I forgot to mention that Pamela Paul in the
New York Times yesterday covered
the world of travel lit and had some good things to say about the genre. Happily, she says, “the choice of literary
guides is expanding, and some recent books have broadened the range of professional travel writing, a pursuit first
perfected by the British, in a very American way. Rather than require authors to learn their trade in glossy magazines
or gritty backpacker newsletters, several publishers have begun series of books that enlist famous nontravel writers as
tour guides.”
She goes on to mention Susan Orlean’s MY KIND OF PLACE: Travel Stories From a Woman Who’s Been Everywhere, which
we referenced earlier, but have still not had time to
read. He also mentions Eric Hansen’s newest THE BIRD MAN AND THE LAP DANCER: Close Encounters With Strangers and
Michael Shapiro’s A SENSE OF PLACE: Great Travel Writers
Talk About Their Craft, Lives, and Inspiration, which we also referenced here…all books that are now on my reading
list…once I finish with my current read: The SEX LIVES OF CANNIBALS, which I will report on shortly.