Library Talk. - Travel Literature.

Birdwatching, The X Games Way

Thu, 19 Nov 2009 10:35:14 -0800

Whodathunk? I mean, my mom was a birder for years, and those folks aren't usually your cage match types. But every year, a number of competitive birders strain just about everything - their budgets, eyes, sleep cycles, health, relationships - to come out on top in the number of bird species sighted in North America in a single year.

This is another one of those subjects I had no interest in until a good book smacked me across the noggin (hurray for good books, and good authors).

Every year there is a Big Year, but there has never been a Big Year like 1998's epic battle between three very (very) different birders. Mark Obmascik channels Howard Cosell as he narrates The Big Year: A Tale of Man, Nature and Fowl Obsession.

In one corner, a New Jersey roofing contractor. In another, a corporate executive; and in the third, a nuclear power plant software engineer (all men - is it always guys who are this crazy?). Obmascik follows the three on their wacky, sometimes hilarious sometimes tragic galavants around North America. Like any good competition, it's neck and neck (and neck) the whole way. I think readers of Bill Bryson will really enjoy this book, and I need to credit a co-worker for lobbing this one my way.

A European in Africa

Sat, 17 Oct 2009 16:29:59 -0800

"Life here is a constant struggle, an endlessly repeated effort to tilt in one's favor the fragile, flimsy, and shaky balance between survival and extinction."

This sentence roughly encapsulates Ryszard Kapuscinski's assessment of the life of the average African in his fascinating book, The Shadow of the Sun. Kapuscinski was Poland's first-ever African correspondent, arriving in 1957 and returning many times over the next 40 years. During this time, his travels took him to virtually every corner of the African continent including Mauritania, Mali, Senegal, Nigeria, Cameroon, Ethiopia, Somalia, Rwanda, Uganda, Tanzania, South Africa, and many other locations in between. Contemptuous of Europeans that sequestered themselves in affluent whites-only enclaves, Kapuscinski immersed himself in the real Africa, living in clay huts in the country and squalid tenements in the cities. What he saw was not pretty and the essays in this book make no effort to soften the blow. Everywhere he went he encountered scorching heat, disease, starvation, war, corruption, and the sort of utter destitution that is unimaginable to even the poorest member of a European or American society.

Yet for all this, The Shadow of the Sun is far from being an onerous, depressing read. Kapuscinski repeatedly focuses on the Africans' love of togetherness, the caretaking role of the clan, their quickness to laughter, their pervasive spirituality, and many other attributes that have enabled them to survive in an environment that is in so many ways harsh and unforgiving. But this book does not idealize Africans, just as it refrains from condemning Europeans or Americans. Yes, Kapuscinski gives a thorough account of the destructive effects of colonialism and the slave trade, but he also brings his journalistic skills to the fore in his detailed reports of oppression, brutality and mass-murder amongst Africans themselves in places like Liberia, Uganda and Rwanda. In short, his approach is objective and balanced. And beyond this, he clearly respected and felt compassion for the average African. Despite their hardships and their suffering and against all odds, they survive.

So if you're in the mood for an insightful look into the reality of African life, check out Ryszard Kapuscinski's The Shadow of the Sun!

Walking the Gobi

Fri, 21 Aug 2009 20:00:00 -0800

Is this woman sane? That's what I kept asking myself as I read Helen Thayer's Walking the Gobi. In 2001, Thayer and her husband set out to walk across the Gobi desert of Mongolia. Camels carried their gear and water while they walked for over 80 days, over 1,600 miles, in scorching temperatures as hot as 123 degrees! Why would someone do this?! Not to mention Helen's bum leg and hip which were bothering her even before she even started the trip.

I almost had to quit reading because her decision to go on this trip made absolutely no sense to me, but as I read further I began to understand why they went -- they were able to see things that few will ever get a chance to see and make great friends. As she and her husband walked across this seemingly uninhabitable corner of the globe, they met many friendly and interesting families who make their home in the Gobi. Thayer shares the rich and interesting culture of Mongolian nomads through the story of her unbelievable trek.

Walking the Gobi is this year's selection for the Black Diamond, Maple Valley, and Covington Read Together event. Helen Thayer will present a lecture and slide show at the Covington Library on Sept 22 at 7pm, and book discussion groups will be held at all three libraries.

Book Discussion Groups:

Tuesday, Sept 8, 7pm, Maple Valley Library
Thursday, Sept 10, 2pm, Covington Library
Thursday, Sept 10, 7pm, Covington Library
Tuesday, Sept 15, 7pm, Black Diamond Library
Tuesday, Sept 16, 10am, Maple Valley Library
Wednesday, Sept 30, 6:30pm, Maple Valley Library

Guy Delisle

Thu, 04 Jun 2009 19:24:04 -0800

Do you ever discover a new author and want to read everything they've written? Well, that's how I feel about Guy Delisle. He not only writes, but also is a comic artist, and his graphic novels fill a special niche in the travelogue genre.

Guy Delisle finds himself living in one of the world's most guarded and secretive cultures in Pyongyang, North Korea's capitol. Unbeknownst to me, North Korea is an animation haven, many of its artists work on developing frames in conjunction with French and Italian film studios. While working on animation projects, Delisle chronicles his observations of daily life and the state of the country. North Korea has the appearance of perfection, a noble goal in a communist society. The people are educated, and the infrastructure is stable. Not only do its citizens adhere to their government's rules and standards, but everyone seems to idolize their leaders, Kim Il-Sung and Kim Jong-Il. Through Delisle's illustrated memoir, he gives a scrutinizing account of a closed society.

Another of his memoirs, The Burma Chronicles, follows a similar pattern of inquisitive observation. Delisle tends to end up in remote regions. His wife receives an assignment in Myanmar (formerly Burma), through Doctors without Borders. While his wife is working on village medicine, Delisle looks after their infant son, works on his comic memoir and explores local culture. He gives interesting perspective about living under a dictatorship in a country where Buddhism thrives, and human rights are under attack.

Three Among The Wolves

Tue, 02 Jun 2009 15:39:53 -0800

What do you do to celebrate those milestone birthdays? Have a party? Buy something you've been wanting? Not content with the usual options, Helen Thayer took a trip for her 50th birthday--a trek to the magnetic North Pole, with her dog Charlie for company. Since then, she has traveled through deserts and rain forests and returned to polar areas, sometimes alone, sometimes with her husband, Bill. Thayer has chronicled several of these excursions in books that are informative, readable, and entertaining. Three Among the Wolves tells the story of the year that the Thayers and Charlie spent observing and interacting with three different wolf packs in Canada's Yukon and Northwest Territories.

Charlie served as the ambassador into wolf society. His presence eased the distrust of the pack and helped the wolves view the Thayers as part of a "pack" of their own. Camped within 100 feet of the den, the Thayers were able to view nearly all aspects of the wolves' daily activities. The complexity of wolf society is acknowledged but little understood, and the Thayers' observations provided support for their subsequent activism and educational efforts on behalf of Arctic wolves.

I know that I won't spend my birthday at either pole. Nonetheless, Helen Thayer is an inspiration. Whether you read Three Among the Wolves on its own or along with other books on our list for The Big Read, prepare to be amazed.

Take a Road Trip With These Teens

Tue, 02 Jun 2009 13:05:11 -0800

Road Trips for Teens
Want to do a lot of traveling this summer without spending any money and no time planning? Join these teens on their journeys across our country and over borders around the world.

All We Know of Love by Nora Raleigh Baskin
Natalie, almost sixteen, sneaks away from her Connecticut home and takes the bus to Florida, looking for the mother who abandoned her father and her when she was ten years old.

Rules of the Road by Joan Bauer
Sixteen-year-old Jenna gets a job driving the elderly owner of a chain of successful shoe stores from Chicago to Texas to confront the son who is trying to force her to retire, and along the way Jenna hones her talents as a saleswoman and finds the strength to face her alcoholic father.

All the Way by Andy Behrens
Hoping to have sex for the first time with a girl he has met on the Internet, seventeen-year-old Ian drives with his two best friends from Illinois to South Carolina.

Desert Crossing by Elise Broach
A summer trip across the New Mexico desert turns nightmarish for fourteen-year-old Lucy, her older brother Jamie, and his best friend Kit, as they become involved in the suspicious death of a young girl.

Hit the Road by Caroline Cooney
Sixteen-year-old Brittany acts as chauffeur for her grandmother and three other eighty-plus-year-old women going to what is supposedly their college reunion, on a long drive that involves lies, theft, and kidnappings.

Car Trouble by Jeanne Duprau
Early one August morning, seventeen-year-old computer "nerd" Duff Pringle leaves Richmond, Virginia, in a newly-acquired used car and begins an unexpectedly convoluted journey to San Jose, California, and the job that awaits him there.

Becoming Chloe by Catherine Ryan Hyde
A gay teenage boy and a fragile teenage girl meet while living on the streets of New York City and eventually decide to take a road trip across America to discover whether or not the world is a beautiful place.

13 Little Blue Envelopes by Maureen Johnson
When seventeen-year-old Ginny receives a packet of mysterious envelopes from her favorite aunt, she leaves New Jersey to criss-cross Europe on a sort of scavenger hunt that transforms her life.

Red Glass by Laura Resau
Sixteen-year-old Sophie has been frail and delicate since her premature birth, but discovers her true strength during a journey through Mexico, where the six-year-old orphan her family hopes to adopt was born, and to Guatemala, where her would-be boyfriend hopes to find his mother and plans to remain.

Rainbow Road by Alex Sanchez
While driving across the United States during the summer after high school graduation, three young gay men encounter various bisexual and homosexual people and make some decisions about their own relationships and lives.

Paris: Wish You Were Here! Edited by Christopher Measom

Sun, 19 Apr 2009 16:15:15 -0800

It is the time of year when I want to escape the Pacific Northwest, with its short-lived promises of a beautiful spring day, but then followed by an ugly (or worse) snowy day the next. Or should I say beautiful hour and then an ugly hour? Okay, some say that that is part of the charm of this area. Alright it is, but I want some other place's charm. Like Paris. Now I have been to Paris twice and it wasn't warm and balmy, but I was so overwhelmed by the beauty and the history and ooohhh the food, I didn't notice or mind that I had to keep my down coat on the whole time. So when I saw the pretty red sparkles on the cover of Paris: Wish You Were Here! It put me in the mood for an armchair visit to the City of Lights. Actually I read it while sitting on my chaise lounge, doesn't that sound more appropriate?

The book itself is beautiful to look at. It is full of colorful art reproductions from different eras. The pages with text are soft colors with pretty trim or background images. I noticed all the lyrics of songs about Paris are on the pink pages! The "tour" of Paris is arranged by the arrondissement. Thank goodness the definition was included: "ar-ron-disse-ment (n) (1807) an administrative district of some large French cities. Traditionally written in Roman numerals (5th= Ve)." Each district is described with a short history and what can be visited there today. In one way Paris: Wish you Were Here! Is a traditional guidebook--it lists shops, museums, restaurants, and of course sites to see. What makes this book so appealing, besides the physical beauty of the book, are the excerpts from the many authors, poets and songwriters throughout. They range from Benjamin Franklin's letter to Mary Stevenson; and Julia Child explaining her start in French cooking; to Langston Hughes describing his arrival in Paris with only seven dollars; to David Sedaris describing a French class, with a cruel instructor.

Sitting in my chaise lounge, reading and looking at Paris: Wish You Were Here! I managed to travel to Paris and forget about the snow and rain outside my window. You can too. Bon Voyage.

A Life Well Lived, Well Traveled (And Well Eaten!)

Mon, 05 Jan 2009 11:25:47 -0800

My Life in France by Julia Child with Alex Prud'homme

Who knew that Julia Child wasn't a natural born cook? Not I! In this thoroughly enjoyable memoir/biography (in the best, true sense) the son of Julia's husband's twin brother interviewed Julie over a number of years about her life in France and about her beginnings as a celebrated chef. What helped immensely in this project were the letters Julia's husband Paul wrote to his brother almost every day, detailing their life in Paris and Marseille and covering roughly the years 1948 to 1954. Julie grew up in Southern California of upper middle class parents who never ate anything out of the ordinary. It was after she married Paul, a diplomatic officer and moved to Paris that she began to move outside the life she was raised in. In fact, the first lunch she had in France, Sole Meuniere, so overpowered her senses that she was instantly in love with France and its' food.

My Life in France chronicles her extraordinary journey learning French, attending classes at Le Cordon Bleu and writing Mastering the Art of French Cooking with Simone Beck and Louisette Bertholle. What a delicious treat this book is! About the book Julia says it best: "This is a book about some of the things I have loved most in life: my husband, Paul Child; la belle France; and the many pleasures of cooking and eating." Right after I read this book the CIA revealed that Julia had been a spy for OSS during WWII. What an intriguing coda to a full life.

Travel and Food Biographies Transport Us to Sunny Italy!

Mon, 22 Dec 2008 12:52:36 -0800

Books by Marlena De Blasi

Yes, I know it's not sunny in Italy ALL the time but today when all around us is deep snow, it sure seems like it!

Marlena's incredible journey to residing in Italy began in A Thousand Days in Venice: An Unexpected Romance, the events of which describe meeting and marrying her Italian husband Fernando. This title was followed by A Thousand Days in Tuscany: A Bittersweet Adventure, The Lady in the Palazzo: At Home in Umbria and the most recent title That Summer in Sicily: A Love Story. Some of the great things about these titles are that they are about Italy, the interesting people they have met and food! Glorious, delicious, life-affirming food. In fact, several other books by De Blasi in the King County Library System catalog are about the food and cooking of Italy.

So why do I like them so much? Let me give you a taste of the stories she tells (and lives). In The Lady in the Palazzo, Marlena and her husband have long-term leased a decrepit ballroom in a building in Orvieto that the owners, who live elsewhere, promise to renovate but the work is progressing very, very, very slowly. In fact, for stretches of time, nothing is done. Marlena is just about to tear her hair out as she doesn't have a proper kitchen and as a chef, cooking is her life. When she isn't fretting about her kitchen she and Fernando discover amazing food festivals, drink wonderful wine and eat delicious meals in neighborhood trattorias.

How will it all end? Will they one day be able to serve a meal to friends in their renovated ballroom? Will they finally find a real home on the miraculous tufa plateau in beautiful Orvieto? I can guarantee you will love finding out!