One for the Road (04/17/07)

by Kelly Amabile on

Wanderlust and Lipstick bills itself as The Essential Guide for Women Traveling Solo and was released last month by Globe Trekker Press. How does it distinguish itself from all the other guides that exist for solo female travelers? Written by self-proclaimed “travel addict” Beth Whitman, the book contains a mixture of practical travel tips and theories on why solo travel is good for the female soul. Several of the reviews I’ve seen for this book mention that it should serve as an especially useful guide for newbie travelers who have not yet experienced the challenges, joys and thrills of traveling on one’s own. Whitman shares useful pointers, as well as personal stories that seek to inspire and empower women to embrace their wanderlust tendencies.

You can learn more about Whitman’s personal travel philosophy by visiting her website For Women Traveling Solo or check out the weekly writing she does for the Seattle Post Intelligencer’s travel blog. She really is a woman that keeps on moving — Whitman will be appearing at several book signings on the West Coast this month, offering some motivational travel-themed workshops in the fall, and will be leading a special cultural trip to China in September.

One For the Road (04/16/07)

by Kelly Amabile on

In the early 1990’s, English professor Michele Morano spent a year working as a university English teacher in Oviedo, Spain. She then returned to the country on several occasions as a traveler, continuing to unfold links between her love of the Spanish language and the role grammar played in shaping her life. In her new book, Grammar Lessons, Translating a Life in Spain, Morano has gathered thirteen personal essays that draw from both these experiences of living and traveling in Spain.

Throughout her collection of stories, Morano connects universal truths about vocabulary and verb tense that have impacted her sense of place in the world. With humor and humility, she explores the ways in which travel, translation and cultural interactions have led to the discovery of her own voice as well as a deeper understanding of the power of language.

After only a month traveling through Spain last year, I fell madly in love with all things Spanish, including the melodic language that I had disregarded so easily in high school classes. So I can understand how Morano (and others) have developed long-term love affairs with such a beautiful language. This is a book I’ll be sure to read. (I wonder if there’s a Spanish translation version as well?)

Named by Time Out Chicago as one of their “People to Watch” in 2007, Michele Morano is an award winning writer who currently teaches English at DePaul University. She has a few author appearances scheduled in the New York area this week, including stops in Brooklyn, Rhinebeck and New Paltz.

One for the Road (04/15/07)

by Kelly Amabile on

It makes sense for me to mention Marie Javin’s Stalking the Wild Dik-Dik as today’s featured book, for those of you looking to learn more before the upcoming NYC storytelling event I wrote about earlier. Or for anyone searching for something refreshing and different to grab from the shelves of the travel section. Marie’s memoir of her overland trip from Capetown to Cairo is an insightful and at times, hilarious, collection of tales from her courageous journey.

Solo ground travel through Africa requires a resilient spirit and creativity when plotting an endless series of bus-train-car connections. Marie’s misadventures are peppered with plenty of both. And what’s truly amazing about this book is that it tells only part of the story of Marie’s ambitious efforts to travel around the world by surface transport. Her worldwide experiences make for great stories, and she’s also an excellent resource for travel tips. Keep up with the latest foreign tales from this funny lady at her No Hurry blog and check out the recent chatter from her two week guest gig over at The Well.

One for the Road (04/14/07)

by Kelly Amabile on

Although we focus lots on travel for leisure here at Gadling, we definitely look at it from other angles as well, and recognize that not all journeys are for fun. Or for real, for that matter — Today’s book choice is a fictional adventure about an unemployed schoolteacher in Bolivia on a desperate quest for an American visa. Journalist and author Juan de Recacoechea was born in La Paz, Bolivia, and after almost twenty years working as a reporter in Europe, returned to his native land, where he has focused instead on fiction. American Visa is his first novel to be translated into English. In this recently released thriller, former high school teacher Mario Alvarez’s dream of emigration leads him on a series of mysterious and corrupt twists and turns as he tries to escape his past and chart a new course to America, with hopes of a reunion with his grown son in Miami. Although fictional, this book touches on many of the issues surrounding the immigration debate, as seen from the Latin American perspective. The author is appearing at D.C.’s Politics and Prose today at 3 pm and will then quickly make his way to Florida for an event at Books & Books in Coral Gables tomorrow at 6 pm.

One for the Road (04/13/07)

by Kelly Amabile on

If you’re a superstitious type (and single) you might be leery of the fact that this new book about the state of singledom launches on Friday the 13th. Scary for some, maybe… but not for the traveling wonder women whose essays are included in this new anthology. Single State of the Union is a collection of stories focusing on the ups and downs of going solo through this great big world of ours. And four of the essays included are specifically travel tales I wanted to point out to all the wanderlust women who read Gadling:

“Tangled Up in Wild Blue” by Amanda Castleman, globetrotting freelance journalist and travel writing instructor; “Postcard from the Edge” by Seattle artist Heather McKinnon; “Me Make Fire for Lynn” by Brooklyn-based novelist Lynn Harris; and “Out of Africa in Karen Blixen’s Footsteps” by Jillian Robinson, an award-winning TV producer, whose programs have aired on PBS, The Discovery Channel, and in over 45 countries worldwide. Incidentally, Jillian’s essay is adapted from her new book, Change Your Life Through Travel, which was released earlier this year. Maybe we’ll take a closer look at that book in a future OFTR.

Info on all the contributors can be found here, and you can see a list of west coast author events here. Happy trails…and happy weekend reading to all the single ladies.