Stuck in front of your computer today? Take a mini-break with Field-Tested Books, an essay collection in which writers talk about where they were when they read a very memorable book.
Some of our favorite folks are represented in this e-anthology, but what we love the most is that the pieces are short. You can easily pack a year's worth of long weekends into an hour or two--just make sure your boss isn't peaking over your shoulder.
After all the sniping, faux shock and criticism, Thomas Kohnstamm's book Do Travel Writers Go to Hell? is out today. Instead of rehashing old interviews and getting up on our high horse about ethics, we decided to, you know, actually read it.
We didn't get very far before stumbling across something we wish were included in that now-notorious "embassy chick" interview that upset so many people:
Author's note: For better or for worse, this book recounts true experiences. In order to distill the chaos of life down to a clear narrative, it was necessary to omit certain events, rearrange and compress chronology and combine a few of the characters.
So, yes, what you're about to read is true. Sort of.
When all the airlines of the world have gone bust (which should be in, like, a few more days), we'll all be able to slow down, relax and travel the world by train. One British man has already got the hang of that, and he's a quite amazing train geek usually referred to as the Man in Seat 61, after his seating preference on Eurostar trains.
We've been following his website for years, whenever we've needed in depth train travel advice, and he's also good at giving tips on making train travel on some famous routes a lot cheaper than taking the tourist train. For example, in a recent article he gave the example of South Africa's Blue Train from Cape Town to Pretoria, explaining a local route that cost less than a tenth of the fancy tourist route.
The current big news is that the Man in Seat 61 (who also has a real name, Mark Smith) has got a book deal and his official train travel bible is coming out in a couple of months. It's going to focus on European rail travel so you'll be able to get tips on that speedy Barcelona to Madrid route or perhaps more importantly to us, find out where we can get a beer along the way.
What better place to look for love before Valentine's Day than Love Field? We've never hooked up at Dallas' secondary airport, but with that kind of name we expect at least mild passenger-to-passenger flirtation. Or alternately, a secret Flickr admirer.
For better luck and less chance of getting frisked in the security line, try these other Dallas locations:
Frankie's Sports Bar and Grill -- The NFL season may be over, but there's still time to find a cute guy drinking with his brothers at this big-screen-and-pool-table joint. They even have WiFi, so you can post your connection right after you miss it, you wuss. 3227 Mckinney Ave.
Ghostbar -- This W Hotel hot spot with a sister bar in Vegas isn't cheap, especially when it comes to $300-plus bottle service. But while you're contemplating the LED-lit bar you might get to lock lips with a fellow Van Halen fan. 2440 Victory Park Ln.
Crossroads Market Bookstore & Cafe -- Well, even if you don't find a guy who can take a hint, at least you'll come out with something good to read. 3930 Cedar Springs Rd.
If you haven't read Gabriel Garcia Marquez's fantastic book Love in the Time of Cholera you should, now. It's about to become for Colombia what Lord of the Rings was for New Zealand: a major tourism generator. The nice part is that Garcia Marquez really did set his book in Colombia, whereas the whole Lord of the Rings thing was kind of a scam, really.
Anyhow, the town of Cartagena on the Caribbean coast of Colombia is the setting for the film of the rather magical and romantic novel, to be released in January 2008. It's a pretty town with interesting architecture and dozens of book-related spots to check out. Following the spirit of Colombia's tourism campaign Colombia is Passion, we're happy to put a Cartagena stopover on our next jaunt into South America: All that love and passion's gotta work for us somehow.
When we reported on the coming-soon Dickens World theme park a couple of months back, we were cautiously optimistic that a combination of fun and education might make for a good day out. But with opening day coming a month ago, we've heard that the Great Expectations were all a bit high.
A few visitors have already posted their impressions of Dickens World on web message board sites, and they're universally not great. One of the better experiences was simply kinda dull and quiet, while others described it as "over hyped, over priced, and a great disappointment" and demanded (and got) a full refund on their way out! Tales of soggy rides on the unexciting "sewer boat", an unthrilling 3D animation and uninformed and unenthusiastic dressed-up characters abound. Poor Charles must be turning in his grave.
Book-lovers take note, there's a theme park just for you opening soon in England: Dickens World will be ready for visitors in late May. Even most book-loathers would have to admit to knowing something from the works of Charles Dickens: from the nasty Ebenezer Scrooge to tiny Oliver who asked for more, or some of the Hollywood successes like Great Expectations.
All of these stories and scenes will come alive in Dickens World, a huge recreation of Victorian-era England, complete with petty thieves roaming the streets. There'll be rides (including one that starts in a sewer, apparently), interactivity galore and a gloomy feeling of what life was like back then. (Okay, the gloomy feeling is our own interpretation of Dickensian life). They say it could be the largest covered attraction in the world, so it sounds like they are keeping the sun out.
Unfortunately the opening has been delayed twice already so whether the May 25 deadline will be met seems unsure, but you'll need a bit of time to read a few more Dickens classics first anyhow.
For all women who love to travel, and for all men who want to understand women, a book just out by Stephanie Elizondo Griest could be interesting: 100 Places Every Woman Should Go. While on the one hand we're getting just about saturated with these books of lists of all the must-sees--come on, who in the world has the money and time to follow all those tips--this one does seem like kinda nice reading. And at least it's a one-woman list, without the controversy of something like the New 7 Wonders.
You can learn about a really wide range of destinations and activities, from riding a yak in Mongolia to bathing in volcano mud in Colombia. The homes of some very important substances like chocolate and champagne also get a place on the top 100. Tips for women travelers, including the great concept of "male repellent" (for those times when you just want a guy to GO AWAY), are probably useful even when we're at home. If you can read such a book without feeling disappointed at not being able to visit every must-see place, you might get a kick out of it. Or learn when it's appropriate to kick a male.
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by egw
