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Armchair Travel August 2019
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Vanlife diaries : finding freedom on the open road
by Kathleen Morton
A photography book celebrating the nomadic lifestyle and community of vanlife through interviews, essential advice for living on the road, and more than 200 photos of tiny rolling homes. Inspired by the blog and Instagram account, Vanlife Diaries is an inspiring and detailed look into the world of the rolling homes built and occupied by a new generation of modern nomads: a range of professionals and creatives who have ditched conventional houses for the freedom of the road and the beauty of the outdoors. More than 200 photographs feature the vanlifers, their pets, and their converted vans and buses--VWs, Sprinters, Toyotas, and more--with the interiors uniquely customized and decorated for their work and hobbies, as well as the stunning natural locations that are the movement's inspiration. Interviews and narrative captions share the stories of these nomads and how they decided to pursue vanlife, and provide practical tips and inspiration for downsizing, finding and converting your vehicle, and working and living on the road.
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| Monsieur Mediocre: One American Learns the High Art of Being Everyday French by John von SothenStarring: John von Sothen, an American writer for French Vanity Fair who married a Frenchwoman and has lived and raised his family in a Parisian apartment near the Gare du Nord for the past 15 years.
What it is: a witty, fresh essay collection that lovingly upends rose-colored stereotypes of the City of Light.
Don't miss: the author's memories of growing up in D.C. with his parents (a broadcast journalist and an artist); the family's Parisian staycations. |
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How to build a boat : a father, his daughter, and the unsailed sea
by Jonathan Gornall
Celebrating the art of boat-building, the simple pleasures of working with your hands and the aspirations and glory of new fatherhood, an award-winning freelance journalist shares his experience building a traditional wooden boat as a gift to his newborn daughter.
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Wild horses of the summer sun : a memoir of Iceland
by Tory Bilski
The Pushcart Prize-nominated Icelandica.net blogger describes her extraordinary annual reunions with a group of fellow women travelers at an edge-of-the-world northern Iceland equine farm where they find renewal, companionship and a reconnection with nature during remarkable horseback journeys.
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| The Buried: An Archaeology of the Egyptian Revolution by Peter HesslerWhat it is: a keenly observed look at Egypt during and after the Arab Spring through the lens of both the past and the present featuring can't-miss interactions with a wide variety of people, including a thoughtful garbage collector and a gay translator.
About the author: Between 2011-2016, The New Yorker journalist Peter Hessler lived in Egypt with his wife and young twin daughters and learned Egyptian Arabic. Hessler has also lived in China and written several acclaimed books about the country, including River Town. |
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| The Shanghai Free Taxi: Journeys with the Hustlers and Rebels of the New China by Frank LangfittWhat it's about: Wanting to provide people a private, casual place to talk, NPR China correspondent Frank Langfitt (a former Philly cab driver) offered free rides to anyone willing to chat.
Did it work? Definitely. All sorts of interesting people opened up about their lives, hopes, and views of their rapidly changing country.
Read this next: For another delightful taxi-centric travel tale, try Layne Mosler's Driving Hungry, which details her experiences asking cab drivers around the globe where she should eat. |
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Destination Earth : A New Philosophy of Travel by a World-Traveler
by Nicos Hadjicostis
More a guide to travel than a travel guide, Destination Earth transforms how you view travel and its relation to Life. It also provides a philosophical framework for embarking on more meaningful and purposeful travels, whether it is an around the world journey, or an exploration of a region, or even a city. Destination Earth is the product of the author's unique 6.5-year continuous around the world journey, during which he visited 70 countries on 6 continents and treated the world as if it were a single destination. From Chile and Argentina to Thailand and Japan, Destination Earth explores the delicate and invisible interconnections of nations and countries, people and cultures, and delves deep into all aspects of travel and its transformational power.
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| Jungle of Stone: The Extraordinary Journey of John L. Stephens and Frederick... by William CarlsenWhat it's about: Author William Carlsen explored the Yucatan jungle, retracing the steps of U.S. ambassador to Central America John L. Stephens and British architect Frederick Catherwood, who, in 1839, uncovered amazing 2,000-year-old Mayan ruins that forced a rethinking of recorded history.
Don't miss: how Carlsen skillfully brings Stephens' and Catherwood's personalities to life while recounting their adventures. |
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| Into Thin Air: A Personal Account of the Mount Everest Disaster by Jon KrakauerWhat it's about: Researching the commercialization of Mt. Everest in 1996, Jon Krakauer set out with a guide and other groups to trek to the summit. When a snowstorm hit, several people died, including two of the best mountaineers in the world.
What it is: a harrowing and evocative firsthand account of the events.
Read this next: The Climb, by Anatoli Boukreev and G. Weston DeWalt, which offers a competing viewpoint of the tragedy; or the soon-to-be-released essay collection Classic Krakauer, out in October. |
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| Pirate Hunters: Treasure, Obsession, and the Search for a Legendary Pirate Ship by Robert KursonStarring: dedicated treasure hunters John Mattera and John Chatterton as well as legendary technology-averse hunter Tracy Bowden.
What happens: Author Robert Kurson (whose Shadow Divers also features Chatterton) compellingly traces the men's high-stakes quest to find the Golden Fleece, a sunken ship that once belonged to notorious English sea captain-turned-pirate Joseph Bannister.
For fans of: Stephan Talty's Empire of Blue Water, pirates, nautical history, and swashbuckling tales of derring-do. |
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Contact your librarian for more great books!
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