Top Ten Books Featuring Travel In Some Way (road trips, airplanes, travelogues, anything where there is traveling in the book!)
I had a hard time deciding where to draw the line of what constituted travel in a book. Are short, but memorable, trips in a book ok? I decided yes, so my top ten list includes a few of those:
Harry Potter and the Sorceror’s Stone and its sequels by J.K. Rowling: The scarlet Hogwarts Express so inspired my imagination that on my first trip to London, I sought out Platform 9 3/4 at Kings’ Cross Station.
The Polar Express by Chris Van Allsburg: I first encountered this story when read aloud by my high school French teacher. The train, which takes needy (in one way or another) children to the North Pole on Christmas Eve, is wonderful in any language.
Voyage of the Dawn Treader by C.S. Lewis: A London painting of a ship at sea suddenly becomes a ship at sea — in Narnia.
The Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkein: So. much. walking. (Whenever I find people who don’t like this trilogy, it’s almost always because 2/3 of the narrative is filled with endless, hopeless walking.)
An Abundance of Katherines by John Green: If Hassan had never convinced Colin to embark on a post-high school graduation road trip, they never would have met Lindsey and he certainly never would have figured out his girl math problem.
Swallows & the Amazons by Arthur Ransome: The Walkers and the Blacketts captain their respective vessels around a lake during summer holiday. Their adventures are epic and remarkably free of adult supervision. (Today’s parents could take a lesson.)
Little House on the Prairie by Laura Ingalls Wilder: Crossing the open territory in a covered wagon (which they then had to dismantle when they got where they decided they were going to Pa and a very pregnant Ma could use its bones to build their house.
A Walk in the Woods by Bill Bryson: A non-fiction account of hiking the Appalachian Trail, filled in with Bryson’s trademark humor about appropriate gear, fellow travelers, and the countryside he’s traversing.
The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain: I wouldn’t want to float down the Connecticut, the Potomac, or the Anacostia, let alone the mighty Misissippi — and on a raft!
Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets by J.K. Rowling: Rowling hooked me with a magical train, then pulled me in with a car enchanted to have expandable seats and trunk, invisibility, and flight.
Honorable mentions go to John Steinbeck’s fictionalized cross-country memoir Travels with Charley; Madeleine L’Engle’s Austin Family camping excursion, The Moon by Night; and Barbara Kingsolver’s The Bean Trees, because without a road trip Taylor would never have encountered Turtle.
The final genre topic of Armchair BEA is one near and dear to my heart: kidlit and yalit.
Until last fall, I would have told you that I was a young adult aficionado. I like Sarah Dessen, John Green, and plenty of others who are shelved in the teen room at the library. But then I was chosen as a Cybils young adult realistic fiction judge and I was simultaneously inundated with recently published novels aimed at teenagers and by fellow panelists who read books at speeds that put me to shame. And I discovered I don’t love all young adult fiction equally.
I do not love books with depressing endings. In fact, it might be fair to say that an unhappy ending can entirely reverse my opinion of a book. I also don’t love books that feature virulent illnesses or with serial killers in them.
What I do love is books with strong characters who create a sense of family with people who aren’t related to them. I also love books with characters who make interesting choices or who can be described as quirky or offbeat.
And it may be that I like middle-grade fiction, where the stakes are a little lower and where the stress isn’t as ratched up, just as much as young adult fiction. I had previously suspected that middle-grade fiction was all Wimpy Kid books, but it turns out that some of my favorite books — the early Harry Potter, the Little House on the Prairie books, Anne of Green Gables — all fall into the middle grade category.
If you’re looking for a place to start in either category, these are some of my favorites (with linked reviews where I wrote them) from the past three years:
And thus far this year my favorites have included Wonder by R.J. Palacio, The One and Only Ivan by Katherine Applegate, Eleanor & Park by Rainbow Rowell, My Life Next Door by Huntley Fitzpatrick, Dodger by Terry Pratchett, The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland in a Ship of Her Own Making by Catherynne M. Valente, The Last Dragonslayer by Jasper Fforde, and Tuesdays at the Castle by Jessica Day George.
How about you? What’s been your favorite YA/MG book of recent years?
Today’s Armchair BEA genre topic is non-fiction. Do we read it? If so, what kinds?
When I first started considering this topic, I was sure my list would be short, but it turns out I am a sucker for a broader swath of non-fiction than I expected.
If you divided up my reading time, only a tiny proportion of it would be devoted to non-fiction. Fiction fills a far larger percentage of my reading life. But if you looked at my shelves you could fill a whole bookshelf with non-fiction. That means, in general, I’m more likely to buy non-fiction than fiction, although I suppose if we took away books I purchased for college or grad school classes that number might shrink back to being more proportional.
Among the books you’d find on my shelves are:
I like a good reference book. Dictionary, thesaurus, literture desk reference set… I know my use of these books have been cut down by the internet, but it doesn’t matter. I still want a hard copy. If I ever win a lottery, I’m going to buy myself a full-size set of OED. Then I will need to move in order to have enough space to store it.
Writers manuals. I acquired some of these as a teen and still can’t help picking them up when I see them for sale for cheap.
Foreign language textbooks. Apparently I really feel I can learn how to speak a foreign language just through reading about verb conjugation. Failed attempts at three languages aside, I still have hopes.
Women’s studies texts. Also books on minority studies and American studies. I have an unofficial minor and a graduate degree in these topics, so they’re near to my heart. Also, when I first read Women in the Global Factory, I carried the thin book with me from dorm room to dorm room just pelting my friends with horrifying facts about atrocities visited upon women and children all in the name of our getting cheap goods.
Cookbooks and knitting books. I want to live in the worlds portrayed in their pages. This theory was first posited in the podcast Stash and Burn in regards to particularly nicely styled photos of unremarkable knitted goods. I have expanded it slightly to include cookbooks, since I like to buy them, but I hardly ever cook.
Identification guides. I love being able to flip through and find the bird I saw on the canal or a tree with unusual leaves.
Poetry. Why this is considered non-fiction, I don’t know, but it is. And I love it. Mary Oliver. Elizabeth Bishop. Anthologies. All good.
Shakespeare plays. Again, it feels particularly weird to classify these under non-fiction, but that’s where a library would put them.
Travelogues. I quite enjoy reading travel narratives, be they about the Appalachian Trail or the Provençal countryside. Guide books are also interesting, but I only really read the ones for places I’m going, with the exception of themed guides, such as Storybook Travels, which offers vacation ideas for places like Chincoteague Island and the Plaza Hotel.
Memoirs. When I was a kid, I devoured biographies, particularly that series of books that focused on famous people’s childhoods. But these days I more prefer memoir to biography. I have Penny Marshall’s on my iPod now and am looking forward to listening to Tina Fey’s and Mindy Kaling’s, too. Epistolary memoirs, such as The Delicacy and Strength of Lace or 84, Charing Cross Road, are especial favorites.
So that’s about it. Are there any aspects of non-fiction I didn’t touch on? Sure: history and economics and design and science and medicine and self-help and philosophy, to name just a few. None of them really do it for me as a class of books, although there are certainly individual books that fall into those categories that stand out.
How about you? What non-fiction categories are your favorites?
Today’s genre topic in Armchair BEA is “literary fiction.” I’m not sure there’s an official definition for this term, but I use it as a snobby code word for general, non-genre fiction that’s particularly well-written. Classics and historical fiction also tend to get lumped into this category.
My favorite classic literary fiction (since I didn’t write a separate post on this topic earlier this week) would include works by Jane Austen, the Brontës, Anthony Trollope, Charles Dickens, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Willa Cather, Louisa May Alcott, and Mark Twain.
Among more modern literary fiction, I’d highlight books by Barbara Kingsolver, Toni Morrison, Alice Walker, Amy Tan, Nicole Krauss, Michael Chabon, Fannie Flagg, Jane Smiley, Marilynne Robinson, Sandra Cisneros, Jhumpa Lahiri, and Brunonia Barry.
What do you think? Any favorite authors of literary fiction you think I should sample?
Today’s genre focus was on genre fiction, such as mystery, historical fiction, horror, romance, science fiction, and fantasy:
Though often dismissed or ridiculed by the more “literary” minded, these novels often deal with complex themes and issues and some of the world’s most beloved authors write in these categories. . . . If you’re a reader of genre fiction do you have a favourite author or series? And what keeps bringing you back for more . . .? And if you don’t read one (or more) of these genres what is it that deters you from those sections of the bookstore? I’m also curious to hear why you think these genres often don’t get the recognition they deserve.
Let’s start with the baseline: I like a well-written story. And while it seems like poor storytelling should be spread equally across BookWorld (™Jasper Fforde), it doesn’t seem to be. Or, maybe it is, but bad genre fiction gets more shelf space and press than other poorly written books. I suspect that’s due in part to genre fiction’s predilection for series. Many of those series start out strong, with well-developed characters and plots. But by the time an author has churned out their 15th or 50th book dealing with the same folks and settings, they often feel stale and tired. (This is not a new problem; Arthur Conan Doyle sent Sherlock Holmes over Reichenbach Falls and Hugh Lofting had to resort to flying Dr. Doolittle to the moon in an attempt to free themselves from their popular characters.)
But that complaint aside, there are plenty of imaginative and fresh genre writers out there who can go pen-to-pen with those whose work is considered more serious.
Let’s start with fantasy. Yes, J.R.R. Tolkein’s Lord of the Rings has a lot of lineage and a lot of walking. But it also set out many of the ideas that fantasy authors still adhere to today in terms of structure and magical creature races. Anne McCaffrey’s early works in the Pern series took dragons to new and more beloved heights, and Marion Zimmer Bradley’s feminist version of King Arthur’s tale, The Mists of Avalon, took an old tale and gave it fresh legs. Jo Rowling’s Harry Potter series made reading cool all around the world. And I dare you to find me an author writing today more clever than Jasper Fforde, particularly with his Thursday Next series.
I will concede that fewer mystery authors earn my top shelf placement, but the aforementioned Arthur Conan Doyle is certainly one of them. And Jacqueline Winspear’s Maisie Dobbs series nicely blends historical fiction with mystery to give us an ex-battlefield nurse eager to solve cases thanks to a combination of psychology and keen observation.
There are plenty of other cosy mystery series I enjoy devouring, but I prefer to take them out from the library or buy second-hand, due to less well-rounded characters and plots (these are more like potato chips and less like a baked potato). These include Agatha Christie’s Miss Marple series, Dorothy Sayers’ Lord Peter Whimsey books, M.C. Beaton’s Hamish Macbeth series, and Rhys Bowen’s Constable Evans books. Oh, and who can forget the middle grade mystery series that started the addiction for so many of us — Nancy Drew and Trixie Belden?
Anyway, those tend to be the two genres I like best. Romance, crime, and horror tend to be too graphic for my tastes. I don’t mind science fiction (and have a genuine fondness for Douglas Adams), but only as long as it doesn’t get too bleak. (Dystopian fiction is right out.) And historical fiction is okay, but I prefer it filled with spunky heroines who shrug off the societal constraints of their time, which limits my choices.
How about you? Do you enjoy genre fiction? And do you have any books or authors you particularly recommend?
There’s nothing that helps you jump back into blogging like participating in an event, and there’s nothing I’d like more than to start writing about books again. As such, I’ve decided to join the Armchair BEA. (The Book Expo of America is the publishing event of the year, reputedly filled with publishers handing booksellers as many free books as they’re willing to carry. Clearly this would be a dream event to attend in real life.) I’ll write here all week about books, possibly sometimes even more than once a day. (!!)
The first task? Answer five of the posed questions as an introduction:
Please tell us a little bit about yourself: Who are you? How long have you been blogging? Why did you get into blogging?
I’m sprite, and I’ve been blogging here for eight years, although the last six months have been ridiculously light on posts. This space was a gift from my partner, who was tired of my saying that I was going to start writing and then not doing so. He figured if he created a blog for me I’d have to do a certain amount of writing, and he’s been correct. My blog is not book-specific, so it also includes chats about my community garden plot, knitting, politics, and life in general.
Where in the world are you blogging from? Tell a random fact or something special about your current location. Feel free to share pictures.
I’m blogging from Washington, D.C. While D.C. (those who live here hardly ever call the city “Washington;” it’s either the District or D.C.) is noted as the home of our government, it’s also been home to a number of writers, including Pulitzer Prize winner Edward P. Jones, a lifelong resident; mystery writer George Pelecanos; children’s author Frances Hodgson Burnett, who wrote her first novel while living in D.C.; Nobel Prize winner Sinclair Lewis, who wrote his most famous novels from his Dupont Circle home; and poet Ezra Pound, who was institutionalized in St. Elizabeths Hospital after pleading insanity to treason charges following World War II.
What are you currently reading, or what is your favorite book you have read so far in 2013?
I nearly always have several books going at once. I just finished Rainbow Rowell’s Eleanor & Park, which was heart-wrenching and should be read by everyone who loves books featuring teen protagonists. I’m also working on My Ideal Bookshelf; Politics & Prose’s new local literary journal, District Lines; and two middle grade novels I chose for a fantasy reading challenge, Bliss and The Blue Shoe.
If you could eat dinner with any author or character, who would it be and why?
My college used to throw “Dinner with 12 Camels,” so my literary feast would be with:
James Thurber, Bill Bryson, and Fannie Flagg, because the conversation would always be amusing with one of them present;
Meg Murray, Holden Caulfield, Anne Shirley, and Jo March, because what’s the point of having this event if I don’t get to meet some of my favorite teens from growing up?
Maisie Dobbs and Thursday Next, because a few resourceful women who can solve mysteries are always an asset;
Barbara Kingsolver and Elizabeth Bishop, because their work never grows old; and
Death, from The Book Thief, but we’d clearly have to establish some ground rules.
What literary location would you most like to visit? Why?
Jo Rowling’s The Burrow, home of the Weasleys. I christened our subterranean apartment The Burrow in their honor, because when we moved down here I hoped it would be just as full of love as their patchwork home was.
You can read other introductory posts here, and do stop back later in the week for my thoughts on other literary topics.
It’s been a while since we’ve had a random ten on Wednesday post. You know the rules: Hit shuffle on your portable music device, computer music library, or cd changer, and list the first ten songs that come up. No editing to get a better or more representative list.
This is from my work computer:
“Don’t Stop” — Patrick & Eugene
“I Heard Someone Crying” — cast from the Broadway show The Secret Garden
“Turkledove” — Peter, Bethany, & Rufus
“The Boxer” — Simon & Garfunkel
“Without One” — Chuck E. Costa
“I’d Like to Teach the World to Sing (in Perfect Harmony)” — The New Seekers
“Shule Aru” — Peter, Bethany, & Rufus
“It’s the End of the World (And I Feel Fine)” — REM
“Come to My Garden/Lift Me Up” — cast from the Broadway show The Secret Garden
“Marilyn Monroe” — Dala
(Apparently my computer was in the mood for kids’ folk songs and show tunes.)
Feel free to share your track list in the comments.
What a sad day today has become with the violence in Boston. I wanted to say something, but I think maybe John Denver summarizes best what I hope for for all of us:
I wish you poems and prayers and promises tonight and forever on.
Namaste. The light within me salutes the light within you.
