Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with books and travel

The right book for a train ride

timory — Wed, 23 Dec 2009 01:07:43 -0800

What are good books to read on a train? This holiday, for the first time, I'll be taking the train home instead of flying. I'm relishing the thought of being able to read while traveling (airplanes make me queasy), and I'm looking forward to the forced downtime from the internet and other things that distract me from reading even a fraction of what I used to read.

The journey is about 8 hours long, 16 round trip. It seems the perfect amount to read a smaller novel each way, or a longer one I could split half and half on each leg.

Please give me your recommendations. I'm looking for something more literary (not necessarily part of "the canon," but definitely nothing pulpy or best-sellery), and engaging enough to hold my attention for 8 hours straight. I want the perfect thing to read while staring out into snowy Pennsylvania and listening to the tracks chug by. I think the Mountain Goats are the best music to listen to on these long journeys alone, but I want the literary equivalent of that.

Here is a sparse sampling of the kinds of books I'm looking for:
Calvino, If on a Winter's Night a Traveler
Gaarder, The Solitaire Mystery
Updike, Rabbit, Run
Murakami, Hard-Boiled Wonderland and the End of the World

I'm sensing a theme... maybe the theme of journeys, whether fantastical or mundane, seems to fit the mold for me here.

Recommendations for (simpler) novellas in Russian or Spanish are also welcome, because I could very much stand to brush up on those languages. Bonus points for magically guessing and suggesting books I already own but haven't yet read. Thank you!

Books about Maine?

flummox — Mon, 31 Aug 2009 07:59:23 -0800

Suggestions for books on Maine history and culture, non fiction preferred but not a necessity. This would be for a person traveling to Maine in the near future, will be spending time on the coast and in the great north woods.

Help me get to New York Law School on time.

fake — Fri, 28 Aug 2009 07:42:45 -0800

I'll be speaking at a conference in New York City, and I'd like to figure out how best to get there. The basic problem is that the conference begins at 12:30 on Thursday. All flights from Fargo, ND arrive at Newark Intl. at 12:00 or later. This does not seem like enough time.

The simple answer would be to go on Wednesday and get a hotel for the evening. However, money is a real problem for me. In fact, I am currently living out of my workshop.

That said, I have a credit card and can get cash. If you can simply tell me the best way to get to NYLS from Newark Intl, that would be very helpful.

I may try to stay until Sunday and live out of hostels, any recommendations there would also be welcome. I have experience with hostel life in Chicago, but this will be my first time in NYC.

I want to read while in Califorinia

Jesus Malverde — Mon, 06 Jul 2009 09:47:02 -0800

Will be living between Joshua Tree and LA county for 3 months...how do I get a library card? I read like a fiend, and so I have several library cards in places I often stay...but this has not come up before for me...
how do I get a card and the privilege to check out books in, say, LA county, for just a few months?

Books about Europe?

Dilemma — Tue, 23 Jun 2009 22:36:03 -0800

What are some books I can read before my trip to Europe that will help me get in the mood? I'm going on my first ever trip to Europe in September. I am already very excited, but I'd like to read some books related to the places I am visiting that will help me get even more excited or in the mood. Novels, historical fiction, history, nonfiction; anything is fair game. I'm going to Paris, Rome, some of the smaller towns in central Italy, and Venice. What are your favorite books about/set in/remotely related to these places? (I'm not looking for guide books, I already have that well-covered.)

The perfect week-long read...

WidgetAlley — Sat, 21 Feb 2009 10:26:00 -0800

Help me find just the right book for a week spent rebuilding the Appalachian trail... In March, on my spring break, I'm going down to Georgia to help rebuild the Appalachian trail head. It's going to be six days of awesome already, but I would like to have just the right book to seal the deal.

Specifications are: I would like historical fiction, fantasy, travelogue, sci-fi or something similar. I need to be able to finish it in six days (six days with ample time for reading, however, and I read quite fast), so that I'm not blowing off homework for it once school starts again. I'm looking for something tremendously exciting, escapist and engrossing-- bonus points if it makes me think a lot, extra super-bonus points if it's swashbuckling AND makes me think a lot.

I am not looking for: "modern" fiction; any huge series; anything under 250 pages (and preferably 350+); generally speaking 'the classics', unless you mean Dumas and not, say, Proust; non-fiction unless it is an engrossing biography. You get the idea.

Thank you in advance!

Help me grab a bag

TheOnlyCoolTim — Sun, 01 Feb 2009 13:53:35 -0800

I would like to know a superior form of backpack. It should be primarily appropriate for day to day backpack and school usage but also useful for light travel use or light camping use. I am ~6'4", usually weigh about 185 pounds, and male. A backpack is a item of function, so I do not care at all about the aesthetics.

Durability is the prime concern; I am tired of buying a normal backpack and within a year it's deteriorating and after a few years it's useless. This would ideally be the last backpack of this type I buy in my life; I don't like today's throwaway consumer goods.

Waterproofing is another important concern. I am not as afraid as most people are these days to get wet when it rains, but I've found normal waterproof backpacks to be barely so, and then the rubber layer on the inside flakes off ant they're not at all.

Comfort and adjustability also matter.

I think the durability and waterproofing I like for my day to day use covers most of my requirements for the level of travel and camping I'm thinking of. Basically in addition it should be big enough for several day's worth of clothes and sundries or a couple nights of camping. Despite my last question this pack is not intended for actual serious backpacking, so don't really worry about things like strapping on tents and sleeping bags or that it won't have a frame. I'm just thinking I'd like to be able to use it to hike a few easy miles and plop down for a night or two and for that I will strap my big luxurious sleeping bag to myself in an ad hoc fashion and carry my big luxurious tent in my arm.

I'd prefer zipper closures, but with powerful zippers that will not break or malfunction.

I also prefer an absence of goofy specialized pockets or features for MP3 players, water bottles, laptops, and cell phones.

No wheels.

Do you know of small towns in the Adirondacks?

Nillocsoc — Fri, 29 Aug 2008 09:47:29 -0800

What are some small towns in the Adirondacks (NY)- with nice community, local food, and art? I am looking to spend a few months in the Adirnodacks and am searching for small towns that offer a nice sense of community: art, food, music, books, outdoor activities. Ideally not too touristy, but even that would be okay.

All ideas are appreciated, and anything details about the places would be great!

Thanks.

Help me choose a book to travel with.

mosessis — Thu, 21 Aug 2008 21:38:48 -0800

I need a longish, interesting, well-written book (fiction) to read on an upcoming trip. Any suggestions? I'm going on a trip where I'll have plenty of time to read and not much space to pack books. I need to find a good novel-type book that could last me at least a couple of weeks. My trip is for a couple of months in non-English speaking countries, and I want something captivating to fall into as a respite from journeying.

I have read both Portrait of a Lady by Henry James and Sophie's World by Jostein Gaarder in this same situation, and those worked perfectly for my purposes. I wish I could just bring one of these again, because they were so perfect - dense, interesting, thought-provoking, lend themselves to rereading passages - but I'd really like to find something new.

My general tastes run towards late 18th Century (Burney Lennox, Austen, etc) and turn of the twentieth century (James, Wharton, Wilde, etc). I generally steer away from serializations that have been turned into novels (Dickens, Forster, etc) and overly romanticized, gothic, heroic, dramatic love type stories (Les Miserables, Goethe, etc). But of course I am completely open to trying new genres and authors that I might not yet know I love.

What book was in your backpack that kept you going through the lonely times? What's the best longish novel you've read that you wish you had had the time to just sit and read? To slightly complicate this, I'm leaving in 36 hours and will have to find this on the shelf at one of my (luckily many) local book stores.

What are some good, light-hearted, humorous travel books?

nitsuj — Thu, 05 Jun 2008 14:09:42 -0800

What are some good, light-hearted, humorous travel books? I like books like The Sex Lives of Cannibals, Are You Experienced?, American Shaolin, everything by Bill Bryson, everything by Tony Hawks, and others. What other travel books are in the same vein?

Locale is unimportant.

Tales of the (Asian) City?

micketymoc — Sun, 04 May 2008 18:08:36 -0800

Reading yesterday’s Tales of the City post, I got to wondering: are there any books set in Southeast Asian locations that “sell” their settings the way Tales of the City does for San Francisco, or The Number One Ladies Detective Agency does for Botswana? I'm thinking about books that make you want to visit the setting depicted in the story; Alexander McCall Smith's books, for example, make me want to visit Botswana. You can feel the love of the place radiating off of each page.

I personally haven't read Tales of the City, but the post suggests that Maupin does the same thing for San Francisco.

Are there any books out there that make you "feel the love" for Bangkok, or Singapore, even Vientiane?

(Full disclosure: I'm the guide for Southeast Asia Travel on about.com - I'm thinking about reviewing any such books)

What. to. do.

brynna — Mon, 28 Apr 2008 22:49:45 -0800

How can I reconcile two different and conflicting plans for my future? (long-ish explanation) I'm about to graduate from college and have been thinking a lot about my "future" as it were. I'm graduating with a degree in Literature and a vested interest and passion for education. I also work in a restaurant to make money.

I've worked in restaurants for a few years now and love the subculture, carefree attitude and flexibility that it affords. Recently, I've considered moving to Hawaii when I graduate and just spending time there, working in a restaurant (the place I work for has multiple locations in Hawaii - Roy's) and hiking, surfing and cooking during the days.

I've also considered joining Teach for America or a similar organization after graduating and going straight to the classroom. I'm really passionate about education and am an advocate for educational reform, especially in under-resourced schools.

The problem is basically this: I would love to go to Hawaii and THEN start teaching in a classroom (I feel a little ridiculous jumping into a classroom and spouting out life-lessons at 21), but I can't shake the feeling of selfishness and guilt at not devoting everything to the cause. I guess I'm trying to decide whether my life for the next few years should be a sensual or a humanitarian one.

Can anyone recommend some books, articles, etc that would help me find some direction? Also if there are any teachers that have experience teaching straight out of college, would you recommend it? I just need some perspective and general life advice at this point.

help bring my books home!

arcadia — Thu, 03 Apr 2008 03:01:56 -0800

how can I ship my books from the UK to North America without spending a fortune? I am a PhD student in Manchester UK. I will be moving back to North America at the end of the year. I have about 500 pounds of books that I need to get back to North America. What's the cheapest way to do it? It doesn't have to be fast, just secure and as cheap as possible.

Looking for immersion journalism books

reenum — Thu, 07 Feb 2008 06:53:18 -0800

I'm looking for books where the author immerses himself in an experience and then writes about it I've been reading these books for years, but I recently found out that the term for them is immersion journalism. I'm talking about books where an author tries something or goes somewhere and becomes completely enmeshed with the subject.
Some of my favorites in this area are:

Stuart Stevens- Malaria Dreams
Danny Wallace- Yes Man, Join Me
Henry Alford- Big Kiss
Bill Buford- Heat
A.J. Jacobs- The Year of Living Bibilically
J. Maarten Troost- The Sex Lives of Cannibals

Any more suggestions? Bonus points if it's a funny book.

Need Books/Movies for Kids Going to Rome

bjennings — Sun, 03 Feb 2008 15:55:33 -0800

I'm looking for recommendations for books, movies and even music that might be relevant for a group of middle school (7th & 8th grade, ages 12-14) kids who are going to Rome over spring break. I'm a teacher, and I'm leading a group of 20 middle school kids as well as three other faculty members. I'd like to be able to recommend novels, movies and music for them.

They've all read Caroline Lawrence's "The Roman Mysteries" series. I'm very familiar with the range of children's and young adult historical fiction, especially that set in ancient times. I'd love to have any recommendations for novels set in modern Italy. Some of the students have read Dan Brown's "Angels and Demons", but teen and young adult books would be great, too.

I suggested "Roman Holiday"; all of the parents said "Oooh, I love that movie", and all of the kids were bored out of their skull. Fluff like the Mary Kate and Ashley "When In Rome" and "The Lizzie McGuire Movie" is right up their alley.

I figure music is a long-shot, but maybe there are some recommendations there as well. Thanks!

Great books about China?

ClanvidHorse — Sun, 13 Jan 2008 07:33:56 -0800

Please recommend books about China and the Chinese. I am going to China for a month's holiday at the end of April, woohoo! I am going from Hong Kong to Beijing to Shanghai and I would like some book recommendations to read before I go there. I intend to buy a decent guidebook too (so recommendations are very welcome for those) but I am also interested in histories, current affairs, reportage and fiction.

Part of the reason I am posting is that there seems to be such a vast selection of books on China and the Chinese that I might miss the wheat for the chaff. Ideally, I would like to read one cracker of a book of each type mentioned above (plus points if it focuses on the places I am visiting). AskMe has always come up trumps in the past and I hope it can again.

Thanks.

If I could think of a witty title, I wouldn't have to be wasting a question.

thebrokedown — Sun, 06 Jan 2008 13:11:26 -0800

I need a cute catchphrase for a gift I'm giving. I am going to a baby shower with some Seuss books wrapped in maps. I need a cute catchphrase for the tag (an airplane trailing a banner). All I have come up with have been lame:
"Reading can transport you"
"Books are maps to your world," etc.

Any good ideas out there?

Good Travel Writing by/about Women.

zhivota — Mon, 17 Sep 2007 13:01:45 -0800

Looking for books about or by female travelers/adventurers/volunteers abroad. My girlfriend wants to travel all over the world. I want to find her some stories written by or about women who have done similar things. The idea would be to try to further knock down the [American] cultural idea that it's a crazy pipe dream for a woman to do these types of things.

So what I'm looking for is nonfiction about women who have either traveled to exotic places, done adventurous things, or gone to "dangerous" places to volunteer to help others.

They can be stories about solo or accompanied adventures, and can be from anywhere in the world. Of course I'd like if it was well written.

The ideal thing would be a collection of short stories, as her time to read is pretty limited right now, but books are good too. Heck, if she doesn't have time, I'll read it. :-)

Feed my travel habit while I'm stuck at home.

snoogles — Sun, 22 Apr 2007 19:48:03 -0800

I'm looking for quality information about medicine, life in Third World countries, Doctors Without Borders and similar organizations, travel, expat experiences, etc. I'm set on becoming a doctor, and since I adore travelling, I've started thinking of all the fun ways I can combine the two.
Since I'm only just finishing my first year of undergrad, I have a lot of time to get rid of my idealistic notions of what such a lifestyle is like. I'm looking for great books, movies, websites, TV shows, magazines, blogs, etc, that cover these topics. How-to type books would be amazing, but any good fiction is also welcome.

I'm hoping to get enough reading material to keep busy this summer!

Ideas on how to write a Peace Corps book

brokekid — Fri, 23 Feb 2007 10:22:07 -0800

I need help putting together a book about my Peace Corps experiences, though I have no idea where to even begin. Any ideas? I'm aware that a number of books already exist but still feel like I have a fresh direction which to go in.

I kept a blog and an off-line diary of my experiences, kept track of every book I read, have a list of the music I listened to and have a lot of art and pics from that time. I want to do something a little different with all my records but don't have a clue where to begin. Do you have any ideas for me?

A Persian in Peru

bethm — Sun, 24 Dec 2006 12:20:47 -0800

I just finished an excellent book-- An African in Greenland by Tété-Michel Kpomassie-- which details an Togolese man's interactions with the Inuit. I was wondering if anyone could recommend other books which are one non-Western culture's take on another. (To me, at least, the more apparently unrelated the two cultures the better.)

Food for the wandering mind

koenie — Mon, 20 Mar 2006 06:54:27 -0800

In a while I will be going on a round the world trip to do a bit of soul searching (and to have a lot of fun of course). I'm looking for books on the subject of travel, not the pragmatically oriented genre, but philosophically and spiritually inclined ones. I'd like to read true stories about open-minded people backpacking around the globe and learning something about themselves and the world. I'd like to taste their joys as well as their disappointments, their insights as well as their confusion experienced during long-term world-wide travel. I'd appreciate it if you could include a one-line summary with your recommendations, for example:
The Art of Travel by Alain de Botton: lighthearted, philosophically-inclined book about the peculiarities of travel.
Be Here Now by Ram Dass: successful Harvard psychologist ends up in India after experimenting with acid.

Good books to read before wandering about Central and South America

airguitar — Fri, 11 Nov 2005 10:56:34 -0800

Good books to read before wandering about Central and South America for a few months? Culture and history and politics. The relationships between neighbor countries and neighboring people. Current affairs in the context of a greater story.

books about india?

introcosm — Thu, 28 Jul 2005 21:04:55 -0800

Can anyone recommend some good books on Indian (particularly South Indian) culture/history/politics/etc? I'll be travelling all around the region next year (itinerary is still a little fuzzy, but will definitely include Tamil Nadu and Kerala) and would like to learn more about it before I go.

I'm leaving the question intentionally vague because I don't have a specific topic in mind, and I'm comfortable reading academic treatises, first-personal accounts, novels...basically anything that could enrich my perspective in some worthwhile way!

Books about Southeast asia

einarorn — Sun, 26 Jun 2005 08:12:15 -0800

I'm thinking about going to South-East Asia this fall. I'll probably be there for 5-6 weeks. Are there any books (besides the basic travel guides) that I should read before I go? I do a lot of travelling, and before I visit a new country I like to read about that country. I also feel that reading great literature from those countries really helps me get a better understanding of the country, and helps me enjoy my time there.

So does anyone have any specific recommendations about books (fiction, or non-fiction) that I should read before going to Thailand, Cambodia, Vietnam, Laos and possibly Myanmar?