South America Reading List
Trip Start
Aug 10, 2008
1
2
21
Trip End
Sep 20, 2008
Alexandria,
Virginia,
United States
Tuesday, July 29, 2008
Guidebooks
Our first step is always to visit the library and check out a wide variety of travel books. We usually skip the Frommer's and Fodor's as they just don't seem to fit our travel style. We've found that different book-lines are better for different parts of the world, and going the library route let's us feel out which ones we might want to buy.
In general, our preferences for guides include: Lonely Planet (especially good for finding hotels), Insight Guides (lots of pictures), and Rick Steves (only for Europe). Lonely Planet now lets you download individual chapters of books which is very handy. Their website also has a busy forum where you can post questions and get input from travelers across the globe.
Pre-Departing Fiction
Just a few books I picked up from the library to try and read before I go:
The Sunflower--Richard Paul Evans: The only one I've finished so far. Totally predictable romantic glurge, but set in Peru. I was pleased to find I could read all the (admittedly) basic Spanish dialogue in the book without resorting to the accompanying English translation. My main annoyance was that they repeatedly referred to malaria shots instead of malaria pills.
Lost City Radio--Daniel Alarcon: Set in an unnamed, fictional South American country--deals with the repercussions of Civil War.
The Dancer and the Thief--Antonio Skarmeta: Released convicts and ballet dancers in Santiago, Chile.
Reading on the Road
With so many flights, we'll have a lot of time to read. We tried to maximize our reading material (while minimizing luggage) by bringing books we're both willing to read. A lot of the hotels we're staying in also have book exchanges, so we'll probably swap some out along the way. We've amassed a small collection of "classics" that we never got around to reading, and books with a South American theme. The latter set includes: Samba (Rio), Kon-Tiki (Peru/Easter Island), The Bridge of San Luis Rey (Peru), and 100 Years of Solitude (fictional SA location). I may end up bringing whichever Isabel Allende book it is that's lying around at home--those are always good reading.
