Tuesday, June 4, 2013

Top Ten Tuesday- Have Book, Will Travel - June 4th




Top Ten Tuesday is hosted by Broke and Bookish and asks participants to create a top ten list around a different topic each week. This week's topic is "Top Ten Books Featuring Travel". I love to read and to travel so it is a perfect marriage! (links are to my reviews if I have reviewed them)




1. The Geography of Bliss: One Grump's Search for the Happiest Places on Earth by Eric Weiner: This book is at once a travelogue, sociological study and memoir. Weiner, a foreign correspondent for NPR, traveled the world for a year in an effort to determine how place and the characteristics of that place influence an individual's happiness.

2. O Come Ye Back To Ireland by Niall Williams and Christine Breen: This book tells the story of a couple that move to the rugged West of Ireland and their discoveries during the first year there. It celebrates the beauty of rural Ireland and the excitement of moving to a new country.



 3. Notes from a Small Island by Bill Bryson: Bryson does a travel memoir like no one else- his dry humor comes right through the pages. In this book, he takes a final tour through England before moving his family back to the US

4. Little Princes by Conor Grennan: A trip around the world turns into a life mission when Grennan arrives in Nepal and meets the boys in a local orphanage. They capture his heart and they will capture yours too.




5. Undress Me in the Temple of Heaven by Susan Jane Gilman:  The author and a college friend head out on a post college trip and start in China.  This is China before it was open to the West so travel there was challenging - that coupled with the friend's gradual unraveling make for very funny scenes. The author's writing is smart and witty.

6. A Thread of Sky by Deanna Fei: At direction of their mother, a group of sisters (with Mom in tow) head to China for a package tour of all the major sights. The relationship between the Mom and each sister is fractured and the trip is her (ill-fated) attempt at remedying that.








7. The Paradise Guest House by Ellen Sussman: This beautiful book is as much an homage to Bali as a story of recovery following the 2001 bombings. I visited Bali in 2007 and this book immediately transported me back to the beauty and calm of the country

8. Paris to the Moon by Adam Gopnik: I read this before I started blogging and absolutely loved it.  The author, a writer for the The New Yorker, moves his family to Paris and this book chronicles their year there learning about the city and it's people. I fell in love with Paris through this book. 



















9. The New York Times 36 Hours: 150 Weekends in the US and Canada: I love the 36 hours feature in NYT and this book collects those into a book.  I think this hardcover makes a great gift for a traveler, graduate, newlyweds, etc.

10. Without Reservations by Alice Steinbach:  This one is still on my shelves but I can't wait to read it. Self-discovery in the process of discovering destinations - definitely right up my alley!


What are your favorite travel books?

13 comments:

  1. I could read travel narratives all day. All summer, even. Maybe I will!

    Here's my Top Ten post. Hope you'll stop by!

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  2. This is a great topic! I really enjoyed Without Reservations and have Paris to the Moon on my shelf... several others are on the wish list.

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  3. I havent read any of these yet - but they sound fantastic! Great list :)

    My TTT

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  4. These are all new to me for the most part, but sound interesting! The more I hop around the more I realize that I don't tend to read travel books... Weird! I *love* your blog background!!

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  5. Earlier this year, I read and GREATLY enjoyed Adam Gopnick's Winter. I'm adding Paris to the Moon to my reading list. Thanks for the recommendation!

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  6. I have that 36 Hours book on my wish list! :)

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  7. Undress Me in the Temple of Heaven is the first book I thought of when I saw today's topic.

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  8. Really interesting list! The Paradise House has been on my TBR list for a wile.
    Kerri
    http://turnthepagereviews.com

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  9. Great list! I've added several of them to my list of books to read. Thanks!

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  10. Tuesday has come and gone, and I would've totally done this top 10 if I hadn't been traveling on business and without an ounce of energy for anything else.

    You have a great list--I'm a big Bryson fan, and love travel books in general. I think the most compelling for me on your list is the Bliss one. Will have to order a copy of that one for my tbr shelf.

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  11. These are all great travel books. I have read a few.

    My favorite travel book would be SHADOW OF THE WIND. After I read that book, I "had" to go to Barcelona. :)

    Thanks for the great post.

    Elizabeth

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  12. These look marvelous! I've enjoyed other Bryson books - he's so funny. Another good travel book is Small Damages by Beth Kephart: a pregnant American teen is sent to Spain on the summer before college to give away her baby. It's out in paperback next week. It made me want to revisit Spain.

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