Armchair Travel
April 2017
"Everywhere, there were signals that I was in my homeland.
Everywhere, there were signals that I was not."
~ from Doug Mack's The Not-Quite States of America
 
Wild things, wild places : adventurous tales of wildlife and conservation on planet Earth
by Jane Alexander

The author writes of her steady and fervent immersion into the worlds of wildlife conservation, of her coming to know the scientists throughout the world and her travels with them to save many species from extinction.
Humans of New York : Stories
by Brandon Stanton

A follow-up to the best-selling Humans of New York shares the frank and intimate human stories of some of the individuals depicted in the author's acclaimed photographic census.
Brooklyn Bridge Park : a dying waterfront transformed
by Joanne Witty

Book Annotation
Recent Releases
Seeking Something More From Life
A Year by the Sea: Thoughts of an Unfinished Woman
by Joan Anderson

If living alone in a rustic Cape Cod cottage for a year while you sort through your future sounds like paradise, read on. Middle-aged Joan Anderson did just that after her husband took a job in another state and she decided she wasn't going with him (the kids were grown and their marriage was stale). Moving into the family's summer cabin, Joan discusses how her explorations -- walking the beach, swimming with seals, working at a fish market, and making new friends (including the widow of famed psychologist Erik Erikson) -- helped her focus and learn more about what she wanted out of life. A 2016 movie version of this bestselling 1999 book stars Karen Allen. 
Travels with Epicurus: A Journey to a Greek Island in Search of a Fulfilled Life
by Daniel Klein

When 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.
Wild: From Lost to Found on the Pacific Crest Trail
by Cheryl Strayed

In 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. 
The Geography of Bliss: One Grump's Search for the Happiest Places in the World
by Eric Weiner

Want 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).
Contact your librarian for more great books!
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