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Armchair Travel December 2018
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| We Fed an Island: The True Story of Rebuilding Puerto Rico, One Meal at a Time by José Andrés with Richard WolffeWhat happened: Four days after Hurricane Maria devastated Puerto Rico, acclaimed Spanish American chef José Andrés went to there to feed the hungry, fighting red tape and a broken system to do so.
Why you should read it: It offers a moving, eye-opening look at a part of the United States that's often forgotten and a portrait of a tourist destination in crisis.
Author buzz: Andrés is a James Beard Award winner, a Michelin-starred chef, and founder of World Central Kitchen, a nonprofit fighting hunger. |
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| Even Darkness Sings: From Auschwitz to Hiroshima, Finding Hope in the Saddest... by Thomas H. CookWhat it is: a lyrical, reflective memoir of the travels of crime novelist Thomas H. Cook, his wife, and their daughter to some of the saddest places on Earth, along with short histories of the troubled spots.
Places visited include: Auschwitz, Hiroshima, Verdun, Lourdes, Ghana, Spain, the Golden Gate Bridge, and Ground Zero.
First line: "I have come to thank dark places for the light they bring to life." |
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| Hiking with Nietzsche: On Becoming Who You Are by John KaagWhat it is: a combination of an accessible introduction to Friedrich Nietzsche and a contemplative travel memoir that traces John Kaag's travels following Nietzsche's footsteps in the Swiss Alps, both at age 19 and then 17 years later with his family in tow.
Want a taste? "At nineteen, on the summit of Corvatsch, I had no idea how dull the world could sometimes be." |
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| The Man Who Walked Backward: An American Dreamer's Search for Meaning in... by Ben MontgomeryWhat it is: the intriguing story of Depression-era Texan banker Plennie Wingo, who, after losing everything (partially due to his selling alcohol during Prohibition), decided to earn money from sponsors (which didn't work out so well) and by selling postcards (which did) by walking the world...backward.
Don't miss: his stint in a Turkish jail; tea with a queen.
About the author: Ben Montgomery, who was a Pulitzer finalist for news reporting, also wrote the delightful Grandma Gatewood's Walk. |
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Love and Marriage...and Travel
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| When in French: Love in a Second Language by Lauren CollinsWhat happened: Lauren Collins, an American New Yorker writer living in London, fell in love and married a Frenchman, moving to Geneva, Switzerland to be with him.
What it is: a funny, full-bodied, and romantic chronicle of her amusing adventures in a new land and her attempts to communicate in a new tongue.
Reviewers say: This is "a thoughtful, beautifully written meditation on the art of language and intimacy" (The New York Times). |
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A Backpack, a Bear, and Eight Crates of Vodka: A Memoir
by Lev Golinkin
In this eye-opening and affecting debut, author Lev Golinkin recounts his Jewish family's desperate flight from Soviet Ukraine in the late 1980s, when he was only nine years old. He also explores what it was like growing up as a Jew in the Soviet Union (where religion was forbidden) and discusses his personal quest, years later, to retrace his family's journey from the Soviet Union through Austria and eventually to the United States, in order to thank the strangers who helped them -- and to come to terms with his past. This "hilarious and heartbreaking" (New York Times) memoir is one that readers won't soon forget.
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| Eve of a Hundred Midnights: The Star-Crossed Love Story of Two World War II... by Bill LascherWhat it is: a swiftly paced dual biography inspired by the writings and photographs of American journalists Mel and Annalee Jacoby.
What happened: The couple married shortly before the attack on Pearl Harbor and worked in China until just before the Japanese invasion (getting out in the nick of time), then moved from location to location chronicling the events of World War II.
Read it for: a timeless love story full of danger as well as fascinating depictions of the Pacific theater during the war. |
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A Cook's Tour: Global Adventures in Extreme Cuisines
by Anthony Bourdain
Anyone who knows anything about Anthony Bourdain knows that the witty chef and TV personality loves food and adventure. In this 2001 book that's still fresh with fulfilling anecdotes, Bourdain combines those two passions as he embarks on a quest around the world to find the perfect meal. Among many eclectic dishes, he eats traditional fugu (a poisonous blowfish that can kill you if prepared incorrectly) in Japan and enjoys moonshine and clay-roasted duck with the Viet Cong in the Mecong Delta as well as lamb testicles in Morocco and deep-fried Mars bars in Scotland. Still hungry? Check out one of Bourdain's other books or one of his TV programs. For a more restaurant-centric memoir that includes some traveling, try Bill Buford's Heat.
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Contact your librarian for more great books!
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