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Armchair Travel April 2018
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Time pieces : a Dublin memoir
by John Banville
The award-winning author of the Benjamin Black series presents a vibrant, evocative memoir of his life near Dublin, a city that inspired his imagination and literary life and served as a backdrop for the dissatisfactions of adult years shaped by Dublin's cultural, political, architectural and social history.
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| Disappointment River: Finding and Losing the Northwest Passage by Brian CastnerWhat it's about: Combining history with travelogue, acclaimed writer Brian Castner engagingly describes his 1,124 mile-canoe trip across Canada, following in the wake of Scottish explorer Alexander Mackenzie, who, in 1789, set out to find the fabled Northwest Passage.
Is it for you? Yes, if you like books with a thoughtful guide who combines fascinating history and modern-day adventure. |
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| The Monk of Mokha by Dave EggersStarring: Mokhtar Alkhanshali, who grew up in San Francisco's notorious Tenderloin district, lived with his grandparents in Yemen for a while as a teen, and then moved back to the U.S. and made a career in his twenties importing Yemeni coffee. Then, a 2015 civil war left Mokhtar stranded in Yemen, trying to get home via any path he could.
For fans of: Dave Eggers, of course, but also coffee lovers and fans of Ian Purkayastha's Truffle Boy, another fascinating book about a globe-trotting, gourmet food-importing son of an immigrant. |
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| Dressed Up for a Riot: Misadventures in Putin's Moscow by Michael IdovWhat it is: a witty, pop culture-infused look at modern Russia. Recounting his experiences as editor-in-chief of Russian GQ from 2012-2014 and as a successful screenwriter, American Michael Idov also describes moving his young family to Moscow, hanging with the media and cultural elite, and watching freedoms fade under Putin.
About the author: Idov grew up in a Jewish family in Soviet Latvia until age 16, giving him a unique and insightful perspective.
What you should read next: Peter Pomerantsev's Nothing is True and Everything Is Possible, which covers the decade prior to Idov's book. |
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| The End of Night: Searching for Natural Darkness in an Age of Artificial Light by Paul BogardWhat it is: an engaging, eye-opening look at the importance of night-time darkness. Author Paul Bogard travels the world -- Paris, Walden Pond, Quebec, various national parks across the globe, and other locations -- exploring varying degrees of darkness and light pollution and how that affects what people see (or don't see) in the night sky.
Did you know? The brightest beam of light on Earth is at the top of the Luxor pyramid in Las Vegas. |
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| Arctic Dreams: Imagination and Desire in a Northern Landscape by Barry LopezWhat it is: an evocative, expansive, and keenly observed tour of the Arctic that discusses topics like the landscape, wildlife, indigenous people, history, explorers, and the author's multifaceted experiences there.
Award buzz: Originally published in 1986, the bestselling Arctic Dreams won the National Book Award for author Barry Lopez, a writer and field biologist who spent years in the Canadian north. |
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Contact your librarian for more great books!
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Oldsmar Public Library 400 St. Petersburg Drive East Oldsmar, Florida 34677 (813) 749-1178
www.oldsmarlibrary.org
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