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Armchair Travel February 2019
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Alone time : four seasons, four cities, and the pleasures of solitude
by Stephanie Rosenbloom
"A wise, passionate account of the pleasures of travelling solo In our increasingly frantic daily lives, many people are genuinely fearful of the prospect of solitude, but time alone can be both rich and restorative, especially when travelling. Through on-the-ground reporting and recounting the experiences of artists, writers, and innovators who cherished solitude, Stephanie Rosenbloom considers how being alone as a traveller--and even in one's own city--is conducive to becoming acutely aware of the sensual details of the world--patterns, textures, colors, tastes, sounds--in ways that are difficult to do in the company of others. Alone Time is divided into four parts, each set in a different city, in a different season, in a single year. The destinations--Paris, Istanbul, Florence, New York--are all pedestrian-friendly, allowing travelers to slow down and appreciate casual pleasures instead of hurtling through museums and posting photos to Instagram. Each section spotlights a different theme associatedwith the joys and benefits of time alone and how it can enable people to enrich their lives--facilitating creativity, learning, self-reliance, as well as the ability to experiment and change. Rosenbloom incorporates insights from psychologists and sociologists who have studied solitude and happiness, and explores such topics as dining alone, learning to savor, discovering interests and passions, and finding or creating silent spaces. Her engaging and elegant prose makes Alone Time as warmly intimate an account as the details of a trip shared by a beloved friend--and will have its many readers eager to set off on their own solo adventures"
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Kings of the Yukon: One Summer Paddling Across the Far North
by Adam Weymouth
What it is: Adam Weymouth's lyrical look at his four-month, 2,000 mile trip down the Yukon River via canoe, following the path of migrating king salmon. As he traveled across Canada and Alaska, he visited indigenous peoples and river communities, met Alaskan reality TV stars, learned about salmon, and pondered people's relationships with nature.
For fans of: Brian Castner's Disappointment River or Mark Adams' Tip of the Iceberg.
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The stowaway : a young man's extraordinary adventure to Antarctica
by Laurie Gwen Shapiro
Documents the true story of a scrappy teen from New York's Lower East Side who stowed away on a daring expedition to Antarctica in 1928, tracing the sensational heyday of the time and how high schooler Billy Gawronski jumped into the Hudson and snuck aboard the expedition's flagship, eventually becoming an international celebrity.
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Focus on: Entertaining Essays
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| Far and Away: Reporting from the Brink of Change; Seven Continents, Twenty-Five Years by Andrew SolomonWhat it is: a volume of intelligent, moving, and entertaining essays by a National Book Award winner that elegantly captures his time spent in places in transition (politically, culturally, etc).
Locations include: the U.S.S.R., Russia, China, South Africa, Taiwan, Turkey, Zambia, Cambodia, Mongolia, Greenland, Senegal, Afghanistan, Japan, the Solomon Islands, Libya, Brazil, Ghana.
Want a taste? "Change is often heady; change often goes horribly wrong; change often electrifies the air only to evanesce unrealized." |
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| Here, There, Elsewhere: Stories from the Road by William Least Heat-MoonWhat it is: Acclaimed travel writer William Least Heat-Moon, who's known for his lyrical writing and cross-country trips across the U.S., travels the world in this collection of 30 essays written over 30 years.
Locations include: Japan, England, Wales, Italy, New Zealand.
Read it for: Though many of the pieces were previously published in magazines, Heat-Moon took control of the editorial reins here, rearranging words and restoring deleted sections. |
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| Uganda Be Kidding Me by Chelsea HandlerWhat it is: a collection of humorous essays by outspoken comedian and bestselling author Chelsea Handler, where she shares candid and sometimes ribald stories about her life, friends, flings, and travels (including to the Bahamas, Africa, Germany, and Switzerland).
Is it for you? Not everyone will like Handler's particular type of no-holds-barred humor, but those who do can mix a margarita and settle in.
Read this next: For another raucous look at traveling, try Chuck Thompson's Smile When You're Lying: Confessions of a Rogue Travel Writer. |
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| White Sands: Experiences from the Outside World by Geoff DyerWhat it is: an elegant small volume of travel essays that asks big questions, such as: Who are we? Why are we here? Why do we travel?
What happened: Seeking insight, author Geoff Dyer journeyed to disparate locales, including Beijing to visit the Forbidden City, Tahiti to learn about the French artist Gauguin, Norway for the Northern Lights, New Mexico to see the land art installation "The Lightning Field," and Los Angeles to visit philosopher Theodor Adorno's former home.
Don't miss: the final essay, which details a mild stroke suffered by the witty, insightful (and sometimes persnickety) Dyer. |
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Contact your librarian for more great books!
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