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Posts Tagged ‘travel books’

The Books that Inspired Us to Travel in 2009

If you’re an organized sort of person, you probably have your Christmas shopping out of the way by now. If you’re anything like me, you’re just biding your time, waiting for that last-minute rush as you try to cover all your bases.

For those of you who fall into the latter group, check this out. Here are eleven books that have inspired these intrepid travellers to hit — or stay on — the road in 2009. From short stories by a Maori writer to a book about the ethical implications of eating fish, the variety is vast.

Stay tuned. In a couple of days we’ll cover the movies and music that inspired the internet’s finest travel bloggers.

“Jeff in Venice, Death in Varanasi” by Geoff Dyer

Jeff in Venice, Death in Varanasi is the fourth novel from acclaimed English author, Geoff Dyer. His latest book pairs two well-crafted novellas, based on two entirely different stages as the humble elegance of Venice crashes with the neon chaos of Varanasi.

The Books, Movies and Documentaries That Inspired Us to Travel in 2008

Inspiration to travel can come from anywhere. You taste Gang Panang at your local Thai restaurant and begin to dream of enjoying the real thing in Thailand; you sip Guinness on a hot day and wish you were at a pub in Dublin; a friend’s “Sweet As, Bro” t-shirt recalls your time in New Zealand, and you hope you can get back soon.

Books, movies and documentaries are another great source of inspiration. For this post, I asked travel bloggers to share a book, movie or documentary that inspired them to travel in 2008. They wrote back to me with all sorts of different titles, listing everything from a chick flick set in Ireland to the Bible. If you’re in need of some fresh reading or viewing material this holiday season, I’m sure you’ll find something to suit your tastes here.

Mac Nelson’s “Twenty West: The Great Road Across America”

US20 stretches coast-to-coast, 3,300 miles from Boston, Massachusetts to Newport, Oregon. That makes it the United States’ longest road and, according to Mac Nelson, America’s Great Road.

Twenty West: The Great Road Across America tells the story of a road that played its part in the history and development of American society and culture.

Midnight In Rome: Book Review and Interview with Michael Gyulai

At 22, Michael Gyulai graduated from college and moved to Rome with a simple goal: "To really live there. To understand the place like a local." Midnight in Rome, a memoir about the time he spent in Rome, is an engaging exploration of just how difficult it can be for travellers to immerse themselves in a foreign culture.

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