|
Armchair Travel April 2018
|
|
|
|
| A Tokyo Romance: A Memoir by Ian BurumaWhat it is: an eloquent, vividly drawn memoir by Ian Buruma, the editor of The New York Review of Books.
Read it for: a candid look at a tall, upper-class Dutchman’s post-college years studying film in Japan and immersing himself in the wild underground art world of 1970s Tokyo.
Who it's for: those interested in unlikely coming-of-age travelogues or the avant-garde art scene. |
|
| Disappointment River: Finding and Losing the Northwest Passage by Brian CastnerWhat it's about: Combining history with travelogue, acclaimed writer Brian Castner engagingly describes his 1,124 mile-canoe trip across Canada, following in the wake of Scottish explorer Alexander Mackenzie, who, in 1789, set out to find the fabled Northwest Passage.
Is it for you? Yes, if you like books with a thoughtful guide who combines fascinating history and modern-day adventure. |
|
| The Monk of Mokha by Dave EggersStarring: Mokhtar Alkhanshali, who grew up in San Francisco's notorious Tenderloin district, lived with his grandparents in Yemen for a while as a teen, and then moved back to the U.S. and made a career in his twenties importing Yemeni coffee. Then, a 2015 civil war left Mokhtar stranded in Yemen, trying to get home via any path he could.
For fans of: Dave Eggers, of course, but also coffee lovers and fans of Ian Purkayastha's Truffle Boy, another fascinating book about a globe-trotting, gourmet food-importing son of an immigrant. |
|
| Dressed Up for a Riot: Misadventures in Putin's Moscow by Michael IdovWhat it is: a witty, pop culture-infused look at modern Russia. Recounting his experiences as editor-in-chief of Russian GQ from 2012-2014 and as a successful screenwriter, American Michael Idov also describes moving his young family to Moscow, hanging with the media and cultural elite, and watching freedoms fade under Putin.
About the author: Idov grew up in a Jewish family in Soviet Latvia until age 16, giving him a unique and insightful perspective.
What you should read next: Peter Pomerantsev's Nothing is True and Everything Is Possible, which covers the decade prior to Idov's book. |
|
| The End of Night: Searching for Natural Darkness in an Age of Artificial Light by Paul BogardWhat it is: an engaging, eye-opening look at the importance of night-time darkness. Author Paul Bogard travels the world -- Paris, Walden Pond, Quebec, various national parks across the globe, and other locations -- exploring varying degrees of darkness and light pollution and how that affects what people see (or don't see) in the night sky.
Did you know? The brightest beam of light on Earth is at the top of the Luxor pyramid in Las Vegas. |
|
|
The world is blue : how our fate and the ocean's are one
by Sylvia A. Earle
Traces the oceanic changes that have taken place in the last half-century and why they are posing a global catastrophe, in a cautionary photographic report that conveys the author's impassioned call for responsible and renewable strategies to safeguard the planet's natural systems
|
|
|
Coming into the country
by John McPhee
An account of a kayak and canoe journey through the Brooks Range wilderness, impressions of urban life and political activity, and portraits of people in the bush make up a study of contemporary Alaska
|
|
| On Trails: An Exploration by Robert MoorWhat it's about: While thru-hiking the Appalachian Trail, journalist Robert Moor pondered the history and purpose of trails, planting the seed for this fascinating, elegantly written examination of why we walk where we do.
Why you might like it: Letting his curiosity lead him around the world (from Maine to Morocco and beyond), Moor talks to historians, Native Americans, scientists, and others while quoting everyone from Wendell Berry to Laura Ingalls Wilder. Fans of Robert Macfarlane will especially enjoy this wide-ranging (literarily and figuratively) debut. |
|
Contact your librarian for more great books!
|
|
|
New Hanover County Library
201 Chestnut Street Wilmington, North Carolina 28401 910-798-6301 www.nhclibrary.org |
|
|
|