My favorite author for the moment is this great Brazillian author by the name of Paulo Coelho. He wrote the book The Alchemist, but my favorite is "By the River Piedra I sat Down and Wept." A friend turned me to this book and I have read it a milion times. It is very inspirational; about life, love and self realization. Also, "Demian" by Herman Hesse has a great message. I am starting to read "The Fountainhead" by Ayn Rand, about two men with the same objective, but one takes the path that he wants, and the other subjects himself to society's standards. Oh, and you can't forget the classic "The Drifters" by James Michener.
Have fun with these guys.
Esther

If you are traveling in Mexico anytime soon, read "Caramelo" by Sandra Cisneros.

Oh! Also. I just watched the movie, "Rabbit Proof Fence", and it's based on the novel. The movie was good, so for an inspirational read about a long journey, I'd imagine the novel is also good.

I got too lazy to scroll through the rest of the posts, but in case no-one else reccommended them---one must read these books if their travels might be spiritual in nature:
The Alchemist~~~Paolo Coehlo
The Pilgrimage~~~""
I think you all rule.

ummmmm, where am I? oh yeah, , hehe, here.
what time is it?? oh yeah, , hehe, Now.

I have read a couple of good travel books lately, and thought I'd share :-)

Tales of a Female Nomad by Rita Golden Gelman (about her many years living among different peoples around the world, in Mexico, Bali, New Zealand, Nicaragua and more)

Road of Dreams by Bruce Junek
(about a couple's 2 year bicycling and hiking adventure around the world, often spending time in traditional societies)

Cheers,
Kath

Curiosity never killed anything except perhaps a few hours!

Heart of Darkness - has anyone mentioned that already?

hmm...travel reading....

anyone know of anyt travel-food books to recommend? i had read a review on a book called won-ton lust but haven't had the chance to pick it up yet. but it's about a couple who go around looking for the best chinese food or something like that, but it's their travel tales along with what they ate...mmmm....
i love reading about places, and esp to go and try some of the food talked about...

quote:

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Heart of Darkness - has anyone mentioned that already?

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No, I don't think so, but I'm glad you did. Almost the anti-travel book! But not. One of my fave parts (it's one of my fave books), is when the narrator is talking about being a child he'd spend hours looking at maps, point somewhere and say "When I am older I will go there."

And then he grew up... and went to Africa... and watched a bunch of insanity... and met a man who pushed quite possibly every boundary of humanity.

Haven't HOD in a while... think it's time to dust it off...

Have backpack, will scribble,
Anthony

4 months, 1 continent, a loopy Yank writer and a lot of trains. Oh my.

Eurail Blog.com

have two favorites in mind.

the day on fire by james ramsey ullman

pilgrim at tinker creek by annie dillard

the first is the embellished story of arthur rimbaud. it leads all over africa and europe. the second is my favorite book i suppose. it is the inward journey, which, if is inexistent, then there is no sense of redemption in the outward journey. both are books of selfdiscovery. annie dillard makes wonderful sentences.

so---to harp on the subject----I've read my 9th Tery Pratchett book as of yesterday---i picked up my first one in january...i can't get enough of this guy. he's hilarious...and occaisonally he's really insightful. I've always felt that humor is the best way to teach, adn this guy has it down. give him a look, if you please.

ummmmm, where am I? oh yeah, , hehe, here.
what time is it?? oh yeah, , hehe, Now.

I recommend a book called Red China Blues by Jan Wong. She's a reporter for the Globe and Mail. It's a book about how she was growing up in Montreal, and in university became obsessed with Maoism and was able to obtain a visa to visit China as a "returning Chinese." She was allowed to stay in China as a student, one of only two foreign exchange students in the country in the middle of the Cultural Revolution.
The book goes up to and includes the Tiannamen Square massacre (where she was a reporter for the G&M) and then beyond it for a few chapters detailing the aftermath.
It's so neat to see how this idealist student lost her faith and saw her entire world crashing around her, and she learned from it.

Highly recommended!

Deeply Rooted by Ginda Simpson (www.gindasimpson.com) is a memoir by an American artist living in Umbria. Great descriptions of the Umbria/Tuscany region of Italy as well as Calabria where her ancestral roots are. A sensitive story and a delightful read.

A good book for those interested in rural China is "Turbulence" by Jia Pinghwa (sp.?) It tells the story of a small community of Chinese peasants during the economic reforms of the 1980's. It's an amazing story and really easy to read. Full of corrupt officials, cheating husbands, starcrossed lovers and characters with names like "Golden Dog" and "Water Girl". excellent.

A book I loved that I read not too long ago:
The Art of Travel by Alain de Botton. A philosophy book but an excellent one at that.

Court