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Armchair Travel December 2019
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| A Beginner's Guide to Japan: Observations and Provocations by Pico IyerWhat it is: lyrical, thought-provoking snippets and essays that ponder life in Japan, covering such varied topics as silence, signage, emotion, clothing, anime, baseball and more.
About the author: British-born bestselling travel writer Pico Iyer is married to a Japanese woman and the country is his adopted home.
Want a taste? "Being in Japan has taught me to say, 'I wonder,' more often than 'I think.'" |
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| How to Be a Family: The Year I Dragged My Kids Around the World to Find a New Way... by Dan KoisWhat it's about: A dad humorously details the year his stressed Northern Virginia family gave up regular life for three months each in New Zealand, the Netherlands, Costa Rica, and small-town Kansas.
The family: journalist father and podcast host Dan, lawyer mom Alia, and their daughters 11-year-old Lyra and nine-year-old Harper.
Read this next: For a more nature-inspired family travel memoir, try Michael Lanza's Before They're Gone. |
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| Classic Krakauer: Essays on Wilderness and Risk by Jon KrakauerWhat it is: a compelling collection of ten essays, all previously published between 1985 and 2014, that profile adventures and adventurers around the globe, including a poignant look at surfer Mark Foo's last ride.
Reviewers say: "A solid mix of conversations, background, and travel adds up to cleareyed reportage that still shocks" (Kirkus Reviews).
Read this next: For a more lighthearted collection about outdoor exploits, pick up Out There by the editors of Outside magazine. |
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| On the Plain of Snakes: A Mexican Journey by Paul TherouxWhat happened: Erudite 70-something travel writer Paul Theroux drove the entire length of the U.S.-Mexico border alone, crossing over the border multiple times; he also visited Mexico City, Oaxaca, Chiapas, and other areas.
Why you should read it: Theroux saw the border situation up close, met locals, witnessed the monarch butterfly migration, visited historic locations, taught writing, and learned about drug cartels and corruption.
Read this next: Richard Grant's God's Middle Finger, about his trip through the Sierra Madres; or, for a penetrating look at both U.S. borders, try Stephanie Elizondo Griest's All the Agents and Saints. |
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In the Kingdom of Ice: The Grand and Terrible Polar Voyage of the USS Jeannette
by Hampton Sides
What it's about: the ill-fated 1879 expedition of the USS Jeannette, led by U.S. naval officer and explorer George Washington De Long, who was looking for a passage to the North Pole via the Bering Strait.
What's inside: a dramatic account -- informed by letters, diaries, expedition records, and news reports -- of what happened when the ship became trapped in pack ice for two years.
Read this next: Paul Watson's Ice Ghosts, which details the history of and contemporary search for shipwrecks from an 1845 Arctic expedition.
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| Border: A Journey to the Edge of Europe by Kapka KassabovaAbout the author: Bulgarian-born poet and writer Kapka Kassabova lives in Scotland, and in Border she describes her return visits home to Eastern Europe between 2013-2015.
What happened: In the complex area where Bulgaria, Turkey, and Greece meet, Kassabova traveled through mountains and forests and spoke with villagers, ex-border guards, people who'd tried to escape Communist Bulgaria, incoming Syrian refugees, and others.
Read it for: a clever, lyrical, and acutely observed examination of Eastern European borderlands; references to myths and folktales. |
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| The Marches: A Borderland Journey Between England and Scotland by Rory StewartWhat it's about: Rory Stewart has written about Iraq (Prince of Marshes) and Afghanistan (The Places In Between), but this journey is more intimate: it's the landscape of his homeland, the border between England and Scotland, and he walked it with his 89-year-old Scottish father.
What's inside: family stories as well as thoughtful musings on the plants, animals, conflicts, people (from Romans to modern-day locals), and more that have shaped this stunning area.
Read this next: Max Adams' In the Land of Giants, another richly detailed book that engagingly mixes British history and travel. |
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Contact your librarian for more great books!
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