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I've currently got When God Was a Woman from the library. It's kind of old now, written in the '70s, but it's an interesting look at goddess religions and ancient matriarchal/matrilineal societies in the Middle East, and their eventual fall to patriarchal invaders. Seeing as how It was written in the early '70s, though, I think I'd like to read some other books on this topic that incorporate more recent historical evidence and scholarship. Still quite an interesting read so far, though.
Right now I'm a hundred pages into A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court. I guess it's kind of a travel book in some ways, now that I think about it =P
Right now I'm reading...
Immortalis Carpe Noctem (almost done)
Flecks of Gold &
Dress Your Family in Corduroy and Denim (just started)
Immortalis Carpe Noctem (almost done)
Flecks of Gold &
Dress Your Family in Corduroy and Denim (just started)
I'm about to start the travels of Marco Polo and follow that up with the travels of Ibn Battutah. Should be fun!Kristopher
Having recently finishedA Time of Gifts (covering Rotterdam to Budapest), I have had to order the next part of the travels (Budapest to Constantinople), entitled Between the Woods and the Water. Then I picked up The Piano Shop on the Left Bank: Discovering a Forgotten Passion in a Paris Atelier. Well, I thought it would be about the French people, but it is predominantly concerning music and pianos in specific. It is really too much for me. Yes, I have played the piano as a kid, but this is REALLY for those who feel as one with their pianos. So halfway through I have given up! Last night I started The Worst Hard Time: The Untold Story of Those Who Survived the Great American Dust Bowl. It is very, very good!Kristopher, could you provide links so I can check out the books you are reading? They sound interesting! It is easy, just click on that little "add book/author" at the top center of the comment box.
Here you go, Chrissie. The Travels of Marco Polo and The Travels of Ibn Battutah. I've read Marco Polo's travels before and am looking forward to revisiting it. It's a fascinating story. Ibn Battutah was a Moorish Muslim who traveled something like 75,000 miles in the 14th century. The journey's took him almost 30 years. That he travelled that much back then is mind-boggling. I love reading books about the middle east during the 9th-15th centuries. The "superior" Europeans were essentially knuckle-dragging and afraid to bathe because "their skins would fall off" while the Middle Easterners were making huge scientific discoveries and advances in society and beliefs. It's a fascinating period of time. It's not really a travel book, but if you find the ones I recommended interesting, you should check out When Asia Was the World: Traveling Merchants, Scholars, Warriors, and Monks Who Created the "Riches of the "East". Gordon speaks of the vast superiority of the Middle-East and Asia during this period of time.
Thank you Kristopher! Yes, Europe was in the "dark ages" compared to Asia during the 1200s and centuries earlier too!
I'm reading Daughter of the Forest and A Continent for the Taking: The Tragedy and Hope of Africa both for reading challenges. I'm looking for a new modern travel story to read, preferably an exotic locale (Africa would be great)... Any suggestions?
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Thanks Chrissie, Wow it looks like a great story. I've added it to my to read shelf. I've started a separate thread in the Recommendations Folder if anyone has any further book ideas: http://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/3...
Mandy, I suggest you check out the group Great African Reads. Also I have tons of African books shelved by the countries in which they take place. You might find something there that interests you. My problem is that I have so many books I want to read.
just picked up theLies of Locke Lamora at the library.
Gypsies. Memoir of a child actually running away from home (with parents' permission!) and living w/ the Rom for 10 years. Mostly pre-WWII - but in a sense still valid because the nomads (according to Yoors) live almost wholly in the present, w/ little history and little foresight. Lots of interesting ideas, for example just now I learned (according to the author, again) that there's actually no such thing as a King of the Gypsies.
I'm currently reading Mailman of the Birdsville Track: The Story of Tom Kruse, the biography of a famous Australian outback character.Next, I might re-read Sundancers and River Demons: Essays on Landscape and Ritual, a book I've read years ago. It tells about the connection and interactions between man and landscape. Although I can't remember much of it, I do know that I found it a fascinating read. See if this gets confirmed after reading it again...
I'm also considering reading Tropical Gangsters: One Man's Experience With Development and Decadence in Deepest Africa.
I'm currently reading Leugenaars you might know this book by the original title (Den der lyver) or the English one (The Liar). It is set in a small Danish countryside village. I don't know how it is to live there but I think it gives a good view into the village live there.I'm also reading Wuthering Heights and Fury, although less frequent.
Abroad by Book
Books mentioned in this topic
Wuthering Heights (other topics)Fury (other topics)
Leugenaars (other topics)
Mailman of the Birdsville Track: The Story of Tom Kruse (other topics)
Tropical Gangsters: One Man's Experience with Development and Decadence in Deepest Africa (other topics)
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I'm reading Mistborn: The Final Empire by Brandon Sanderson for another group's monthly read (I'm supposed to be leading the discussion, but I think I might be failing at that) and The Sweet Far Thing by Libba Bray. I haven't gotten that far into it, though.
Once I get further into The Sweet Far Thing I'm going to pick up In a Sunburned Country by Bill Bryson.