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

Posted by Mike Richard on October 22, 2007
Filed under: Books, Sidelines

Like what you see? Subscribe to the full RSS feed.

That’s the working title of my new book due out in March. Too wordy perhaps?

I’m kidding, of course. Television shows like 1000 Places to See Before You Die and the books that inspire them really make my teeth itch. Over at World Hum, 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:

At the heart of each of these books is a promise: In a world of so many places to go, of so many choices, here are the ones that count. Here are the ones that will make your life worth living.

This is an empty promise. You won’t find the journey of a lifetime in any of the places in these books. In fact, you won’t find the journey of a lifetime in any place. You could pick any handful of locations and go there expecting to simply be transformed, to suddenly feel as if you had truly lived. But if you do, I think you’re bound to be disappointed. Because the checklist approach to travel misses the point. Because no matter how many places you check off your list, they won’t magically change your life. You could just find 500 ways to waste your money, or 1,000 colossal wastes of time.

I could quote his entire smart, pithy piece here, but I believe they call that plagiarizing. Check out the full post here.

If you liked this post, subscribe to our full feed RSS. You can also subscribe by email and have new posts delivered directly to your inbox daily.

Vagabondish editor Mike Richard lives in Rhode Island - a small patch of land in the northeastern U.S. He is a professional web designer and travel junkie with an unhealthy addiction to backpacking, camping, hiking and seeing the world. He enjoys knit hats and speaking in the third person.



Like This Post? You Might Also Like:

Our Sponsors

Comments

Mark Schoneveld
October 23rd, 2007 - 12:17 pm

Great quote. My parents have that book on their coffee table… I often pick it up and wonder WTF? It’s not about the destination, people. It’s about a healthy fear of death. ;)


Mike
October 23rd, 2007 - 2:34 pm

In a strange way, I think you’ve hit the nail on the head with that, Mark. ;)