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Armchair Travel April 2017
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And the monkey learned nothing : dispatches from a life in transit
by Tom Lutz
"Tom Lutz is on a mission to visit every country on earth. And the Monkey Learned Nothing contains reports from fifty of them, most describing personal encounters in rarely visited spots, anecdotes from way off the beaten path. Traveling without an itinerary and without a goal, Lutz explores the Iranian love of poetry, the occupying Chinese army in Tibet, the amputee beggars in Cambodia, the hill tribes on Vietnam's Chinese border, the sociopathic monkeys of Bali, the dangerous fishermen and conmen of southern India, the salt flats of Uyumi in Peru, and floating hotels in French Guiana, introduces you to an Uzbeki prodigy in the market of Samarkand, an Azeri rental car clerk in Baku, guestworkers in Dubai, a military contractor in Jordan, cucuruchos in Guatemala, a Pentecostal preacher in rural El Salvador, a playboy in Nicaragua, employment agents in Singapore specializing in Tamil workers, prostitutes in Colombia and the Dominican Republic, international bankers in Belarus, a teacher in Havana, border guards in Botswana, tango dancers in Argentina, a cook in Suriname, a juvenile thief in Uruguay, voters in Guyana, doctors in Tanzania and Lesotho, scary poker players in Moscow, reed dancers in Swaziland, young camel herders in Tunisia, Romanian missionaries in Macedonia, and musical groups in Mozambique. With an eye out for both the sublime and the ridiculous, Lutz falls, regularly, into the instant intimacy of the road with random strangers"
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Coast range : a collection from the Pacific edge
by Nick Neely
A collection of essays explores the lush and varied landscapes, sights and sounds of the Pacific Northwest, taking readers through the journey of salmon, on a tour of a casino kitchen, a tribal coming-of-age ceremony and a trip following hummingbirds.
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Inspired journeys : travel writers in search of the muse by Brian BouldreyFull of humor, profundity, and obsession, these are tales of writers on peregrine paths. Some set out in search of legends or artistic inspiration; others seek spiritual epiphany or fulfillment of a promise. Their journeys lead them variously to Dracula’s castle, Laura Ingalls Wilder’s prairie, the Grimms’ fairy-tale road, Mayan temples, Nathaniel West’s California, the Camino de Santiago trail, Scott’s Antarctica, the Marquis de Sade’s haunted manor, or the sacred city of Varanasi. All of these pilgrimages are worthy journeys—redemptive and serious. But a time-honored element of pilgrimage is a suspension of rules, and there is absurdity and exuberance here as well.
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Seeking Something More From Life |
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The Lost Girls: Three Friends, Four Continents, One Unconventional Detour Around the World
by Jennifer Baggett, Holly C. Corbett, and Amanda Pressner
If you're a 20-something working and living in New York City, you're living the dream -- right? Not if you're Jennifer Baggett, Holly Corbett, or Amanda Pressner. The trio of friends -- wondering if the paths they were on were the right ones -- left their apartments, jobs, and boyfriends to embark on a year-long adventure around the world, visiting more than ten countries on four continents, including Peru, Vietnam, India, and Australia. Though there are difficulties (could you hang out with your two besties for a year without getting on each other's nerves?), there are also a lot of amazing experiences, such as traveling down the Amazon and volunteering at a girls' orphanage in Kenya.
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| Travels with Epicurus: A Journey to a Greek Island in Search of a Fulfilled Life by Daniel KleinWhen witty 73-year-old philosopher Daniel Klein wanted to learn how to age in the best way, he visited the Greek island of Hydra. In this charming account of his trip, Klein, who co-wrote the bestselling Plato and a Platypus Walk Into a Bar, describes how he turned down the excitement of the new for the comfort of the familiar, going to a place he's known for four decades (bringing along with a suitcase of philosophy books). Taking his cues from philosophers (especially Epicurus) and the older locals he spent time with, Klein slowed down, drank coffee, visited with friends, pondered his experiences, and chronicled it all in this delightful meditation on living life to the fullest. |
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| Wild: From Lost to Found on the Pacific Crest Trail by Cheryl StrayedIn this "unsentimental memoir" (Kirkus Reviews, starred review), recently divorced 26-year-old Cheryl Strayed sets out on the 1,100-mile Pacific Coast Trail (PCT), walking solo from California, through Oregon, and on to Washington State. Strayed, a completely inexperienced hiker, had plenty of baggage with her, and we're not just talking about her too-heavy backpack. Though the book is centered around her time on the trail and her dealings with snakes, bears, and blisters, sections of Wild discuss the troubles that sent Strayed (back)packing, including her mother's death, the end of her marriage, and her own reckless behaviors. |
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| The Geography of Bliss: One Grump's Search for the Happiest Places in the World by Eric WeinerWant more happiness in your life? Maybe you don't need a better job or to lose ten pounds -- maybe you just need a change of scenery. National Public Radio correspondent Eric Weiner traveled the globe, investigating not what happiness is, but where it is. His first stop was Rotterdam, where he consulted scientist Ruut Veenhoven, compiler of the World Database of Happiness, which ranks countries' happiness levels. From there, Weiner, a self-professed grump, visited such "happy" places as Iceland, India, Qatar, Great Britain, and America. The result? "A charming, funny and illuminating travelogue" (The Washington Post). |
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Contact your librarian for more great books!
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Harrison Memorial Library Ocean and Lincoln Carmel, California 93921 831-624-4629www.hm-lib.org/ |
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