sponsored event on summer reading. I previously posted her suggestions for Airplane Reads, Mystery/Spy/Thrillers, and Book Club Reads. The following books fall into the Armchair Traveler genre. Pearl announced that she is working on a new book Wanderlust and the following three titles are some of her favorites.

Narrow Dog To Indian River by Terry Darlington - funny memoir of traveling the 1,150-mile Intracoastal Waterway from Virginia to the Gulf of Mexico in a narrowboat with wife Virginia and dog, Jim. What makes it even better is that the Darlingtons are British and in their seventies.

Getting Stoned With Savages by J. Maarten Troost – hilarious memoir of ditching his job and moving with his wife to the clothing optional islands of Fiji and Vanuatu. Lots of misadventures revolving around the Kava eating natives, giant centipedes, earthquakes and government coups.

Travels In A Thin Country: A Journey Through Chile by Sara Wheeler – Pearl calls Wheeler fearless, as she travels solo and experiences a place through the hospitality of people she meets along the way.

“Dear American Airlines”

helen — Wed, 18 Jun 2008 17:14:40 +0000

At first glance, Jonathan Miles’ “Dear American Airlines”, a novel written in the form of a complaint letter, did not appeal to me. It may be the fact that I was a flight attendant for over 13 years and as my favorite French tour guide once warned “Things Happens”. The good reviews this book has been garnering are harder to ignore. The New York Times Book Review recently gave it front page status and Miles writing style is being compared to that of David Sedaris and Augusten Burroughs. The fact remains that traveling by plane will never be as glamorous as it once was. Might as well get a few laughs even if it’s at our own expense.

Recommendation: purchase the hardback.

7/29/08 update: Read Nancy Pearl’s review