Books like these.
December 6th, 2009
Although I have been a bit slack on the reading front this year, I did manage to get through a handful of travel books: some old, some new, some borrowed and one with stories from a Sue and Stu. Here’s my list of travel books for 2009:
New Europe – Michael Palin
I like Michael Palin. I like his TV travel series and this book is a very enjoyable and funny journey through the former Soviet bloc countries of Eastern Europe. My only gripe is that it’s all somewhat premeditated and contrived. A research team goes out and plans the entire trip, including finding ‘wacky’ festivals to attend and ‘wacky’ locals to interview. Not much true adventure – but then again it may be because I’m just so jealous!
Shadows of the Silk Road – Colin Thubron
Mr Thubron on the other hand is a true adventurer. In this book he travelled through China, Central Asia, northern Afghanistan, Western Asia along the old Silk Road on donkey, camels, third-class trains, buses, and jeep. He also writes so beautifully and with real emotion about the people and the places he visits and evokes a real sense of what it’s like to be there.
Friends like these – Danny Wallace
Not really a travel book per se, but it is a ‘journey’ and Danny does travel from Berlin to Loughborough to L.A. to Japan. And it is outrageously positive, thoughtful and very funny. Danny Wallace decides to track down the twelve names he discovers in his old school address book. The theme is not disimilar to his last book, ‘Yes Man’, but it is a formula that works – he obviously believes that if it aint broke, don’t fix it: hilarious anecdotes about hope over varying degrees of adversity will always make for a great read.
Remote journeys oddly rendered – Tim Cahill
This collection of stories from Tim Cahill is over 10 years old – but that’s because I picked it up earlier this year for a couple of dollars at a school fete. In this book Cahill travels through the plains of Mongolia to the chilled waters of Alaska, from the jungles of Peru to the islands of Honduras. Slow in parts, but a well written and funny account of wild travels in unusual places.
Best foot forward : 30 years of Australian travel writing
This is an impressive collection of short travel stories written by the best Australian travel writers. It was published to celebrate the 30th anniversary of the Australian Society of Travel Writers. Writers include John Borthwick, Ian Crawshaw, Marc Llewellyn, Susan Kurosawa, and Bill Peach. I particularly liked the earlier pieces from the days of flared pants and unwashed hair.
Springtime for Germany (or how I learned to love lederhosen) – Ben Donald
I read this while travelling around Germany on my book tour for Couch Surfing – Eine abenteuerliche Reise um die Welt. The book is a odd mix of insults with the occasional declaration of love and a good smattering of stereotypes (although I am very guilty of that in my books at times!). Then again, Donald does manage to be sometimes genuinely amusing, and it’s always fun reading about a place when you’re travelling through it. I didn’t finish it, though. Not because I didn’t like it – I left it on the Leipzig to Berlin train.
Has anyone else read any good travel books this year?
On December 6th, 2009 Amanda Callahan said:
On December 7th, 2009 Epiphanie said:
On December 7th, 2009 Sam said:
On December 7th, 2009 Brian Thacker said:
On December 9th, 2009 Lee Mylne said:
On December 10th, 2009 Brian Thacker said:
On December 15th, 2009 Renee Guymer said:
On December 15th, 2009 Brian Thacker said: