Another travel book. Looks like a person who does not like to travel is being forced to travel by two of his friends, one being Ricky Gervais and the...moreAnother travel book. Looks like a person who does not like to travel is being forced to travel by two of his friends, one being Ricky Gervais and the other Stephen Merchant. We shall see.(less)
Just picked this up in the library and it is a GoodReads book of 2011. Very cool! I shall keep you abreast of my opinion.
My assessment o...moreJust picked this up in the library and it is a GoodReads book of 2011. Very cool! I shall keep you abreast of my opinion.
My assessment of very cool turned into a disappointment that this is a book of quotes and quick verses on travel writing. Had I not taken it out of the library I believe I would have enjoyed it more. This is a book that you can pick up, open to a random page, then read quotes and snippets until you are ready to do something else. As this was a 'return in three weeks' book, it did not suite my current reading requirements. Perhaps with a personal copy, or a time when I need short bits of inspiration, but not right now. I might like this book more another day.(less)
A necessary read for any travel, tourism, recreation or culture student. This is the updated version with more critique of our visual / photo culture...moreA necessary read for any travel, tourism, recreation or culture student. This is the updated version with more critique of our visual / photo culture. Excited to begin reading once it arrives!(less)
So far Jann is providing the reader with very detailed accounts of her childhood. I am not sure she is going to make it into the singing career part ...moreSo far Jann is providing the reader with very detailed accounts of her childhood. I am not sure she is going to make it into the singing career part of her life at this rate as I keep looking at the thickness of the book. I shall keep you updated.
I have been a fan of Jann Arden's music since the release of her first CD in the early 1990's. Her music has always helped me process life experiences, realize that life is complicated, and that we all hope to have relationships with people we can rely on. After receiving this book for Christmas, I devoured it. As stated above, most of the stories in her book range from childhood to the beginning of her music career and do not extend beyond. While Jann is open about many funny, personal, serious, hard, interesting and joyful experiences, it appears she still retains private information about other aspects of her life. It was a great read and would recommend it to fans and strangers alike. (less)
Just attend a student leadership conference during which Grennan presented then gave us each a copy of this book. I was impressed with his words in p...moreJust attend a student leadership conference during which Grennan presented then gave us each a copy of this book. I was impressed with his words in person and I expect his written words will be just as impressive.(less)
I was walking from the University bathroom back to my study carol when this book and another by the same author, Amanda Hale, caught my eye. After re...moreI was walking from the University bathroom back to my study carol when this book and another by the same author, Amanda Hale, caught my eye. After reading the back and flipping through the book, I decided this would be a nice diversion from the non-fiction, travel, walking books that I have been reading for several years now.
Hale intricately creates a narrative that includes 2 separate stories, then 3, then 4, and as a grande finale, links all the stories and characters together. The breadth of the stories, which range from the 1500's to the 1960's and the 2000's, leaves the reader sleepless, turning pages, wondering what will happen to this list of unique characters. The stories are set in Guatemala, Toronto, and the Kingdom of Spain shortly after its creation in the late 1400's and into the early 1500's. Characters from South America's colonial past inspire a young Guatemalan-Canadian, Pamela, to trace her roots and briefly leave her two loving mothers, Hannah and Fern, in Toronto, in order to find her biological mother back in a country which she left after her international adoption. She travels in body and finds friends, old acquaintances and adventure, but also travels back in time in her mind as she prepares a paper and completes research in order to understand her country of birth. Her travels take her to meet some interesting people, but her plans take a divergent turn when she attempts to impose her Canadian upbringing on a set of people and in a country that has survived generations of war, torture, and trauma. Pamela has a wishful, hopeful spirit and teaches the reader that taking chances may provide you with different answers than the ones you had been looking for. Great read! (less)
Laurie Gough has a traveling spirit and is constantly moving away from a consistent, scheduled, routine life, always trying to find a place she feels ...moreLaurie Gough has a traveling spirit and is constantly moving away from a consistent, scheduled, routine life, always trying to find a place she feels is full of the exotic other. Through her trip in a jeep named Marcia from Southern Ontario to California, she recounts not only her experiences on the road, but spends several chapters flashing back to her international journey's from years gone by. At first, I did not enjoy her narrative as Gough's voice included a whining edge no matter her life choices. As the story progressed, her narrative morphed from 'why me' to a courageous link of travel choices I would be hard pressed to make. Gough demonstrates a consistent decision to avoid tourist traps in her traveling, instead, making choices to sleep in a cave on the beach for 6 days, sleep in a hollowed out tree for 3 nights, and to brave an unknown countries as she continually arrives with few plans or local contacts. This type of traveling requires a true free spirit, a drive to understand different life experiences, and a trust in the goodness of human relationships. In the end a good book which I did enjoy and whose stories have added a few places to visit or avoid in my own travel plans.
Best parts:
"Gazing at the faces of the fashion-conscious teens and the heavy-set parents pushing ice-cream-eating kids in strollers I long to see the face of a true eccentric, someone who doesn't belong. But in this culture of sameness I can't find anyone like that. That's something I love about outdoor markets, especially those in the developing world or in big cosmopolitan cities: eccentrics are everywhere. The North American mall is one of the West's less enlightened ideas for only occasionally does the enclosed mall exude a noisy excitement of a meeting place. Mainly, instead of being colourful, outlandish, and pulsing with life, malls are sterile; they smell like air freshener rather than ripe fruit, spices and sweat; the music is canned instead of live; and the people inside the malls seem bored, more concerned with buying the latest rend marketed at them than engaging in lively conversation." p. 98
"So there was a spark of light in that trip after all, a single moment asking to be remembered. I see now that the easy road isn't the road to take to find that spark. If we really want to find true beauty in their world, the road to find it can be full of ache, wrenching hurdles, heartbreak and potholes. But it's the road we sometimes need, the one I needed to come across that little girl and her family on that forlorn island after the storm." p. 251 (less)
As I push 40, I have pulled out this book given to me by my sister during a Christmas several years ago. She is a thoughtful gift giver and I am real...moreAs I push 40, I have pulled out this book given to me by my sister during a Christmas several years ago. She is a thoughtful gift giver and I am really enjoying this book thus far. I look forward to my 40's when my opinions of myself and my life are far more important to me that are other opinions. More later.(less)
Bryson returns to the mid-western states where he grew up and experienced many family vacations on a shoe-string budget. Looking for the quintessenti...moreBryson returns to the mid-western states where he grew up and experienced many family vacations on a shoe-string budget. Looking for the quintessential American town, so far in the book he is disappointed and his tone is on the bitter side. Bryson does find a few intriguing places and spaces that cause him to wander in wonder. His life in the UK however is the place where he belongs as he never seems to end the sarcastic comments and critiques of the places he visits all over the American mid-west. (less)
So far I am trying to figure out why anyone would want to walk through a desert. Barren. Void. Empty. Sandy. So far I am enjoying the book but as...moreSo far I am trying to figure out why anyone would want to walk through a desert. Barren. Void. Empty. Sandy. So far I am enjoying the book but as a tourist and a walker I just don't think I would ever make this a life goal as the author has. I shall keep reading to open my eyes to her perspective.
"The absence of outside distractions caused us to immerse ourselves fully in our environment, which meant that we were ready to respond instantly to any emergency that might rise. Rather than reading books at night, we used the time to sleep." p. 116
Now that I have read the book I can say that I still don't want to walk to through any desert but I do respect Thayer and her partner Bill as this was an amazing book to read. The physical challenges, the mind games the desert plays on them, the hospitality of the Mongolians, the craziness of the Chinese border patrol, the idea that one keeps walking and walking and walking even when one's mouth is full of sandy grit. Incredible story from amazing people!
A poem Thayer left behind in a desert in the centre of a cairn:
Although the harshness of the desert sometimes climbs beyond human endurance, a deep feeling of tranquility floods our senses as we allow ourselves to become part of the earth, wind, sand and dust that surrounds us. We can never conquer the elements; we can only experience them as a visitor, knowing that after we have passed, the desert will continue its ways both gentle and violent long after we are gone. It takes time to understand the special freedom that comes when we join hands with Mother Nature and follow her lead. The increasing weariness and outward struggle is made easier when we are at peace with our surroundings and at one with our Creator. (p. 179)(less)
Read this book. Read this book. Read this book. Walking. Courage. Understanding. Meeting people of all sorts. Wonderful and so insightful as per t...moreRead this book. Read this book. Read this book. Walking. Courage. Understanding. Meeting people of all sorts. Wonderful and so insightful as per the people living in Afghanistan in 2002 and their lack of knowledge with regards to a war being fought in their own country, for what reason? They don't know. Read this book. (less)
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