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Armchair Travel April 2019
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City of light : the making of modern Paris
by Rupert Christiansen
Describes the ambitious public works program initiated in 1853 by Napoleon that transformed of the old medieval Paris of squalor and slums into the "City of Light" encompassing wide boulevards, apartment blocks, parks, squares and public monuments.
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An Odyssey: A Father, a Son, and an Epic
by Daniel Mendelsohn
What it's about: Daniel Mendelsohn taught a course on Homer's The Odyssey at Bard College -- and his 81-year-old mathematician father took it (and didn't think Odysseus was such a hero). Afterwards, the two took a ten-day Mediterranean cruise retracing Odysseus's voyage.
Read it for: the engaging combination of memoir, travelogue, and literary guide that coalesces into a poignant look at fathers and sons.
Reviewers say: "sharply intelligent and deeply felt" (Kirkus Reviews); "a small gem of seminar-room slapstick" (Publishers Weekly).
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| See You in the Piazza: New Places to Discover in Italy by Frances MayesWhat it is: an evocative, recipe-complemented travelogue through 13 regions of Italy by the bestselling author of Under the Tuscan Sun, who's often joined by her husband and her teenage grandson as she eats sumptuous meals in lovely locales.
Read this next: for more books that detail the good eats and fascinating sights in the off-the-beaten-path parts of Italy, pick up Elizabeth Helman Minchilli's Eating My Way Through Italy (also with recipes) or Matt Goulding's Pasta, Pane, Vino (which includes many color photos). |
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Driving Hungry: A Delicious Journey, from Buenos Aires to New York to Berlin
by Layne Mosler
Layne Mosler takes the idea of catching a cab to dinner to a charming new level. After a disappointing evening in Buenos Aires, she hailed a cab and asked the driver to take her to his favorite restaurant ...where she had one of the best steaks of her life. Building on this idea, she began asking cabbies everywhere where they liked to eat. Moving to New York City, she attended taxi school and began driving a cab herself. Heading to Berlin, she continued to drive and eat -- and eventually met the cabdriver of her dreams. Not just for foodies and fans of Mosler's Taxi Gourmet blog, this honest and lively literary ride around three vibrant cities will appeal to readers who've wondered what the taxi-driving life is like.
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| Imagined London: A Tour of the World's Greatest Fictional City by Anna QuindlenWhat it's about: Pulitzer Prize–winning, bestselling author Anna Quindlen takes readers on an entertaining tour of London, following in the footsteps of favorite fictional characters and their creators.
Did you know? Quindlen has been an Anglophile since she was a child reading books set in England, but it wasn't until she was in her 40s that she actually visited London in person.
Reviewers say: "Quindlen presents a smart, bookish, wry, and stimulating portrait of the most literary of cities" (Booklist). |
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Barbarian Days: A Surfing Life
by William Finnegan
What it is: the richly detailed, Pulitzer Prize-winning memoir chronicling journalist William Finnegan's experiences as a lifelong surfer.
What it's about: Finnegan's childhood in Hawaii and California, his adult years surfing around the globe (the U.S., the South Pacific, Australia, Asia, Africa), amazing waves, near-death experiences, and more.
Reviewers say: "a travelogue head-scratchingly rich in obscure, sharply observed destinations" (Wall Street Journal).
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| Bleaker House: Chasing My Novel to the End of the World by Nell StevensWhat happened: After finishing her MFA, British writer Nell Stevens won a fellowship allowing her to go anywhere for several months to write.
So, Paris or Fiji, right? Nope, Bleaker Island, a part of the Falkland Islands, located off the Patagonian coast of South America, that features inhospitable wind, lots of snow, and not many people.
Okay, why? She wanted distraction-free writing -- but discovered that three months of solitude in an isolated place provides its own challenges. |
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Contact your librarian for more great books!
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Richmond Public Library 101 E Franklin St Richmond, Virginia 23219 (804) 646-7223rvalibrary.org/ |
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