Travel Literature

I thought this might be an interesting thread, and not entirely 'off topic'. We are a community of travelers who really enjoy getting there via the comfort of a hotel that moves with us. However, I was wondering what travel books (or movies) have inspired cruisers to seek new ports or re-visit old ones. And it certainly doesn't have to be limited to ports. (For example, after reading the Frances Mayes books about Tuscany, I was speed dialing Alitalia!)

Another thought is what books do you take onboard for relaxation? One thing I like to do on planes is check which books passengers have tucked under their arms. Since I get to sit in the 'front' a lot, and the line gets slowed down, I often chat with people about their reading choices. So, here's another option, what are you packing for those wonderful sea days?

Jane in PHL

Jane--a must read for anyone taking the Panama Canal passage is: Path Between The Seas-- Creation of the Panama Canal 1870--1914. Its great history that reads like a novel. Written by David McCullough. I read it before my passage--sure glad I did!! Don

"The Flaneur" by Edmund White, and "Me Talk Pretty One Day" by David Sedaris, had me running off to Paris a week later!!!

Denyse

Bill Bryson's travel books are alot of fun to read. His "Neither Here Nor There"

is light and I think, excellent. Another book I enjoyed, "I'm A Stranger Here Myself"......

Martita

"The Flaneur" by Edmund White, and "Me Talk Pretty One Day" by David Sedaris, had me running off to Paris a week later!!!

 

Denyse

I LOVE David Sedaris...I just "discovered" him last spring and I am hooked! I wanted to devour everything he's written in one sitting, but I have to pace myself because he hasn't got much out there. I haven't read anyone in a LONG time whose writing makes me laugh to the point of tears like he does. And, I finally saw his sister, Amy, in a live production of Letterman and she is also a riot!!!

Those are good recommendations. Last cruise I was working my way through Carl Hiaasen who is also very well known and writes amusing, quirky mysteries. One secret that I have found on both the Legend and Pride is that in the cupboards under the book shelves, there are lots of other paperbacks that have been contributed to the library. Also, the audio CD's are in a cupboard in the computer room.

I take 1-2 tapes with things I have already taped to 'see later' and then I can toss them out afterwards. If I think there is a movie that the staff might like, I check with my stewardess to see if she wants it. Of course, coincindentally, one full tape had the movies that were shown on the boat! Who knew? One vcr tape usually has 6-8 hours of music that I have recorded off my numberous cable tv music channels as well. Now, with the conversions to new systems, that might not be possible, but I will deal with that in the spring.

Jane in Philly where it's too hot to go out, so you can see where I am biding my time!

I didn't know that you were a Carl Hiaason junkie as well. Don and I love him. My favorite was Double Whammy...where the dog hung on to the arm..long after it was dead..and decapitated. What a wonderfully warped sense of humor he has!

Oh gosh! Where to start? Here are a few that I have loved, all based on travel in different places at diufferent times, even centuries.

In Patagonia, by Bruce Chatwin. A classic of obsession with what a place is like when you only know its name. So you go to see.

Travels in West Africa, by Mary Kingsley. A Victorian woman ventures to the White Man's Graveyard with her button shoes and long skirt and razor-sharp wit intact. A real hoot.

The Lost Upland, by M.S. Merwin. Another part of France, by a Pulitzer-winner.

Italian Days, by Barbara Grizzuti Harrison. Falling in love with your forefathers' homeland.

One's Company or News from Tartary, by Peter Fleming. In the 1930s, a died-in-the-wool explorer walks from Peking across the Teklamakan some 3,500 miles, in the company of a woman whom he doesn't particularly like...

The Road to Oxiana, by Robert Byron. This guy is a real scholar and curmudgeon who drove across Persia in the 20s to look for the roots of Islamic architecture. This is a guy who gushes about towers built of honey-colored stone...

That's a start...

bgood

Has anybody read Miss Garnett's Angel (set in Venice)? It is by Sally Vicary and is a great book. Also all the Donna Leon detective stories set in same city? They really make you want to visit Venice.:o

Also a good read for Venice is "A thousand Days in Venice" by Marlena de Blasi. Lots of local info and color.

Jim.

Thanks to everyone who is adding to our reading lists. USAir started non-stop flights to Venice, but I can't do that this year....too many cruises! However, having been in Venice in the summer, my goal is to go in the winter..when it's misty and there is water lapping my Wellies in St Mark's Square. I have read some of the De Leon mysteries, and I can't wait to get the others.

Jane

The Big Red Train Ride by Eric Newby........whetted my appetite for the Trans Siberian Railway, so far my best trip ever! (First cruise ever, and first with Seabourn coming up next March!)

Great thread! Seabourn mentions a list of reading recommended for each port in its brochure, but I have been unable to find it on the website. Can anyone tell me where to find the link? I tried Destinations but no luck. Thanks.

Allison,

Here's the link. It's pretty hard to find, but it's under the "Allready Booked?" section, which I found by doing a search on the Seabourn site.

http://www.longitudebooks.com/

Denyse

Each itinerary also has a link to the particular suggested reading list for that itinerary. It's an icon that looks like a book! Click and you get the readings for that cruise.

bgood

Yesterday, in the New York Times, Janet Maslin reviewed the following book:

Devils on the Deep Blue Sea by Kristoffer A. Garin

(Viking, Illustrated, 366 pages, $24.95)

The title of the review is 'Taking a Cruise? Great, but Don't Read This Book'

It's "an investigative book about the cruise industry that is significantly at odds with it's public image."

I have not read the book yet but the last line in the review says that it's will be "required reading in many a deck chair."

Jane (off to amazon.com aws)

I finally finished the above book. It was interesting, but way too detailed for me, about the chronology and all political/business/labor aspects of the cruise industry and how it has evolved. I liked bits and bobs of it, and I think that anyone who has a real business sense and a passion for cruising might get more out of it. The parts about governmental regulations (particularly health care services) were informational to me. I skimmed a lot.

However, now that there is a missing bridegroom from his Med honeymoon cruise, many of the issues about security and liabilities are more relevant.

Jane (figured you were waiting with bated breath for my review<G>)

I very much agree with Martita that Bill Byson is amarvelous travel writer, but if you want to read about life on one of the first "cruise ships" and love the Med you have to read Mark Twain's "The Innocents Abroad". His section on Athens had me in tears I was laughing so hard.

When we did the Northern crossing in 2003 from London to NY, my husband read The Perfect Storm, and a book about the Titanic!!!! :eek:

Denyse

Denyse,

Reminds me of a doctor we traveled around Africa with for three weeks who daily regaled us with readings from a book on tropical diseases and the manys ways you suffer when you contract one of them. Talk about life of the party!made you really hope all your inoculations were up to snuff.

On a much lighter note I also suggest reading Adam Gopnik's book " From Paris to the Moon."