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Armchair Travel October 2017
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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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| So Happiness to Meet You: Foolishly, Blissfully Stranded in Vietnam by Karin EsterhammerAfter the 2008 recession hit, L.A. journalist Karin Esterhammer and her husband had little money and lots of debt, so they did something drastic: they moved to Vietnam with their eight-year-old son. Living in a nine-foot-wide back-alley Ho Chi Minh City house, they met welcoming neighbors who helped them...and unabashedly stared into their windows. With quick humor, keen insight into an amazing country, and introductions to lots of fun folks, this delightful book is perfect for those who like family travelogues or fish-out-of-water tales. |
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| Empire Made: My Search for an Outlaw Uncle Who Vanished in British India by Kief HillsberyIn search of answers to family questions, Kief Hillsbery spent decades traveling to India, Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Nepal. He was following in the footsteps of a distant English uncle, who'd worked as an East India Company clerk in the 1840s and then "gone native." Presented from both Hillsbery's and his uncle's perspectives (using old letters and documents to inform), Empire Made illuminates the past and the present and offers intriguing findings in this combination travelogue and history, which includes a glimpse of Victorian-era gay life. |
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| Border: A Journey to the Edge of Europe by Kapka KassabovaBulgarian-born poet and writer Kapka Kassabova lives in Scotland, but in Border she describes return visits to Eastern Europe between 2013-2015. In the complex, magical area where Bulgaria, Turkey, and Greece meet, Kassabova traveled through mountains, villages, and forests and spoke with former border guards, people who tried to escape Communist Bulgaria, villagers who live near the countries' edges, and incoming refugees fleeing Syria. Clever, lyrical, and acutely observed, this book is a fascinating examination of Eastern European borderlands. For a penetrating look at U.S. borders, seek out Stephanie Elizondo Griest's All the Agents and Saints. |
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| The Sweet Life in Paris: Delicious Adventures in the World's Most Glorious... by David LebovitzOoh la la! In a humorous memoir that's "just as tart as it is sweet" (Publishers Weekly), American pastry chef David Lebovitz dishes about living in Paris and provides yummy recipes (Mocha–Crème Fraîche Cake, Dulce de Leche Brownies, etc.). Here's just a taste of Lebovitz's adaptations to his new life in the City of Light -- he begins to shave and dress before taking out the trash, deals with mind-boggling bureaucracy, and makes sure to always greet shopkeepers. Lebovitz's latest book, L'Appart: The Delights and Disasters of Making My Paris Home, comes out in November. If you want another American's look at acclimating to life and cooking overseas, check out Julia Child's classic My Life in France. |
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A Beginner's Guide to Paradise: 9 Steps to Giving Up Everything...
by Alex Sheshunoff
Alex Sheshunoff was seemingly living the dream: in his mid-twenties, he lived in Manhattan with a lovely Spanish woman and worked at an Internet company he'd helped found. But after a panic attack sent him to the ER, he decided to leave it all behind, move to the South Pacific alone, and read the 100 books he was most embarrassed not to have read. In this "sincerely funny" (Kirkus Reviews) book, he shares his experiences living on a remote island, covering such topics as appropriate attire (loincloths, anyone?), monkey-diapering, building a bungalow...and falling in love.
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| Driving Hungry: A Delicious Journey, from Buenos Aires to New York to Berlin by Layne MoslerLayne Mosler takes the idea of catching a cab to dinner to a charming new level. After a disappointing evening in Buenos Aires, she hailed a cab and asked the driver to take her to his favorite restaurant ...where she had one of the best steaks of her life. Building on this idea, she began asking cabbies everywhere where they liked to eat. Moving to New York City, she attended taxi school and began driving a cab herself. Heading to Berlin, she continued to drive and eat -- and eventually met the cabdriver of her dreams. Not just for foodies and fans of Mosler's Taxi Gourmet blog, this honest and lively literary ride around three vibrant cities will appeal to readers who've wondered what the taxi-driving life is like. |
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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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Lambton County Library 787 Broadway St. Wyoming, Ontario N0N1T0 519-845-3324www.lclibrary.ca |
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