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| Spirit Run: A 6,000-Mile Marathon through North America's Stolen Land by Noé ÁlvarezWhat it is: a lyrical debut memoir by the son of Mexican immigrants that chronicles his working-class Washington State upbringing and his 2004 participation in the four-month, 6,000-mile Indigenous people's Peace and Dignity Journey, a relay-style run from Canada to South America.
What's inside: dangers (a mountain lion, unfriendly motorists, injuries); tensions between the runners; gatherings with Native American/First Nation groups; thoughtful musings about running and place. |
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| American Harvest: God, Country, and Farming in the Heartland by Marie Mutsuki MockettWhat it's about: After inheriting her Nebraska-born father’s 7,000-acre family wheat farm, the nonreligious Japanese American author spent a season accompanying the itinerant group of Christian wheat harvesters from Pennsylvania who'd reaped her family's fields for years. As they worked and made their way from Texas to Idaho, she pondered faith, farming, food, and family.
Why you might like it: Offering a poetic, evocative look at the heartland, it provides a kindhearted, thoughtful look at divisions, from science and faith to rural and urban and more. |
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Fodor's 2020 essential Ireland
by Paul Clements
Each full-color book highlights the best of the best of Ireland, including must-see attractions, hotels for every budget, restaurants for a range of tastes, special features, travel tips, insider perspectives, photos, maps and more. Original. Illustrations. Maps.
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On the Plain of Snakes: A Mexican Journey
by Paul Theroux
What happened: Erudite 70-something travel writer Paul Theroux drove the entire length of the U.S.-Mexico border alone, crossing over the border multiple times; he also visited Mexico City, Oaxaca, Chiapas, and other areas.
Why you should read it: Theroux saw the border situation up close, met locals, witnessed the monarch butterfly migration, visited historic locations, taught writing, and learned about drug cartels and corruption.
Read this next: Richard Grant's God's Middle Finger, about his trip through the Sierra Madres; or, for a penetrating look at both U.S. borders, try Stephanie Elizondo Griest's All the Agents and Saints.
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| Love that Boy: What Two Presidents, Eight Road Trips, and My Son Taught Me about... by Ron FournierWhat it is: a candid, thoughtful memoir recounting a former White House correspondent's father-son road trips with his history-obsessed 13-year-old, who'd recently been diagnosed with Asperger's syndrome.
Locations include: the White House; Teddy Roosevelt's former home of Sagamore Hill; Monticello; several presidential libraries.
What sets it apart: research and interviews about parental expectations in general; Fournier's own hard-won parenting insights; long visits with former presidents (Bill Clinton, George W. Bush) and a White House party with Barack and Michelle Obama. |
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| Once More to the Rodeo: A Memoir by Calvin HennickWhat it's about: White journalist Calvin Hennick and his five-year-old biracial son Nile left the rest of their small family and their suburban Boston home to spend ten days on the road. They drove to the Baseball Hall of Fame, Niagara Falls, Chicago, and more as they made their way to Hennick's Iowa hometown and its annual rodeo.
What's inside: This honest, heartfelt, and funny memoir offers thoughtful looks at Hennick's fatherless childhood, his alcohol addiction, fatherhood, masculinity, identity, and racism.
Award Buzz: This acclaimed debut won Pushcart's 2019 Editor's Book Award. |
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| Don't Make Me Pull Over! An Informal History of the Family Road Trip by Richard RatayWhat it is: a funny, nostalgic, and informative history of family road trips in the U.S. set against the backdrop of the author's time in the backseat of the family car in the 1970s.
What's inside: seat belt-free riding, Fuzzbusters, CB radios, and sibling squabbles as well as details on the beginnings of the interstate highway system, Howard Johnson's, Stuckey's, Holiday Inn, Disneyland, quirky roadside attractions, and more. |
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Contact your librarian for more great books!
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