Task #8: Read a travel memoir

[Book Riot]

Use this space to discuss books you're reading or that might fit the eighth Read Harder task.

[Book Riot]

Some posts which may help:

https://www.goodreads.com/shelf/show/...

http://bookriot.com/2016/02/15/of-you...

http://girlvsglobe.com/2015/09/20-ins...

[Laura]

Book Riot wrote: "Use this space to discuss books you're reading or that might fit the eighth Read Harder task."
I am going to read the classic On the Road by Jack Kerouac. I also recommend Blue Highways which will also cover #19.

[Rayne]

I've had The Voluntourist: A Six-Country Tale of Love, Loss, Fatherhood, Fate, and Singing Bon Jovi in Bethlehem on my shelf for over a year now. So this is the perfect excuse to finally get it read.

[Shawn]

How about Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance: An Inquiry Into Values.

[Ellie]

I'm going with 'Wild' by Cheryl Strayed. Sounds interesting.

[Emily]

I think I´ll be reading this one On Top of the World: Five Women Explorers in Tibet

[Stina]

I will probably do either The Lost City of Z: A Tale of Deadly Obsession in the Amazon or Turn Right at Machu Picchu: Rediscovering the Lost City One Step at a Time.

[Cindy]

I loved Lost City of Z.

I'm planning on The Curve of Time: The Classic Memoir of a Woman and Her Children Who Explored the Coastal Waters of the Pacific Northw, which sounds like it will be a fun read too.

[Katy]

Thinking of Ice Diaries: An Antarctic Memoir or perhaps Sixty Degrees North: Around the World in Search of Home for this one.

[Veronica]

Mona wrote: "Another resource...

10 Travel Memoirs by Novelists of Color
http://www.ishqinabackpack.com/10-tra..."

Thanks for posting this. I very much want to find some minority voices in travel writing, as there seems to be a dearth of that in this genre.

[Anna]

Do you think The Return: Fathers, Sons, and the Land in Between would work here?

I need more non-American, non-British voices in my reading list.

[Lindsey]

I was thinking The Year of Living Danishly: My Twelve Months Unearthing the Secrets of the World's Happiest Country.

[Hannah]

I'm going to read My Life in France by Julia Child. I hope this counts.

[Kdmorton]

Throwing out a recommendation: You Can't Get There From Here by Gayle Forman. https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/5...

[[deleted user]]

Eat, Pray, Love has been on my tbr list for some time, now so an excellent opportunity to read this.

[Veronica]

Mona wrote: "Sure! Here is one I can recommend:

An African in Greenland by Kpomassie ..."

That sounds fascinating. Thanks!

[Alana]

I think I am going to read

Island People: The Caribbean and the World - Joshua Jelly-Schapiro
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/2...

[Leanne]

I'm going to read The Temporary Bride - A Memoir of Love and Food in Iran.

[Krista]

Oh my. I was returning a book to OverDrive (what I use to check out ebooks and audiobooks from my local library) and did a search for this topic.

I think I'm going to tag A Walk in the Woods: Rediscovering America on the Appalachian Trail for this one.

That would mean a lot to me as out of college with my first degree I was lost. I ended up signing on with an Appalachian Trail crew for 3 months and doing volunteer work them from Virginia up through New York on the trail. I will never forget that period of time in my life and this should be an awesome read.

[Ginni]

Would Snow Leopard by Peter Matthiessen qualify or is that too much of a stretch?

[Jodi]

"Following the Equator" by Mark Twain should do, right?

[Niffer]

I'm going to read one of Eric Newby's, as I've heard only good things :)

[Monica]

Looking at this one: This Road I Ride: Sometimes It Takes Losing Everything to Find Yourself

[Emily]

Stina wrote: "I will probably do either The Lost City of Z: A Tale of Deadly Obsession in the Amazon or Turn Right at Machu Picchu: Rediscovering the Lost City One Step at a Time."

I read /Turn Right at Machu Picchu/ right after a trip to Peru, and now I'm counting the days until I can get back! My mom also read it, to get an idea of some of what I had seen, so I don't think my enjoyment was purely nostalgic.

[Viv]

I'm thinking of going with Bury Me Standing: The Gypsies and Their Journey for this task. I found it from this list:

http://trekity.com/travel-books/

Some of the books are novels rather than memoirs, but it's a great list & I've added several to my TBR!

[Heather]

I was planning on reading this one also!

[Darlene]

Margaret wrote: "Eat, Pray, Love has been on my tbr list for some time, now so an excellent opportunity to read this."

Oh, me too!! Thanks for that, Margaret.

[Ariel]

Krista wrote: "I think I'm going to tag A Walk in the Woods: Rediscovering America on the Appalachian Trail for this one.

That would mean a lot to me as out of college with my first degree I was lost. I ended up signing on with an Appalachian Trail crew for 3 months and doing volunteer work them from Virginia up through New York on the trail. I will never forget that period of time in my life and this should be an awesome read. "

This book looks so interesting, thanks for mentioning it! I've been toying with hiking the Appalachian for ages - that's so awesome that you worked on the crew.

[Lanie]

Would Patti Smith's M Train count for this one?

[Kim]

I totally binge-read "I'll Be Damned if I'll Die in Oakland" by Al Martinez. It was poignant and laugh out loud hilarious at points. Would definitely recommend.

[Nancy]

What I Was Doing While You Were BreedingIt was difficult to choose just one, since I love this category! I think I'm going with What I Was Doing While You Were Breeding by Kristin Newman.

[Mycala]

Just finished reading "Music in Every Room (Around the World in a Bad Mood)" by John Krich.

[Kelly]

If someone knows a travel memoir set in Sweden, I'd love to know about it as I'm trying to travel there this year.

[Lea]

Anyone have any suggestions that include *South* Korea as a destination?

[Lyndsey]

For those still looking, J. R. Ackerley's "Hindoo Holiday" might fit the bill. It was written by a white Englishman in the 1920s and meant to be funny and titillating, so it's not a particularly generous or intersectional travelogue. (I learned a lot from it, and there were many parts I enjoyed, but I felt I'd be remiss to not point out there's some problematic BS in it.)

[Nancy]

Krista wrote: "Oh my. I was returning a book to OverDrive (what I use to check out ebooks and audiobooks from my local library) and did a search for this topic.

I think I'm going to tag A Walk in the Wood..."</i>

Krista, have you read [book:Grandma Gatewood's Walk: The Inspiring Story of the Woman Who Saved the Appalachian Trail? If you love the Appalachian Trail, you would love this book.

[Sam]

Laura wrote: "Book Riot wrote: "Use this space to discuss books you're reading or that might fit the eighth Read Harder task."
I am going to read the classic On the Road by Jack Kerouac. I also recommend Blue Hi..."

I didn't even think about On the Road! I have it sitting around and have wanted to read it for a long time... thanks for the idea!

[Katy]

Krista wrote: "Oh my. I was returning a book to OverDrive (what I use to check out ebooks and audiobooks from my local library) and did a search for this topic.

I think I'm going to tag [book:A Walk in the Wood..."

one of my favorite books; i re-read it often.

[Katy]

Lanie wrote: "Would Patti Smith's M Train count for this one?"

does she travel in it? if so i'll pick it too!

[Virginia]

Here's another list of travel memoirs by people of color. I think I am going with Catfish and Mandala: A Two-Wheeled Voyage Through the Landscape and Memory of Vietnam.

https://www.pastemagazine.com/article...

[Teresa]

I read An African in Greenland. I planned it for the Immigrant task, but it fits better here. His determination and the he repeated culture clash were fascinating.

[Katie]

Nancy wrote: "What I Was Doing While You Were BreedingIt was difficult to choose just one, since I love this category! I think I'm going with What I Was Doing While You Were Breeding by Kristin N..."

This sounds funny, normally I don't enjoy non-fiction, I feel like I would enjoy this! Gonna pick this one as well.

[Shannon]

So I have a question, do you think that An Astronaut's Guide to Life on Earth would qualify?

[Erica]

I read The Year of Living Danishly: My Twelve Months Unearthing the Secrets of the World's Happiest Country for this criteria. Both Amazon and Goodreads classifies this as a travel memoir, so I'm counting it, but I'm not sure I would since the author actually moves to Denmark for a year, rather than just traveling there.

[Bridget]

I just finished The Road to Little Dribbling: Adventures of an American in Britain by Bill Bryson. Funny to me since I lived in England for a long time and I'm half English.

[Kate]

Krista wrote: "Oh my. I was returning a book to OverDrive (what I use to check out ebooks and audiobooks from my local library) and did a search for this topic.

I think I'm going to tag [book:A Walk in the Wood..."

I adore this book; you will not regret it.

[Kate]

Ariel wrote: "Krista wrote: "I think I'm going to tag A Walk in the Woods: Rediscovering America on the Appalachian Trail for this one.

That would mean a lot to me as out of college with my first degree I was ..."

Everyone should read A Walk in the Woods; if I were compiling a list of absolutely necessary books, it would be on there.

[Krista]

And I didn't. ;) It was the first book I finished and it was fantastic. My husband plans on listening to In a Sunburned Country by him - his travels in Australia. I'm totally going to listen with him.

[Barbara]

Virginia wrote: "Here's another list of travel memoirs by people of color. I think I am going with Catfish and Mandala: A Two-Wheeled Voyage Through the Landscape and Memory of Vietnam.

https://www.pas..."

I was just coming here to post that link! I'm trying to read more diversely (especially WRT race) this year, and travel writing tends to be a super white genre. I've decided I'm not reading books written by white men this year, and I'm trying not to fill in the gap by just reading a whole bunch of white women. I'm going to see if I can find a copy of Meeting Faith: The Forest Journals of a Black Buddhist Nun at my local library.