Books

Sony Digital E-Ink Pearl eReader: Every Book You Own (and Want) in the Palm of Your Hand

If there’s one bit of kit I can’t live without while traveling, it’s … well actually, it’s my iPhone. But running a very close second is my eReader. I’ve long been a fan of Amazon’s Kindle and still am. But when Sony kindly offered to forward a sample of their latest Touch Screen eReader for [...]

12 Incredible Visions of Earth [Gallery]

© Felix Torkar The earth has many stupdendous things in it – often small and ordinary at first glance, but upon a closer look they take on a beauty that is unexpected. It is a question of stopping to look at the visions around us, to note them and enjoy. Some of the best photographers [...]

9 Unique Reading Hotels and Resorts

Are you looking to read and travel? Look no further and stay at an official Literature Hotel. Isabel Eva Bohrer shares 9 establishments to get you started.

Touring London’s Dangerously Seductive Bookshops

Every great city has a particular place that book-lovers know. In Istanbul it’s Sahaflar Carsisi, the bookseller’s souk, where cats doze on top of the books or dodge the feet of passers-by; in Paris it’s the left bank of the Seine, where the bouquinistes have their barrows; and in London, it’s the area around the [...]

6 Travel Books Whose Stories & Adventures You Can Follow (in Real Life)

Isabel Eva Bohrer reveals six travel books whose adventures you can mirror in real life.

The World’s Most Inspiring Bookstores [Gallery]

“From Gothic cathedrals to revamped factories, these spaces will make you rethink your Kindle.” Indeed. Full slideshow/gallery at Salon.com.

Your Essential Guide to Travel Guidebooks

Each travel guide book has its own little niche. Annemarie Dooling explores the options to reveal which series is best for you.

An Interview with Rolf Potts, World Traveler and Author

An exclusive Q&A with Rolf Potts – world traveler and author of Marco Polo Didn’t Go There: Stories and Revelations from One Decade as a Postmodern Travel Writer.

4 Guidebook Alternatives for Frugal Travelers

Nora Dunn pinpoints four alternatives to help you ditch your traditional travel guidebooks and plan your entire trip online.

Could Thomas Kohnstamm Save Travel Writing?

Olivia Giovetti questions whether the Kohnstamm debacle is ultimately better for travelers and guidebook publishers alike.

Lonely Planet’s Renegade Writer a Fraud

Lonely Planet fraudster … er … writer Thomas Kohnstamm is trying hard to pooh pooh the controversy surrounding his revelations that he made up large portions of his guidebooks. Kohnstamm earlier revealed to an Australian newspaper that his guidebook to Colombia was not even based on an actual visit to the country – he was [...]

Never Too Late to Try Paul Theroux’s Iron Rooster Ride

My father visited China a couple of years ago, and with a skill for getting chatting to interesting people that I was lucky enough to inherit from him, he met a middle-aged Chinese man in Beijing who was sitting in a park reading Charles Dickens. The industrial revolution hell of many Dickens novels is not [...]

Travel Book: One of Those Crazy Bets That British Traveler/Comedian Tony Hawks Likes

I’m pretty sure Tony Hawks didn’t set out with the aim of becoming a travel writer. I’d say this British guy (who often gets confused with American skater Tony Hawk) is mostly a comedian at heart, and he just happens to have had some really funny trips. He wrote about them, and perhaps unintentionally became [...]

Travel Book: Chasing Bohemia: A Year of Living Recklessly in Rio de Janeiro

I’ve never been to Brazil. I have, however, met a whole lot of great Brazilian people, and that alone has given me enough reasons to want to visit the country. But a new book by Carmen Michael called Chasing Bohemia: A Year of Living Recklessly in Rio de Janeiro is the cherry on top, and [...]

Robert Redford Takes ‘A Walk in the Woods’ to the Big Screen

Bill Bryson’s A Walk in the Woods is perhaps my favorite hiking/camping book of all time. Few books actually make me laugh out loud, but Bryson’s hilarious prose leaps off the page and begs to be read. A Walk “chronicles — in typically droll fashion — Bryson’s attempts to hike the Appalachian Trail with a [...]

The 5 Must-Read Books That Fed My Travel Addiction: Eva Holland

Eva Holland shares the five books that continue to feed her travel addiction.

The 5 Must-Read Books That Fed My Travel Addiction: Olivia Giovetti

Olivia Giovetti shares the five books that continue to feed her travel addiction.

The 5 Must-Read Books That Fed My Travel Addiction: Amanda Kendle

If you aren’t lucky enough to be able to travel non-stop, reading some great travel narratives between trips is a perfect way to fill the gap.

China Confirms Ban on Lonely Planet Guidebook

Cover your Lonely Planet Guide to China in brown paper, or just make a copy of what you’ll need to know on your next trip to the country. That’s advice from the guidebook company after the Chinese government officially announced that it had banned the Chinese guide over objectionable content. The ban has been imposed [...]

The World’s First Collection of Every Urban Train Map on Earth

The next time you’re at a wine and cheese soirée and a well heeled guest begins to talk about her trip to Budapest, smoothly butt in with an “Ahhh, Budapest … isn’t the Deak Ter station there the quaintest?” You’ll sound more Hungarian than Goulash. So, how will you know Budapest even has a subway? [...]

Cannonball Run 2.0: From NYC to LA in Just 31 Hours

Race car driver Alexander Roy documents his 31 hour and 4 minute journey from New York to Los Angeles in his BMW M5 in his new book titled The Driver: My Dangerous Pursuit of Speed and Truth in the Outlaw Racing World (aff). Roy claims the drive, using nothing fancier than Google Earth, a GPS [...]

Immortalizing the Backpacker’s Best Friend: Ductigami: The Art of the Tape

Finally: the revised and updated edition of the only modern day classic that pays proper homage to the inimitable, essential tool of all backpackers: Ductigami: The Art of the Tape (aff). From the publisher’s website: NASA has a written policy that requires every space shuttle mission to carry at least one roll of the gray [...]

China’s 1300 Pound Book

Quite likely the world’s largest book debuted in China today: According to GX News: Currently on display at the first China Printing and Packaging Products Expo, this gigantic book published by Henan Anyang Daily news agency has a dimension of 2.1 x 1.26 x 0.28 meter (length, width, height) and weighs 598 kg. It gives [...]

The Super Ultimate Definitive List of the Only 1001 Places You Need to See Before You Die. Ever.

WorldHum.com’s Frank Bures has scratched the thin, glossy veneer of enough “1001 Places/Things/People to See/Do/Visit/Check Off Before You Die” books to explain why they’re mostly superficial twaddle.

Travel Book Review: Wanderlust and Lipstick: The Essential Guide for Women Traveling Solo

Were I perusing the stacks at my local Borders, Beth Whitman’s Wanderlust and Lipstick: The Essential Guide for Women Traveling Solo (aff) would be the last book I’d think to pick up. And to think Mama always told me never to judge a book by it’s cover. But can you blame me? Sure I’m a [...]

Lonely Planet Travel Guides A La Carte: Less Filling, Same Great Taste

For those unfamiliar with French lexicon, “a la carte” loosely translates to: “without having to carry big a$$ guidebooks around with you”. Travel Rants Blog tips the cap to a new Lonely Planet service called Pick & Mix: Today I received an email from Lonely Planet informing me of their Pick & Mix service which [...]

Must Read: The SAS Survival Handbook

With Man vs. Wild season two in full swing (and kicking just as much ass as season one!), I thought it appropriate to review a book I finished a short while ago. SAS Survival Handbook: How to Survive in the Wild, in Any Climate, on Land or at Sea (aff) is an absolute must-read for [...]

Go Paperless and Communication-Free Now (You’ll Have to Anyway While Abroad)

I’ve been pimping Tim Ferriss’ The 4 Hour Workweek pretty hard over the past few weeks. Maybe too hard. But because his writing revolves around simplifying your life, he also presents a great deal of useful tips and advice for travelers. One of his recent posts (okay, it’s about six weeks old) entitled How to [...]

Lonely Planet Guides Go Digital

Tim Leffel remarks: Lonely Planet is taking a big step forward though with guidebook chapters you can download. Some of the planning chapters are even free right now, which is great if you are just in the early stages of planning a trip or are just browsing destinations to get a feel for where you [...]

Are You A Holier Than Thou Traveler?

A while back, I started a post entitled something like The Seven Tenets of Travel. The number is irrelevant as it was intended more to be a work in progress. My plan was to propose to my fellow travelers a few concepts, mindsets, etc. that I felt were important to safe, fulfilling travel. Like a [...]

Keep Looking »