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Off the Grid : My Ride from Louisiana to the Panama Canal in an Electric Car
by Randy Denmon
In a 21st-century twist on a midlife crisis road trip, Denmon (Lords of an Empty Land) sets out on a journey that promises to be more foolhardy than adventurous. When he reads of the first coast-to-coast road trip in an electric car, he persuades his friend Dean to accompany him from Louisiana to Panama in a Tesla Model S.. Battling rough roads, desert, and jungle terrain, the author asks: Will the car reach the next charging station before the travelers are attacked by bandits or kidnappers? Their holy grail is finding an outlet with enough amps to charge at the end of each day. This isn't a road test--the author doesn't include technical details--but a journey of self-reflection and challenges, told with humor.
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The Yellow Envelope : One Gift, Three Rules, and a Life-Changing Journey Around the World
by Kim Dinan
In 2012, unhappy with the life she and her husband led in Portland, Ore., Dinan and her husband Brian made a decision that altered the course of their lives. The couple quit their jobs; sold all their possessions, including the home they had lovingly remodeled; and set out to travel the world. Before they left on their trek, a good friend offered a surprise gift: a yellow envelope filled with cash along with rules on how to share the money during their travels. Over the course of a nearly three-year trip, the couple visited India, Ecuador, Peru, Germany, Nepal, Indonesia, Vietnam, and Mexico. Dinan dissects her rigid personality and anxiety as she recounts their travels. The yellow envelope's money helped Dinan understand the transformative power of giving financially and psychologically.
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Pirate women : the princesses, prostitutes, and privateers who ruled the Seven Seas
by Laura Sook Duncombe
Pirate. The word typically evokes images of a rum-drinking, swashbuckling male scoundrel who prowls the Caribbean plundering and searching for treasure. Duncombe turns this stereotype on its head in her wave-making history chronicling the females who ruled the Seven Seas. From women who commanded fearsome fleets in the ancient Mediterranean, to the powerful and daring women who terrorized the South China Sea, readers meet women from all walks of life in this engrossing exploration of the legends, myths, and truths of an aspect of global piracy that has been woefully overlooked.
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| Bleaker House: Chasing My Novel to the End of the World by Nell StevensAfter finishing up her MFA, British writer Nell Stevens won a fellowship that allowed her to go anywhere to write for several months. Eschewing well-known spots, she picked Bleaker Island. Part of the Falkland Islands located off the Patagonian coast of South America, the sparsely populated island features inhospitable wind, lots of snow, and not many people. Stevens thought this would keep writing distractions at bay, but what she discovered is that three months of solitude provided its own challenges. |
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| Secondhand Time: The Last of the Soviets by Svetlana Aleksievich; translated by Bela ShayevichThough it's too late to travel to the Soviet Union, which broke up in 1991, you can still visit via this moving oral history collection that provides an eye-opening look at the (pre- and post-) Soviet soul. Sharing the stories of a wide variety of people from across the vast country -- ranging from before the end of communism to the beginnings of the new Russia and the rise of Putin -- 2015 Nobel Prize winner Svetlana Aleksievich provides a thorough, fascinating look at war, freedom, family, and more, giving voice to those who've seen so much upheaval. For further reading, pick up Anne Garrels' Putin Country. |
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Bears in the Streets: Three Journeys Across a Changing Russia
by Lisa Dickey
With Russia so much a part of recent news, some may want to know more about the world's largest country. Veteran author Lisa Dickey shines a light on that topic and on the changes to Russia that have occurred during the past two decades, detailing three journeys she took across the vast nation, in 1995 (with an American photographer), 2005 (with another photographer), and 2015 (solo). On each trip, she tried to visit the same people and places, and the result is an in-depth look at Russians (including farmers, small business owners, Jews, and others) that explores everyday life, people's social attitudes, and more. Bear in the Streets provides a rich look at an intriguing place.
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| Nothing Is True and Everything Is Possible: The Surreal Heart of the New Russia by Peter PomerantsevThough born in the Soviet Union, Peter Pomerantsev was raised in England by his political exile parents. In 2001, not long after graduating from university, he headed to Russia to learn more about the place he'd heard so much about. He spent around ten years there, many working as a television producer. From this unique viewpoint, he shares what modern Russia is like, introduces readers to intriguing people (oligarchs, biker gang members, supermodels, politicians, and more), and explores Russia's relationship with the West. If you're interested in a different take on Russia, this riveting read should please. |
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Contact your librarian for more great books!
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Prince George's County Memorial Library System 9601 Capital Lane Largo, Maryland 20774 301-699-3500www.pgcmls.info/ |
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