What are you reading now?

I've been on a bit of a historical fiction kick lately. Currently reading To Defy A King by Elizabeth Chadwick. It's set in England in the early 1200's, and is about Mahelt Marshal and Hugh Bigod. I bought my first ever Elizabeth Chadwick book (The Marsh King's Daughter) in a bookstore in Glasgow in 2009, and have been hooked on her writing ever since, which is unfortunate because so few of her books are in print in the US. My first order of business upon arriving in London back in January was to go to Foyles and buy a bunch of her books that aren't available at home!

Other recent reads include The Sixth Wife by Jean Plaidy, The Rehearsal by Eleanor Catton, and A Brief History of Tractors in Ukrainian by Marina Lewycka.

I'm reading Théophile Gautier's Captain Fracasse, written around the same time as The Three Musketeers and very similar -- in exactly the same way. This would be a fun travel read. Available for free or cheap on e-readers.

Moveable Feast, a collection of essays about food and travel produced by Lonely Planet. (Sorry to cite a competitor on the Bootsnall website, but it's a good book.)

Just finished The Day After Roswell by Col. Philip J. Corso (Ret.) that I picked up at the UFO Museum in Roswell during my Route 66 bucket list road trip.

Rereading my Lonely Planet southeast asia on a shoestring in preparation for my trip to Cambodia for some TEFL teaching.

I just finished Nicholas Shakespeare's biography of Bruce Chatwin. Having read In Patagonia and The Songlines, as well as a couple of his novels, I really miss that there doesn't seem to be anyone out there of his caliber.

Come to think of it, where is the next Patrick Leigh Fermor, the next Paul Theroux, the next Robert Byron? So much travel literature now seems to be nauseating stuff about living like a prince in Provence or Tuscany.

Chatwin was a strange dude (on many counts), among which was his horror of being considered a travel writer -- possibly because he fictionalized so many of his sources -- but what the hell: His fictions are more interesting than most other writers' verifiable truths.

The historical fiction kick continues. I just finished The White Queen by Philippa Gregory, and am now reading The Red Queen. These are books about Elizabeth Woodville and Margaret Beaufort, set in England during the Wars of the Roses.

Just finished Day of the Triffids, by John Wyndham, and working on Man in the Modern Age, by Karl Jaspers

I'm reading a great old travel classic right now: H. M. Tomlinson's The Sea and the Jungle about a cruise from Wales to the heart of the Amazon. I love his reaction to things. Although he expresses himself in a kind of Victorian or Edwardian style, I find his long descriptions fascinating. This is the only book I ever wanted to start again as I was only halfway through it.

I just finished Big Backpack--Little World, a good read of teaching and traveling in many countries from Mexico to Vietnam. A fun read and a funny writer.

I just read Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett. It's not a travel book, but certainly makes me look at cathedrals differently now when I'm traveling. Fascinating to think about the people who built them hundreds of years ago.

I am reading André Gide's Travels in the Congo, written in 1925. It combines two French books, one about his trip to the Congo and the other about his continuing trip to Chad. Highly recommended if you are planning an Africa trip.

My list is long, but the one most interesting to people here would be
the book describing an Ijo seven day epic play translated into English.
It's very interesting, and I want to go to the village where they put it on now!!!

I just wrote a blog about great travel literature and the part it has played in my life:

http://ixtaccihuatl.multiply.com/journa ... veling_Man

I'm reading Glen Heggstad's "One More Day Everywhere" and really enjoying it. Anyone else read this book about his 55,000 mile motorcycle ride around the world?

Book 5 of Game of Thrones. It's been a while since I read a series. It's really cool that I always get to pick up another book and the adventure continues. Not looking forward to the end. He is amazing at depicting the landscapes and characters and the story is really well woven. Also kudos to the tv series doing a brilliantly close adaptation.

Aside from that I am trying to pick up on classics I have never read. The Great Gatsby. Hounds of Baskerville. 1984.

Also need to finish Trainspotting. I always get distracted trying to read it out loud with the accent that I don't get too far in the book