Paris to the Moon by Adam Gopnik

I can't recommend this book highly enough. It is written by a writer who moves with his wife and infant to France for five years. One of the best books I have ever read that discusses the differences between he American and French beliefs about the world. There are thoughtful passages and laugh out loud passages. I loved the chapter about having a baby in France- No raw vegetables!. I have read this book twice and enjoyed it both times. A thoughtful intelligent look at life as an expatriate. Have you figured out yet that Alma and I would like to move to France for a year or two? There are things we would find frustrating but I think the experience of living in a different culture would be great for the boys. Unfortunately we don't have very mobile jobs. So maybe we will have to wait and do this when we are empty nesters.

A year in Provence By Peter Mayle

This is another travel book. One of the first I read about living in France- an classic and a must read. It is a good introduction the the slower rural life. The life ruled by seasons and rejoices in what is fresh and perfect at that moment.

Country Driving; A Chinese Road Trip By Peter Hessler

I have read River Town by the same author and really enjoyed it so I was looking forward to reading this book. It didn't disappoint. I didn't care for the first section about driving along the great wall. It was okay just not captivating for me. But this was made up for my by the strength of the section about his country home and the relationship and experiences he has in the small agricultural village. The real power of his writing is the ability to connect with the Chinese and really describe their lives, government and beliefs. In no other chapter is his love and frustration with this culture so evident. I especially loved the sections about seeking health care in the big city for a little boy- I always like anything that looks at health care in different cultures.

I also liked the last section where he looks at an area of the country that is just starting to develop factories. This was especially fascinating and he is able to illustrate so well a changing country by highlighting the experiences at one bra accessory factory. I highly recommend this book. But I think I still prefer River Town- if you are only going to read on read that one but I hope you read both.

The Best Women's Travel Writing Ed by Lavinia Spalding

This was a great collection of stories. My favorites:

Masha by Marcia De Sanctis- a story looking at a brief connection between women from different worlds in communist Russia.

Naked by Sarah Katin- A look at the differences in how women view their bodies in South Korea. Also a feeling of friendship and wanting to share their culture with the outsider.

Jersey Girl by Abbie Kozolchyk- One woman's quest for soccer jerseys all over the world- and the unexpected experiences this brings. (also that is the thing Coen looks for on all our trips).

In Lardo We Trust by Marcy Gordon- The universal story of a ill conceived hike and the blessings of lardo.

The Innocents Abroad bu Mark Twain

Are you tired of travel books- there are more coming.

Becky is reading the Sweet Life by David Lebowitz an not enjoying his disgust at his fellow Americans. I didn't mind that part really. Here are my thought on the matter. In any city in America you meet pleasant polite people and rude inconsiderate people. And all those people travel. The problem is the rude and inconsiderate stand out. You rarely remember the person who wondered through the shop- and said a polite merci on her way out the door. But you do remember the oaf who talked too loud and demanded things or failed to say bonjour. They stand out more in Chicago and they stand out more in France. Also we are always more sensitive to the flaws of those who are related to us. We don't notice the rude demanding Russian nearly as much as you do the similar American.

So that all said- this is on of the best satires written about Americans abroad. While always amusing and with tongue in cheek Twain is able to illustrate the differences in Americans and Europeans. The silliness of the American to quickly adopt the worshipful attitude to allthat is old and the ability to forget the splendor of the American landscape. I love this book- maybe my favorite Mark Twain book.

Tales of a Female Nomad; Living at Large in the World by Rita Goldman Gelman

I loved this book. It is honest and heart felt. It tells her story, her view with out worrying about giving a complete guide to the areas she travels. It is full of the brief evocative moments that make your travels memorable. The conversations, the miscommunication, the friendships made while being in a foreign place. Any traveler knows it is those moments that stay with you. The conversation in the market where you honestly connect to a women so different from you- the time you follow the advice of a fellow traveler and wander someplace untraveled and have a transcendent experience, or the friendships formed that change you forever. It is these brief unplanned moments that make traveling a joy and a revelation. This is a book that collects those magical or sometimes heartbreaking moments in the author's life on the road. There is an especially touching chapter about her many years in Thailand that moved and inspired me. I can't recommend this book highly enough.

How to Climb Mt Blanc in a Skirt By Mick Confrey

More of my Travel books:

I really want to like this book. I really do. A book about Lady Adventurers? That is right up my ally. I have only read a handful of chapters and so far and I don't really like the book. The chapters are brief descriptions of different female explorers- a little tongue in cheek. But it isn't funny enough to be an amusing book and it isn't informative enough to be a learning book. It doesn't quite know what it wants to be and so it isn't successful at anything. I do like the little tables in every chapter where he compares the female explorer to her male counterpart. I may read all of it as it is a very easy read- but I may not as I don't really enjoy it. I will put it back into the pile by my bed and see.

Democracy in America By Alexis De Tocqueville

More of the travel books I gathered for the book club.

This is probably one of the best travel books/social commentaries ever written. A classic for a reason. The famed French Soldier travels through post-revolutionary America. He writes about the blossoming new form of government, the people, and the future as he sees it. He writes as a man in the center of the political life of America at the time- but still with the perspective of an outsider. A key piece of literature in understanding early American history.

Bella Tuscany by Frances Mayes

This is the second book after Under the Tuscan Sun. It is a continuance of the first book. The ever deepening connection the author has for this corner of Italy. Her prose are rich and sun filled.

Lunch in Paris; A Love Story with Recipes By Elizabeth Bard

Last month for our book club we read travel books. Well- I went through my book shelves for some books to share with the others and then I went to the book store to find one for me and left with a substantial pile. Some of them have made it into the pile that has been growing by the computer. I was a little surprised by how many books I had a bout travel. And there was a definite theme going there- France. I love France- and after last summer Alma does too. I dream of going back and spending lazy summers in the Alps and eating cheese and soaking in the late afternoon sun. Apparently this love affects the books I buy because I had quite a few about France and I bought this one to read too. It is about an American moving to France after a whirlwind love affaire. There are lots of books about Americans moving to France. This one was okay. Not the best- not the worst. I really liked her look into the health care system- which agreed with some of the more professional things I have read. I also really liked her look at the interactions between her and her in-laws and her parents and her French family. That was something I hadn't read about in other books. She talks a little about her foodie love- but not especially well or uniquely. I haven't tried any of her recipes yet- so no comment on them. This is really an area well traveled and written about by others in a much better way. But at the same time I understand that it is a major part of the French experience and how would you leave it out. So over all okay- but if you are only gong to read one book about living in France read Paris to the Moon by Adam Gopnik or The Sweet Life in Paris by David Lebovitz or My Life in France by Julia Child or A Year in Provence by Peter Mayle. All of these are superior. But if you are going to obsessively read books about France than by all means this one is on the list.