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Armchair Travel February 2017
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Feast : Recipes and Stories from a Canadian Road Trip
by Lindsay Anderson
Canadian. In the midst of a camping trip in Squamish, British Columbia, Lindsay Anderson and Dana VanVeller decided that the summer of 2013 might be the right time for an adventure. And they knew what they wanted that adventure to be: a road trip across the entire country, with the purpose of writing about Canada's food, culture, and wealth of compelling characters and their stories. 37,000 kilometres later, and toting a "Best Culinary Travel Blog" award from Saveur Magazine, Lindsay and Dana have brought together stories, photographs and recipes from across Canada: their experiences of trying whale blubber in Nunavut, tying a GoPro to a fishing line in Newfoundland to get a shot of the Atlantic Ocean's "cod highway," and much more. More than 80 contributors--including farmers, grandmothers, First Nations elders, and acclaimed chefs--have shared over 90 of their most beloved regional recipes. You'll find recipes for all courses from Barley Pancakes, Yukon Cinnamon Buns, and Bannock to Spot Prawn Ceviche, Bison Sausage Rolls, Haida Gwaii Halibut and Maritime Lobster Rolls; and also recipes for preserves, pickles and sauces, and a whole chapter devoted to drinks.
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| Grape, Olive, Pig: Deep Travels through Spain's Food Culture by Matt GouldingMarried to a Spanish woman, American foodie (and friend to Anthony Bourdain) Matt Goulding has lived in Spain for over six years and knows a lot about the country and its gastronomic offerings. In this excellent book, he serves up personal stories of his life and travels, short biographies of fascinating Spanish people, tips of what to eat and drink (hint: forget Sangria), lovingly describes sensuous meals (some at famed restaurants), and presents a celebration of the culture and cuisine of every region of Spain. With mouth-watering descriptions of tapas, acorn-fed pig, paella, and more, readers are advised to have a delicious snack available to go with this evocative travelogue. Interested in Japan? He gives it a similar (though less intimate) treatment in Rice, Noodle, Fish. |
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| The Lost City of the Monkey God: A True Story by Douglas PrestonThough he's probably better known as the co-author of the suspenseful Pendergast novels, Douglas Preston also writes thrilling nonfiction. In his latest real-life adventure tale, he gives us a high-octane account of his travels in Honduras' Mosquitia area, where he's part of a team looking for evidence of the fabled Ciudad Blanca (The White City) aka The Lost City of the Monkey God -- but the group has to deal with unfriendly soldiers, parasites, jaguars, snakes, insects, and more. Fans of David Grann's Lost City of Z will surely want to check out Preston's compelling latest; those who'd like more on Mosquitia can pick up William Carlsen's fascinating Jungle of Stone, where he traces the footsteps of two 19th-century explorers, who were the first Euro-Americans to find evidence of the sophisticated Mayan civilization. |
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| The Marches: A Borderland Journey between England and Scotland by Rory StewartInsightful, lyrical author Rory Stewart has written about Iraq (Prince of Marshes) and Afghanistan (The Places In Between), but his latest journey is more intimate: it's the landscape of his homeland, on the border between England and Scotland, along Hadrian's Wall, and he's walking it with his 89-year-old Scottish father. Touching on his own familial history as well as the plants, animals, conflicts, people (from Romans to modern-day locals), and more that have shaped this stunning area, Stewart, who's also a Member of Parliament, provides a thoughtful book. For another richly detailed (though more wide-ranging) walk about Great Britain that engagingly mixes history and travel, pick up Max Adams' recent In the Land of Giants. |
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| A Space Traveler's Guide to the Solar System by Mark ThompsonIf you want to travel to a really out-of-this-world locale, why not go, well, out of this world? Though we can't hop on a rocket to Mars (yet), this inviting book by Mark Thompson, a celebrated astronomer and presenter of the BBC's Stargazing Live, lets readers imagine that they are taking a galactic tour. After flight planning, travelers will move through our solar system, exploring the sun, planets, moons and asteroid belts and learning how humans might survive, navigate, and get fuel on such a trip. Fans of The Martian (Andy Weir's novel and/or the movie version of it) who want a factual, more wide-ranging look at humans in space will find this fantastic journey entertaining and enlightening. |
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No Barriers : A Blind Man's Journey to Kayak the Grand Canyon
by Erik Weihenmayer
No Barriers is about my journey since coming down from Everest 14 years ago, and the path to where I am today. It is the story of my own life—the ups and downs both personal and professional but also the many people I’ve encountered who possess what I call a “No Barriers” mindset, who live a No Barriers life. It’s about people who give those around them the courage to do great things. People who have risked failure, transcended their personal barriers, and shown others a way forward: scientists and innovators and technologists and artists and musicians and activists and soldiers. No Barriers is a way of living, and it lives in all of us. I think there is something inside all of us, a kind of light. But sometimes—through injury, disease, tragedy, mental illness, and trauma—people get shoved into a dark place, and that light is almost extinguished. A lot of times, making hard choices is what feeds that light, and becomes the energy we need to propel us forward. This book is about making the hard choices to fuel that light flickering in all of us, so that we can ignite with purpose and become our very best selves.
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| The World Is a Carpet: Four Seasons in an Afghan Village by Anna BadkhenEven in the midst of war and invasion, Turkoman weavers have created gorgeous carpets for centuries (Marco Polo loved them). In Oqa, Afghanistan, a tiny desert village so remote that it's not on the maps created by the regional government, award-winning journalist Anna Badkhen traces the path of one carpet, from beginning (the purchase of yarn) to its fruition (months of intricate weavings that reflect life and village events) to its journey to market. The resulting book provides a compelling portrait of a town where hunger is common, people believe the world is flat, and American fighter planes fly overhead. Like Katherine Boo's Behind the Beautiful Forevers, this elegantly written look at a group of neighbors in incredibly trying circumstances portrays fascinating people you won't soon forget. |
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| Champagne Baby: How One Parisian Learned to Love Wine -- and Life -- the American Way by Laure DugasThere are plenty of stories about Americans in Paris, but here's a delightful tale of a Parisian in America! In this charming version of the fish-out-of-water memoir, Laure Dugas -- a young French woman who has little interest in wine even though she hails from a family of winemakers -- is offered the chance to move to New York City to represent her uncle's company. She immediately accepts...even though she knows little English and little about wine. Learning as she goes, intrepid Laure gets acclimated (even working as a waitress for a month), explores Manhattan, travels across the United States for her job, misses her quintessentially French boyfriend, learns about herself, and develops a passion for the intricacies of wine. Open and enjoy -- santé! |
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| Call the Nurse: True Stories of a Country Nurse on a Scottish Isle by Mary J. MacLeodIn late 1969, Mary MacLeod and her family moved to a remote island in Scotland's Outer Hebrides in order to find a slower pace and a better life. Sharing her nostalgic, heartwarming memories of working as a district nurse and raising two children in a place where Gaelic was still the first language, peat fires warmed houses, and the sea was never out of sight, she transports readers to a different time and place and introduces them to people who feel like friends. Fans of James Herriot's memoirs or of the BBC's Call the Midwife series (which is itself based on nurse Jennifer Worth's London-based memoirs) should appreciate Call The Nurse (also known as The Island Nurse), MacLeod's first book, which was published when she was 80. |
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