One for the Road: Dr. BBQ’s Big Time Barbecue Road Trip

by Kelly Amabile on

Need some help planning your big July 4th barbecue? Never fear — Dr. BBQ is here! Ray Lampe’s latest book serves up a selection of regional specialties from around the USA: Dr. BBQ’s Big-Time Barbecue Road Trip is a collection of mouth-watering recipes gathered from his travels around the country. The grilling guru offers up the usual cooking tips and tricks, along with featured recipes like Kentucky Barbecued Mutton and Kansas City Style Brisket.

Dr. BBQ gives hungry readers the real deal on where to find barbecue to meet every craving. (We know you’re just dying to try those Smoked Cornish Hens!) See how easy it is? Hit the road with the Doc’s new book and get grilling. If you want to see the grill master live in action, you’ll have to wait till after the 4th though — he’ll be doing cooking demos in California, Illinois and Tennessee later this summer.

One for the Road: ‘Three-Martini Family Vacation’

by Kelly Amabile on

Here’s a smarmy tongue-in-cheek guide for parents that should offer up plenty of laughs, as well as some smart travel advice. The Three-Martini Family Vacation is a collection of wickedly funny essays that will serve as a reminder to parents that family vacations can truly be fun — regardless of how much gets shaken or stirred along the way!

Christine Mellor’s latest ‘Field Guide to Intrepid Parenting’ offers helpful advice on harnessing the energy of toddlers-gone-wild on vacation, out to dinner or even just when grandmother stops by for a visit. Parents will relearn the art of traveling and how it can be done (sometimes) with well-behaved children in tow. This is my favorite bit of practical advice: Get those kids reading books as soon as possible — it’ll pay dividends in countless waiting rooms, cars and airports. Nothing funny about that one, but it sure is true!

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One for the Road: Down the Nile

by Kelly Amabile on

Publishers Weekly calls this one “travel writing at its most enjoyable.” Down the Nile: Along in a Fisherman’s Skiff is about a journey born from the simple love of rowing. Rosemary Mahoney decides to buy a small rowboat and make her way 120 miles along the Nile between the cities of Aswan and Qena.

What an awesome solo feat to attempt! Despite civil unrest and the fear of vexing local traditions, Mahoney sets out. She finds a seven-foot skiff with the help of a sympathetic Muslim sailor and proceeds to do what culture and history says she should not.

Egyptian women don’t row on the Nile, and tourists aren’t allowed to for safety’s sake. But Mahoney does it — she endures extreme heat, terrifying crocs and the challenging cultural encounters that confront issues of faith and sex. She also finds connections to past river travelers like Florence Nightingale and Gustave Flaubert. The reviews agree that Mahoney’s global curiosity and creative wit will surely captivate readers of this new release.

One for the Road: The No-Nonsense Guide to Tourism

by Kelly Amabile on

This pocket-sized softbound guide from the folks at The New Internationalist is not your typical travel book. It’s a toughie. The No-Nonsense Guide to Tourism takes a harsh look at the often invisible impacts of global tourism and challenges readers to think about some of the big picture effects that travel has on the world. It basically demystifies one of the biggest industries in the world by examining things like labor conditions, the role of travel and vacations in western cultures, and trends like the popular gap year.

In short, concise language, the book covers the history of tourism, the psychological forces that drive Westerners to travel to exotic destinations, and the economic, political and social impact of the tourism industry. Author Pamela Nowicka is a journalist and consultant who has working with organizations such as Tourism Concern, a charity that works with communities in destination countries to reduce social and environmental problems. She has written on numerous tourism and ethics subjects.

One for the Road: The Short Bus – A Journey Beyond Normal

by Kelly Amabile on

Author Jonathan Mooney was a short bus rider–a derogatory term used for kids in special education and a distinction that told the world he wasn’t “normal.” Along with other challenged students (in his case, dyslexic and learning disabled), he grew up amid unfair labeling and skepticism surrounding his ability to succeed.

Mooney went on to graduate with honors from Brown University, but could never escape the pain from his past. What better cure than a road trip? To free himself and to learn how others had moved beyond labels, he decided to buy his own short bus and set out cross-country, looking for kids who had dreamed up creative and magical ways to overcome the obstacles that separated them from the so-called normal world.
The Short Bus is Mooney’s humorous and poignant record of his four-month, 35,000-mile epic journey. He meets thirteen people in thirteen states, including an eight-year-old deaf and blind girl who likes to curse out her teachers in sign language; and Butch Anthony, who grew up severely learning disabled but now owns the Museum of Wonder. Mooney learns from these folks that there’s no such thing as normal and that to really embrace life, each person must find their own special way to stay the course. He’ll be reading at NYC’s Half King on Monday night, June 25 at 7 PM.