Wednesday, August 10, 2016

Armchair Travel

Maybe you haven't had the time or the resources to do some literary traveling this summer.  Well, that doesn't mean you can't have fun wandering about somewhere you've never been before.  When you can't physically travel to a place, you can always mentally travel there through those wonderful things called books!

Armchair travel is the way to go if you have to stay where you are and can't get away.  And if you're looking for some interesting places to mentally visit, I've got a few book suggestions:
  • American Fuji by Sara Backer (Japan)  An American expat in Japan relates her sometimes strange and funny experiences as a gaijin ("foreigner") in the Land of the Rising Sun.
  • The Lost Symbol by Dan Brown (Washington, DC)  See the American capital as you've never seen it before, from the basement of the Capitol Building to the top of the Washington Monument and beyond.
  • Last Bus to Wisdom by Ivan Doig (Montana, Wisconsin)  Go on a cross-country summer trip from Montana to Wisconsin and back with a young boy in the 1950s.
  • The Little Paris Bookshop by Nina George (France)  A broken-hearted bookseller takes his book barge from Paris to southern France to find answers about his long lost love.
  • Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert (Italy, India, Indonesia)  Eat pasta in Italy, pray at an ashram in India, and find new love in Indonesia with Elizabeth Gilbert.
  • The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson (Sweden)  Travel from Stockholm to the Swedish countryside in this suspenseful page-turner.
  • Wild by Cheryl Strayed (California, Oregon)  Hike the Pacific Crest Trail from the Mojave Desert to the Columbia River Gorge without leaving the comfort of your home.

Still haven't found the right book for armchair traveling?  Then check out these websites for more suggestions:

Yours truly, currently armchair traveling through Istanbul (No Baggage by Clara Bensen) from the perch.

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