Sign in with Facebook
Loading...
99th out of 211 books
—
11 voters
101 Places Not to See Before You Die
"A spirited, ingenious, tongue-in-cheek guide to some of the least appealing destinations and experiences in the world"
Paperback, 249 pages
Published
2010
by Harper
Friend Reviews
To see what your friends thought of this book,
please sign up.
Community Reviews
(showing
1-30
of
647)
Really should be 2.5 stars. I agree with another reviewer who said that she thought it seemed the author really hadn't worked hard to write these pieces (coming up with 101 ideas seemed much of the "work"). I don't mean to disparage Price's ability; she's a good writer, and I'd be happy to read a focused, cohesive work of hers in future.
The initial essay on having her first menstrual period in remote China, where necessary products were nowhere to be found within hundreds of miles, was the stron...more
The initial essay on having her first menstrual period in remote China, where necessary products were nowhere to be found within hundreds of miles, was the stron...more
Methinks those who complain that this is too "snarky," or who find it necessary to write some sort of dissertation about something they think the author inaccurately reported, should not be reading this book. They may be androids. Although, perhaps snark is an acquired taste.
I found this at work when I was looking for something out in the stacks. It's a fun, funny light read. It is not serious. Got it?
I have actually been to some of these places:
Wall Drug (Thanks to our family's see-lots-of-famo...more
I found this at work when I was looking for something out in the stacks. It's a fun, funny light read. It is not serious. Got it?
I have actually been to some of these places:
Wall Drug (Thanks to our family's see-lots-of-famo...more
This little red book with a snake on the front curled about a suitcase is peppered with a bunch of places the author deems unworthy of a waste of your precious time and cash. Within is some inspired writing, interesting travel anecdotes and filler. Sort of like early Beatles albums; on their second you get inspired (She Loves You, You Can't Do That, Money), interesting (Roll over Beethoven) and filler (Please Mister Postman, You Really Got a Hold On Me). Not that those last songs aren't good, bu...more
The title of the book is somewhat misleading in that some of these "places" are not places you would ever be in a position to see: some are in the past, like "An Island off Germany's East Coast, January 16, 1362"; some are fictional, like "Varrigan City" (the fictional setting for the videogame "MadWorld"); some were specific to her life, like "An Overnight Train in China on the First Day of Your First Period"; and some were just plain silly and uninformative, like "Your College Campus Four Mont...more
Have you ever felt overwhelmed when, wandering down the bookshelf aisles, you see a plethora off books that each declare that they contain the 1,001 things you just have to do, see, read, or visit before you die? If so, then Catherine Price is your girl. After having a similar experience, she decided to write a book that would help you rule out some of the things you shouldn't see, and placed them all in a neat little book.
101 Places Not to See Before You Die is a short, hilarious look at some o...more
101 Places Not to See Before You Die is a short, hilarious look at some o...more
I have spent the past hour reading reviews for this book, which has been nominated for the Green Mountain Book Award, "a reader's choice award for students in grades 9-12. Co-sponsored by the Vermont Department of Libraries and the Vermont School Library Association, this program is designed to introduce to high school students some excellent books for their pleasure reading." (The list can be found here).
101 Places has not gotten rave reviews and not one review praised the book's quality of wri...more
101 Places has not gotten rave reviews and not one review praised the book's quality of wri...more
Oh, what a fun little book! I've never had any desire to read these books where you just HAVE TO do something before you die, especially over 100 things. Bitch, please. So when I saw this title, I went, "Okay, I can do that."
I saw some reviews on here that complained because she only gives each item two or three pages each, and it seemed like she could've done more research. To this I say, are you insane? If she'd spent a ridiculous amount of time fleshing out each location, I would've been bore...more
I saw some reviews on here that complained because she only gives each item two or three pages each, and it seemed like she could've done more research. To this I say, are you insane? If she'd spent a ridiculous amount of time fleshing out each location, I would've been bore...more
2 likes · like · see review
Jan 31, 2011
Denicemarcell
added it
Thanks Stacy! now to peek and see if i have seen any of them.
I've been to Wall Drug, Mount Rushmore, Tokyo Trains but not during rush hour or Happy Hour and on the BART. Some of these things are impossible to do, the rest I probably will continue to avoid.
I've been to Wall Drug, Mount Rushmore, Tokyo Trains but not during rush hour or Happy Hour and on the BART. Some of these things are impossible to do, the rest I probably will continue to avoid.
1 like · like · see review
Catherine Price has written an occasionally charming little book about places not to visit. The Beijing Tapwater Museum, Garbage City Cairo, the inside of a rendering plant, the shores of Lake Burundi, the bottom of a pig lagoon, and Fucking, Austria, were my favourites. Overall though, I'd have to say this book is one you can definitely live without reading. Most of her examples are mundane, obvious, or half-hearted, the book offers little practical information, and - in my copy at least, the b...more
The good thing is it's quite interesting, makes me do research on various subjects I haven't heard before.
The down side? this books is more like a rant blog. Complaining all about Templestay like a lazy woman she is. What does she expect from a Temple? a home to disciplined monks? Spa treatment?
Also, bitching about Nevada then says it is what most of her friends say, then washes her hands off. I am not from Nevada but what she does is insulting.
She also thinks the dangerous sports and festiviti...more
The down side? this books is more like a rant blog. Complaining all about Templestay like a lazy woman she is. What does she expect from a Temple? a home to disciplined monks? Spa treatment?
Also, bitching about Nevada then says it is what most of her friends say, then washes her hands off. I am not from Nevada but what she does is insulting.
She also thinks the dangerous sports and festiviti...more
OK, let me state right off the bat- I am not a traveler, unless you count going to and from work, then yes, I am a traveler. I am glad there are people like Catherine Price writing books like this one. I haven't been simultaneously amused, stunned, and left scratching my head at the same time- all while reading a book- in a while. This one worked. From the wall of gum in Seattle, Washington to the Little Boy Who Pees statue in Munich, well, i can say I'm glad I won't see any of these places befo...more
A time-saver!
Some of the places were preposterous and even non-existant (a vomitorium, Shangri-La). Others were just the author's personal prejudices. She's the author; she's entitled, yet... (The Blarney Stone - I kissed it, and that's no Blarney), others practical (Times Square on New Year's Eve - got someone else's personal impression of that very negative experience via a highly humorous recounting of it by my elderly aunt. She should have written the book!). Most were: "Figure the odds of...more
Some of the places were preposterous and even non-existant (a vomitorium, Shangri-La). Others were just the author's personal prejudices. She's the author; she's entitled, yet... (The Blarney Stone - I kissed it, and that's no Blarney), others practical (Times Square on New Year's Eve - got someone else's personal impression of that very negative experience via a highly humorous recounting of it by my elderly aunt. She should have written the book!). Most were: "Figure the odds of...more
Like looking at a beautiful face with really bad skin I am not sure whether to be attracted or repelled. The book consists of many different stories of different quality, which makes fair rating almost impossible. The stories experienced by Catherine Price herself (e.g. "An overnight train in China..." and "The Stari Grad Belltower" were vividly written, humurous and exactly what I would have expected when reading the title of the book for the first time. Had the writer held up this level of ent...more
I was expecting this book to be a funny take on some of the world's unique and eccletic places in the world. I wasn't expecting a negative and obnoxious narrator who comes across as very spoiled and bratty and perhaps misses the bigger picture. Many of the places listed in the book are, in fact, places not to see but some were too obvious (euro Disney) and others were meant to be funny but just weren't. This book could have been waaaaay better and could have given more history or background and...more
Fun frothy, candy reading for a vacation. At least if you're into nonfiction. There's quite a mix in here, from personal short stories from the author's own travel history (An Overnight Train in China on the First Day of Your First Period), to moments in history (A Stop on Carry Nation's Hatchetation Tour), to things like "your bosses bedroom" and Hell. And sometimes it feels a bit twee. Some of the locations are adult-rated, so sadly this won't be on my booktalk slate anytime soon. Some of them...more
1 like · like · see review
I enjoyed Price's writing and witty humor but some of the choices included on the 101 list felt out of place and irrelevant to traveling in general; first menstrual cycle on a train in China, hell (may not be difficult to get there depending on the person, but hard to recount to others not in hell), inside of a spotted hyena's birth canal, etc. The short pieces contributed by other writers were fun to read and Price's quirky little facts about the world did make the book very entertaining and at...more
A cute, quick read, 101 Places Not to See Before You Die caught my attention by listing one of my states's most unfortunate cities (Picher, Oklahoma) as one of the least favored 101. And as bad as things are in Picher, frankly, they don't compare to some of the other horrors author Catherine Price describes.
Body farms. Poo warehouses. Pig sludge. Vegas. You get the idea.
Price inserted a few of her own travel horror stories in the list, so there was a personal voice in addition to the impersonal...more
Body farms. Poo warehouses. Pig sludge. Vegas. You get the idea.
Price inserted a few of her own travel horror stories in the list, so there was a personal voice in addition to the impersonal...more
I really enjoyed this book. Each of the 101 entries are approximately one and a half pages long, though a few are only a couple of words long. Covering geographic places as well as places in time (and space), Price created a fairly decent antidote to all the 101...Before You Die books while also providing very interesting information on things like hotels that used to be prisons and actual body farms. Without being whiny, this was instructional and fun.
Just as the title says, these are places all over the world that the author recommends you should avoid because of danger, probable revulsion or just because she finds them overrated. Not all the places are even possible to visit, such as Io, one of Jupiter's moons, and including Stonehenge and the entire state of Nevada will have many people who disagree with Price's taste. But there are some surprising places and experiences in here.
On the GMBA list!!
“Price is a delightful writer who manages to give readers more giggles in under-two-page entries than many writers could in an entire chapter. . . . Highly recommended.” (Library Journal )
“Funny and engaging.” (USA Today )
“This clever collection of travel advisories lists all the places that are definitely not worth a trip, including a rendering plant, Times Square on New Year’s Eve, and, bien sûr, Euro Disney.”
— Entertainment Weekly
Quick, funny ....the kind of book you can le...more
“Price is a delightful writer who manages to give readers more giggles in under-two-page entries than many writers could in an entire chapter. . . . Highly recommended.” (Library Journal )
“Funny and engaging.” (USA Today )
“This clever collection of travel advisories lists all the places that are definitely not worth a trip, including a rendering plant, Times Square on New Year’s Eve, and, bien sûr, Euro Disney.”
— Entertainment Weekly
Quick, funny ....the kind of book you can le...more
Meh. The concept was very good here but the execution less so; this book was not as interesting or as funny as I hoped it would be. Several of the "places to see" listed don't actually exist, and some of those that do are impossible to travel to (for example, one of Jupiter's moons). This book might be worth a browse, though, for some of the places it mentions (like the Tupperware Museum).
1 like · like · see review
There are some really funny bits here that had me laughing out loud. The best entries were the author's personal stories, like the time she stayed overnight at a Korean temple or when she got her first period while traveling on a train in China. There are some interesting parts about unusual festivals or interesting town names. Unfortunately, some of it is kind of silly filler, things like "your boss's bedroom" and places you can't really go without a spaceship or a time machine.
It's a good pick...more
It's a good pick...more
This book is pure fluff but it is a fun read and Price occasionally strikes gold with some genuine LOL moments that makes me wonder why she couldn't maintain that quality of writing for the majority of the 101 entries. The lack of pictures and inconsistency in writing screams 'rush job' all the way through but at the end of it all i really did enjoy these bite sized morsels.
I enjoyed this book. It was funny, for the most part, and interesting. The thing is that all of the 101 places are not really places that you could go, ie "Jupiter's Worst Moon, Io". I thought it was going to be all about just dumb tourist trap places, like Wall Drug, but it also has things like 'An Island Off Germany's East Coast, January 16, 1362.' So while that was a totally unvisitable attraction, the essay for that topic was interesting and I learned about a giant, and I mean GIANT, storm t...more
I thought this would be a guide to tacky or over-rated tourist spots (Wall Drug). But instead was supposed to be humous essays on real and a few unreal places. Some were fun, others vulgar and some I have been to and couldn't disagree more. If you must read get from a library, don't bother buying.
What a fun little book. I planned to skim
through It briefly, but it was so funny at times that I couldnt put it down. Highlights - fan appreciation day at the Vegas porn convention and the burning man festival. I can definitely scratch both of this event off my bucket list- permanently.
through It briefly, but it was so funny at times that I couldnt put it down. Highlights - fan appreciation day at the Vegas porn convention and the burning man festival. I can definitely scratch both of this event off my bucket list- permanently.
Not really a practical guide because the book includes places you couldn't actually visit even if you tried (Jupiter's worst moon, for example) but generally a humerous, light read with a few interesting facts thrown in.
A warning: some of the destinations are definitely only for adults!
A warning: some of the destinations are definitely only for adults!
I absolutely agree with John's review and my two stars will average out his three stars to two and a half stars so we're all good.
This is entertainment, not to be taken seriously. Don't cite it in your dissertation.
This is entertainment, not to be taken seriously. Don't cite it in your dissertation.
Pretty tongue in cheek - one of the 'places' is actually Ancient Rome, during Nero's reign. Definitely not a place I would want to visit, but by that example you can see this isn't a very serious book. Which is all right by me, as it made me smile more than a few times.
I was kinda disappointed by this book. The author is very funny, but it just didn't feel like she worked very hard. It just seemed easy: easy jokes, loose concept, and a lack of focus. Judging by the occasional quality of her work, she should do better.
There are no discussion topics on this book yet.
Be the first to start one »
Sep 30, 2010 08:31am