My Books

• NEW: Keep your eye on The Library Store , at Amazon. Sure, I make a few pennies if you buy, but that helps pay for my books and movie tickets. Thanks.

Books Coming and Going

Currently reading

Note: In addition to this book, I have a shelf of books about states for the Great American Road Trip, but I am going to keep those secret.

• The Last Child by John Hart (North Carolina)
• Currency by Zoe Zolbrod (Thailand)

• A Beautiful Place to Die by Malla Nunn (South Africa)(reviewed based on first half–now I’m finishing it)
• A Journey Through Literary America by Thomas R. Hummel with photographs by Tamra L. Dempsey
• Tseyi: Deep in the Rock (Canyon de Chelly, Arizona) by Laura Tohe, photographs by Stephen E. Strom

• Between Two Deserts by Germaine Shames (re-reading- Israel)
• Abroad by Paul Fussel (General) This one is going to take a while and will stay around as a kind of reference book.

Waiting to be read

ROAD TRIP BOOKS

• Autumn Across America, By Edwin Way Teale (recommended by a comment) U.S.
• The Leisure Seeker by Michael Zadoorian (U.S. Road Trip)

OTHERS ON THE SHELF, TABLE, AND FlOOR

The first group is newly or soon-to-be published or important works that will come up soon.

• 100 Places in Italy Every Woman Should Go by Susan Van Allen
• The Museum of Innocence, (Turkey) by Orhan Parmuk
• Strolling Through Istanbul by John Freely
• To Change the World: My Years in Cuba by Margaret Randall
• My Town, poetry by Margaret Randall about Albuquerque. To be reviewed in JuneWriting Jane Austen, by Elizabeth Aston (England/London)
• The Third Coast by Ted McClelland (Great Lakes area of U.S.)

This next group will be waiting in the wings for an opening.

• Suite Francaise by Irene Nemirovsky (France)
  
• Watching the Door by Kevin Myers (Ireland)
  
• The Way of Herodotus by Justin Marozzi (Mediterranean)
  
• A Thread of Grace by Mary Doria Russell (re-reading–set aside again) (Italy)
• Alexander the Great by Nikos Kazantzakis (Greece and the known world)
• Crete by Barry Unsworth (Greece)
• An Area of Darkness by V. S. Naipaul (India)

Personal Reading (HA! As If I have time!)

• The Devil’s Star by Jo Nesbo (The Norwegian mystery writer I liked so much)
• Redbird by Jo Nesbo (Ditto)
• A Homemade Life by Molly Wizenberg (Strictly for me–not travel)
• The Caliph’s House by Tahir Shah(Morocco) (recommended by Judie Fein)
• The Death of Josseline by Margaret Regan(Arizona Borderlands) (author interviewed)

Note:  Dozens more are in a notebook, but I stopped putting them up here, because my lovely readers have suggested books so fast that I can’t keep up. If you suggest a book, have faith, it is in my TBR notebook.

RECENTLY FINISHED

NOTE:  Although these are marked “See Review”, I am quite aware that I discuss rather than review books. And it is important to remember that I am looking principally at their urge-to-travel factor rather than literary merit when I rank them. Do follow the link on “See Review” to go to the complete blog post discussion.

The Lunatic Express by Carol Hoffman ( reviewed)
The Routes of Man by Ted Conover( reviewed)

A Journey to John Steinbeck’s California by Susan Shillinglaw and Cannery Row by John Steinbeck. These may wait until the road trip gets to California, although I did like both very much.

Riding the Hulahula to the Arctic Ocean,A Guide to 50 Extraordinary Adventures for the Seasoned Traveler by Don Mankin and Shannon Stowell (Review at My Itchy Travel Feet in June)

February by Lisa Moore (Newfoundland) Scheduled To Be Reviewed
Eleanor the Queen by Norah Lofts(France) Scheduled To Be Reviewed

Under the Huang Jiao Tree by Jane Carswell (China) Winner of the grand prize as New Zealand’s best travel literature 2009. Reviewed.

Nemesis by Jo Nesbo (Oslo Norway) (Edgar Awards Nominee)Reviewed

The Odds by Kathleen George (Pittsburgh)Reviewed

Mark Twain: The Adventures of Samuel L. Clemens by Jerome Loving, See review

DuPont Mansions and Gardens by Maggie Lidz.(Delaware) See review

Independence Day by Richard Ford.(New Jersey) See review

Nine Lives by William Dalrymple. To be reviewed in May.

An American Childhood, by Annie Dillard (Pittsburgh PA) (see review)

Iran, the Photographs of Inge Morath (see review)

City on the Edge by Mark Goldman (Buffalo) (see review)

Charming Billy by Alice McDermott (New York City/Bronx) (See Review)

Their Backs to the Sea by poetry and photographs by Margaret Randall (Rapa Nui/Easter Island) (See Review)

Not Quite Paradise, an American Sojourn in Sri Lanka by Adele Barker (See Review)

A Journey to Flaubert’s Normandy by Susannah Patton (France)
(Author interview by Jessie Voigt of Wandering Educators)

Madame Bovary by Flaubert (Normandy, France) A re-read, See Review.
A Journey to Dorothy Parker’s New York by Kevin C. Fitzpatrick (See review)

The Caligraphers Daughter by Eugenia Kim (Korea)(See Review)

Mistress to the Sun by Sandra Gulland (France) (See Review)

Dogtown by Elyssa East. (Massachusetts) (See Review)

Blue Highways by William Least Heat-Moon. (U.S.) This is a re-read. I apparently lent my copy years ago, and  found another at Bookman’s used books. U.S. (See review which kicked off the Great American Road Trip.)

Coast to Coast: Vintage Travels in North America by Antony Shugaar and others. Reviewed here.

The Invisible Mountain by Carolina DeRobertis I loved this book so much that when I reviewed it I said that it would be the best book of the year. Well we’re almost half through the year, and I stand by the statement.

Great Discoveries: Explorations that Changed History, a Time book. (World wide) Ed. Richard Stengel (Part of January 2010 Giveaway)

France, A Traveler’s Literary Companion Ed. by William Rodarmor and Anna Livia (See review)

A Moveable Feast by Ernest Hemingway (The Restored Edition)France (See review)

The Girl Who Married a Lion and Other Tales from Africa by Alexander McCall Smith♥♥♥ (Reviewed 9/24/09)

Waiting on a Train by James McCommons (United States) (See Review)

Rock Springs by Richard Ford (short story in collection American Short Story Masterpieces edited by Raymond Carver and Tom Jenks This book was recommended by Todd Felton as one of the books on his list for a class on American road trip books.  Liked the story, but wouldn’t think of it as a useful book for travelers.

Fiji, Moon Guidebook (Reviewed in Indie Travel Podcast magazine.)

Literary Trips, Following in the Footsteps of Fame, Ed. by Victoria Brooks (Library book–priority) (Various places) (Review 9/02/09)♥♥♥♥

American Fugue by Alexis Stamatis (Road Trip in America) Review 9/04/09 ♥♥♥

The Last Aloha by Gaellen Quinn (Hawaii) Review 8/21/09♥♥1/2

Pascali’s Island by Barry Unsworth (Greece) Recommended by a comment at The Traveler’s Library. See review ♥♥♥♥

Vagabounding by Rolf Potts (The World)♥♥♥ Review 8/20/09

Land of Marvels by Barry Unsworth (Iraq when it was Turkish Mesopotamia) See review ♣

High Country by Nevada Barr (US National Parks) See review ♥♥♥

The Sun Also Rises (Movie and book)by Hemmingway (France and Spain)♥♥♥

Driving Over Lemons: An Optimist in Spain by Chris Stewart (See review)♥♥♥

Paris in the Moon, Adam Gopnik (See review- Bastille Day, June 14)♥♥♥

East of the Sun by Julia Gregson (India)(review copy) (See review)♥♥♥♥

An Irreverent Curiosity by David Farley (Italy) (review copy)(See review)♥♥♥♥

The Sweet Life in Paris by David Lebovitz (review copy)♥♥♥(See Review)

Our Man in Havana by Graham Greene (Cuba) ♥♥♥

The Quiet American by Graham Greene (Vietnam) ♥♥♥♥ See review.

Notes from a Small Island by Bill Bryson (England-Audio Book)♥♥♥ See review in a series on travel classics.

The Middle Passage by V. S. Naipaul (West Indies, S.America)♥♥♥ He describes in depth the social situation in the places he visits, focusing on race relations, in this his first travel book. He does not seem to be particularly sympathetic to anyone, being a generally grumpy traveler complaining about the heat and smoking endlessly and looking down his nose at most of the people he meets. And yet something attracts me to the book–I believe it is the relentless detail. I felt I could really see the scenes and people he described. See review.

Jack Ruby’s Kitchen Sink by Tom Miller♥♥ (Borderlands America) See review

The House on the Lagoon by Rosario Ferre (Puerto Rico)♥ Okay, it was a nominee for the National Book Award and garnered almost unanimously good reviews, so what am I missing here? This book about several generations of families in Puerto Rico is ambitious and has a clever gimmick, but I found it tedious. The voice is monotonous–no use of rhythm and very little of poetry of language. I would not have finished it, had I not been reading it for a book club. Okay–I learned a little about Puerto Rican politics, but because of the untrustworthy narrator, that is even shaky.

Travels With Charley by John Steinbeck♥♥♥♥ (U.S.) See post on Steinbeck and McMurtry’s road trip books.

Roads by Larry McMurtry♥ See review. (U.S.)

In a Narrow Grave by Larry McMurtry ♥♥♥ (Texas) McMurtry is at his best when he is explaining Texas, although the novel is his home territory and this is essays. The book was written when he was 30, shortly after the movie Hud was made and he became famous. He delves into the changes from the cowboy life to the suburbs, and he is sad to see it change.

Backroads of the Texas Hill Country,by Gary and Kathy Adams Clark♥♥A departure from my list of literature, but I needed some practical guidance on my Texas road trip as well as help from McMurtry.This book proved to be a pretty thorough guide. See Who Writes Texas.

A Journey into the Transcendentalists’ New England by R. Todd Felton ♥♥♥♥ I’m a sucker for travel tied to literature and writers, so of course I loved this book.  Felton is a good writer and New England is a fertile ground for writers. See Felton’s article.

The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao by  Junot Diaz (Dominican Republic) ♥♥♥♥ A great read, but I wouldn’t want to go there (based on the book). See complete review.

The Informer by Liam O’Flaherty (Ireland)♥♥  I loved the Aran Islands that were O’Flaherty’s home. But this book leave the islands behind. A detailed account of one night in the life of a down-and-out Dubliner and the revolutionaries. It was the style of the writing that put me off this book, although others might love it.

Three Cups of Tea ♥♥ by Greg Mortenson and David Oliver Relin (Pakistan and Afghanistan) Oddly, I did get a lot of knowledge of Pakistan, and Central Asia’s religious and political turmoil from this book despite the fact that the writing was awkward and overblown. This book is unabashedly propaganda for the very worthy cause of Greg Mortenson, building non sectarian schools in  countries that are mostly Muslim.

Monkey Hunting ♥♥♥♥ by Cristina Garcia. See my review.(Cuba)

A Trance After Breakfast by Alan Cheuse, See review (Various)

Miraculous Air by C.M. Mayo (Baja California, Mexico)♥♥♥ See review.

A Short Walk in the Hindu Kush by Eric Newby♥♥♥ (Afghanistan and Pakistan) See Review

Paul Bowles, by Gena Dagel Caponi Brief and rather scholarly  biography of a writer I was curious about. From her description, I am not particularly moved to read his travel books–which he did not like to call travel books.♥♥