Welcome to the TravelPod forums

[kris]

i'll could tell you what not to buy...

i was recommended 'vagabonding' by ralf potts for rtw travel, well its full of common sense rubbish, i've got to page 90 and i was so bored..

forntunatley, it has now been retired to my favorite charity shop

[Barrett]

Who knows of some books on the smaller Latin American countries? Maybe we can help out Lucky while he is travelling! I haven't seen any posts that specifically address Uruguay, Paraguay, Belize etc.

Cheers!

[technotrekker]

Am reading an absolutely top notch book about overland travel in Africa (Cairo to Cape Town) called Dark Star Safari, by Paul Theroux.

He's a great spontaneous and conversational writer who really covers the nitty gritty of his travel. Will have to check out some more of his books when I can get access to them.

Also read The Source (about Israel and neighbouring countries) by James A Mitchener. Wish I had read it before I went through there... His Afganistan book (Caravans) is also interesting reading.

[Dane]

There are some interesting and obscure titles out there. I'll be boring and go with some classics.

Kerouac works well for road trips.

Bukowski is always good, but best for travel in the States.

Vonnegut is a great companion anywhere.

Howard Zinn's "A People's History of the United States" is fun because you can look at the US from a distantced perspective.

Catcher in the Rye is something I take on every trip. That book eases my anxiety and makes me feel normal.

[mrjoe]

I like to read a mixture of fact and fiction books set in the country I am visiting. True stories tell me a lot about a country but fiction can give me an insight into the people and how they think.


India: Age of Kali by William Dalrymple, A fine Balance by Rohinton Mistry

Australia: Tracks by Robyn Davidson, Down Under by Bill Bryson

South America (especially Chile): The House of the Spirits by Isabel Allende


I have to admit that for those long bus rides I often go for an easy fun read. Something by Grisham, Crichton or Cussler can often be found in book exchanges.

[lraleigh]

The Middle Kingdom (China): The Art of War, the I Ching, Confucius Analects, Tao Teh Ching.

Middle Earth: The Hobbit.

United States: Desert Solitaire, Dharma Bums, Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance, Chesapeake, Sin City comic books.

India: Midnight's Children

Colombia: One Hundred Years of Solitude

Tibet: Tibetan Book of the Dead

Japan: anime magna--Rurouni Kenshin

Tintin comic books are also entertaining reads about countries around the world. I grew up reading those. For the Mediterranean region I also enjoyed Alex, L'Intrepide books--don't know if they're available in English though.

Aside from Snow Leopard and Into Thin Air, any other recommended books for Nepal out there?

[drac123]

Paris: Hemingway, A MOVEABLE FEAST
Brilliant book !

Japan: Matsuo Bashos THE NARROW ROAD TO THE DEEP NORTH

[Barrett]

Wow, this is a ton of great new posts. Thanks for so much content from everyone.
Anyone know of good books on the 'stans in particular?

How about on the oceans? You can travel the oceans right?

[c_jonesy]

Brazil: A Death In Brazil, by Peter Robb

It was recommended to me by a friend while out here, and we all seem to have passed it among ourselves! The pages are now pretty worn from a lot of use! A really fascinating book about the history of Brazil, as well as some of the writers personal experience of the country! If you´re visiting Brazil, definitely a page turner as well as interesting!

Carina xxxx

[Yuppie Nomad]

The book I've always found travel inspiration from is Rita Gelman Goldman's The Female Nomad. http://www.ritagoldengelman.com/home.html

She's pretty inspirational.

-- http://www.yuppienomad.com

[Jessica_CDN]

Barrett,

A good and recent book on the 'stans is "The New Great Game" (Kleveman). It deals with the power play in central Asia both past & present. Interesting read!

[Incrediblelife]

I second "Tales of a Female Nomad" as mentioned two posts above!

[shongelo]

France: A Walk Across France[i] by Miles Morland
Ireland: Round Ireland with a Fridge by Tony Hawks
USA: A Walk in the Woods by Bill Bryson
Arctic: Four Against the Arctic by David Roberts
Japan: Learning to Bow by Bruce Feiler
Mongolia: Lost in Mongolia by Colin Angus
South America: Chasing Che[i] by Patrick Symmes

Books regarding the sea:

And the Sea Will Tell by Vincent Bugliosi
North to the Night by Alvah Simon
The Water in Between by Kevin Patterson
Adrift by Steven Callahan
The Perfect Storm by Sebastian Junger (Forget the movie-----the book is DAMN good)

[mattkl]

for Southeast Asia : The Rough Guide, more detailed & cheaper than LP. The rests simply dont come close.

[polydemic]

I constantly look for underground information on my destination. I'm not interested in the big corporate hotels & restaurant chains or what all the tourists do. I collect books like The People's Guide to Mexico, Alternative Vancouver, The Underground Guide to San Francisco, & Broke-Ass Stuart's Guide for Living Cleaply in San Francisco.