Adventures by Library

[Jess_S]

Before I travel somewhere, I like to do themed reading (both fiction and non-fiction). From reading trip reports, I get the sense that there are others like me. So I thought it would be fun to have a thread where people could post their trip specific reading lists. Scotland this summer will be my first ABD, so I will need to report back after that. But I have traveled independently to some of the places that ABD travels. So I will start with my reading list from those trips.

Costa Rica

Finding books about Costa Rican history in English was actually a challenge. My son and I did enjoy Monkeys are Made of Chocolate by Jack Ewing. Ewing is a conservationist who converted his ranch in CR to an eco-resort. The book is a series of essays on different wildlife and conservation issues.

Wildlife of Costa Rica is a nice field guide to the animals in CR. We still occasionally thumb through it to remember our trip.

Alaska

• Into the Wild by Jon Krakaeur - The true story of a young man who died in the Alaskan wilderness in the 90s. It's more of a character study, but it takes place in Alaska and was a quick read.
• Alaska by James Michener - Michener's historical melodramas were really popular when I was a kid, so I read this because it was still on the shelf at my parents house. It's a little hokey, but it's full of historically accurate details. So basically it's like learning history via soap opera.
• The Call of the Wild by Jack London - My dad read this to me as a child, so I thought it was a good choice to share with my animal-loving son.

 

[DCPhotoGal]

Great idea for a thread. There are a few (fiction) books I picked up to read more about the country while I was there:

For Peru: The White Rock by Hugh Thompson
For Wyoming: Letters From Yellowstone by Diane Smith
For South Africa: Pieternella Daughter of Eva (about colonial SA from the perspective of a mixed race child... I think it's based on a true story)
For Galapagos: We got several wildlife guides, and a kids' level biography of Darwin. Also the movie Master and Commander is good to get excited about that one
For Scotland: Outlander... my favorite series, but maybe more for the women.

 

[SingingMom]

For Germany and Central Europe - anything about Sisi - Empress Elisabeth and Emperor Franz Joseph - would be very interesting. We devoured stories about the two AFTER our trips! There are two interesting historical fiction books about Sisi too. The Accidental Empress and Sisi.

 

[tgeorge]

Second Outlander for Scotland
Ina Sunburned Country by Bill Bryson for Australia
Turn Right at Machu Picchu by Mark Adams for Peru

 

[calypso726]

3rd for Outlander and Scotland. That series was my reason for wanting to visit Scotland.
Iceland - The Secret Life of Walter Mitty (movie, not book) but I enjoyed watching it before visiting Iceland with DCL

 

[sayhello]

For the Greece trip, I recommend "The Island" by Victoria Hislop. It's an historical novel about the Island of Spinalonga's history as a leper colony during the 20th century. It gives you a lot of interesting history and insight into Spinalonga, and made the visit there even more interesting.

Sayhello

 

[aggiedog]

Yes to Walter Mitty - all of the overseas locations are actually Iceland. We watched it after our trip, and my kids enjoyed recognizing all the locations. Also, "Burial Rites" for Iceland, which is a fictionalized story of the last woman to be executed for murder in Iceland. It's better than it sounds, and gives a lot of insight into Icelandic culture.

 

[hilarys]

For those taking Backstage Magic, I would recommend "The Disneyland Story" by Sam Gennaway. I am currently listening to it on Audible and it is making me want to take the BSM trip again. I consider myself pretty knowledgeable about Disneyland and I am learning so much. It is a very detailed chronicle of the history of Disneyland from the formation of the idea through development of each attraction. This book would be an incredible companion pre-read to the Backstage Magic trip.

 

[laceltris3]

Tauck Bridges sends a recommended reading list for each destination with the reservation confirmation. You can buy the books as a set from them, but I use it to pick up the ones I am interested in from Amazon. It is nice that they included lists for both adults and kids. For example, there is a Nancy Drew book set in Costa Rica on their list I picked up for my daughter at the time.

 

[carpenta]

Yes to Walter Mitty - all of the overseas locations are actually Iceland. We watched it after our trip, and my kids enjoyed recognizing all the locations. Also, "Burial Rites" for Iceland, which is a fictionalized story of the last woman to be executed for murder in Iceland. It's better than it sounds, and gives a lot of insight into Icelandic culture.

On our Iceland trip with Tauck Bridges we actually stayed in the village and hotel Walter Mitty "Greenland" scenes were filmed.

 

[Grifdog22]

Second Outlander for Scotland
Ina Sunburned Country by Bill Bryson for Australia
Turn Right at Machu Picchu by Mark Adams for Peru

In a sunburned country was right on - and this was on the ABD recommended list - we really enjoyed this one...maybe too much.

 

[tgeorge]

In a sunburned country was right on - and this was on the ABD recommended list - we really enjoyed this one...maybe too much.

My grad school professor is from Melbourne. She recommended we all read it and I loved it. I feel like that was almost as important as my thesis defense

 

[aggiedog]

I was given Sunburned Country to read on an international flight home and made a fool of myself. I kept laughing out loud. Great book!

 

[tgeorge]

I was given Sunburned Country to read on an international flight home and made a fool of myself. I kept laughing out loud. Great book!

I believe it. It was funny. I've read it a couple of times over the years and it always makes me laugh.

 

[tink1970]

In a sunburned country was right on - and this was on the ABD recommended list - we really enjoyed this one...maybe too much.

I'm enjoying it as my "gym reading;" unfortunately I've spent all morning trying to figure out how/when we're going to do Australia/NZ..driving my DH nuts

 

[Jess_S]

Here's our Scotland reading list.

Books for my 5 year old

• Haggis and Tank Unleashed: Howl at the Moon by Jessica Young. This is an early chapter book about 2 dogs who go on imaginary adventures. In this book, they fly to Scotland where they visit a castle and meet a not so scary werewolf.
• An Illustrated Treasury of Scottish Mythical Creatures by Theresa Breslin. This is a collection of Scotish folktales about mythical creatures like the Loch Ness Monster and the Wulver. My son enjoys "monsters" so this was right up his alley. Most of the creatures in the book are friendly, but there are a few scary ones.
• Greyfriars Bobby by Ruth Brown. The true story of a famous little dog who spent years by his master's grave in Greyfriars Cemetary in Edinburgh. I was worried the subject matter would be depressing, but my son loved it.

Books for me

• How the Scots Invented the Modern World by Arthur Herman. This is a book about the Scottish Enlightenment and its far-reaching impact on modern society. It ties in really well with the ABD trip itinerary because it focuses quite a bit on Edinburgh, which was the seat of the enlightenment and also covers the Jacobite uprisings. It even made philosophy interesting for me.
• 44 Scotland Street by Alexander McCall Smith. Alexander McCall Smith wrote the #1 Ladies Detective Agency books, so I thought this would be a mystery. Imagine my surprise when it was actually a book about the inhabitants of a house in Edinburgh in the style of Tales of the City. (Like that book, it was published in serialized form in a newspaper and then collected into a book). It is a good light read about Edinburgh society.
• Hamish MacBeth mysteries by M.C. Beaton. Cozy mystery series set in the Scottish Highlands. My favorite fluff reading is mystery novels, and this series is set in the area around Inverness, so it is a good fit with the trip.

I did also try reading a non-fiction book about Mary Queen of Scots, but since I wasn't interested enough to finish it, I will not recommend it.

 

[DCPhotoGal]

Adding another:

Alaska: The Great Alone by Kristin Hannah