The Daily Valet. - 2/20/21, Saturday
✔️ Weekend Reading: Give Yourself an Escape
Weekend of February 20th
I pulled back on reading early in the pandemic. Perhaps I was too busy binge watching bad TV. But I’ve gotten back into it lately and really appreciated how effective it is at transporting you to another place and time.
Cory Ohlendorf , Editor ⋯ @coryohlendorf
Weekend Reading
Give Yourself an Escape
Read these books if you miss traveling
Travel in the time of COVID-19 is a tricky thing, to say the least. Most of the highlights of any trip—mingling with the locals, exploring museums and dining out in new restaurants—are pretty much off limits at the moment. But just because the CDC advises against booking a trip doesn't mean the wanderlust subsides. In fact, for most of us, realizing that you can't go, makes you want to travel even more. Sure, you could make like John Steinbeck and go on a social-distanced road trip through the United States. But our mind's eye is looking farther, to destinations overseas, and reading a book set in those countries is the easiest way to transport yourself there. In fact, the sights and language found within the pages seem even more vivid now that it's the only way to visit. Perhaps it's like Steinbeck wrote: “What good is the warmth of summer, without the cold of winter to give it sweetness?” Here, our team's favorite reads featuring far-flung locations.
Japan
After Dark by Haruki Murakami
Haruki Murakami is one of the most popular modern authors to emerge from Japan. Most of his books are set in Tokyo, but this 2004 story is truly unique. It's set in one night in Tokyo from midnight until sunrise—in darkened offices, late-night restaurants and love hotels—intertwining the different people who occupy this neon-lit city that's quiet but not necessarily serene.
$13.39 at Amazon; $14.72 at Bookshop.org
Italy
The Talented Mr. Ripley by Patricia Highsmith
You've no doubt seen the movie, but the novel (no surprise) paints an even richer portrait of the young Americans galavanting around Italy—until the fun devolves into a cat-and-mouse game between Tom Ripley and everyone he's deceived. The book's prose is addictive and at times, quick and acrobatic, making for easy reading. The psychological thriller weaves warm weather and good living with moral failings and sets the stage for subsequent Ripley adventures if you want to keep chasing the charming yet dangerous conman.
$13.89 at Amazon; $14.67 at Bookshop.org
Afghanistan
The Places in Between by Rory Stewart
Around the same time America invaded Afghanistan, Scottish author Rory Stewart traveled across the country at the crossroads of Central and South Asia: by foot and completely alone. This well-reviewed book is as vibrant as it is thoughtful. At times, it can be devastating, like when he visits the Buddhas of Bamyan—two historical statues from the sixth century that had just been destroyed by the Taliban. The book exemplifies what it means to be present in a foreign place, however uncomfortable that can be at times.
$7.69 at Amazon; $14.71 at Bookshop.org
Kenya
Love, Life, and Elephants: An African Love Story by Daphne Sheldrick
Known as the “first person to successfully raise newborn elephants,” the late Dame Daphne Sheldrick recounts her career as a conservationist dedicated to preserving Kenya's wildlife. This lush memoir introduces us to a slew of wild, rehabilitated animals but also shares the incredible human story of her relationship with her husband, a famous Tsavo National Park warden whose death inspired the David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust outside Nairobi.
$17.99 by Amazon; $18.40 at Bookshop.org
France
Time Was Soft There by Jeremy Mercer
A lot of stories set in Paris take place in the '20s—not a bad time and if you're into Hemingway or Gertrude Stein, you've got plenty of options to choose from. This is a more contemporary take. It's the story of an unemployed expat who wanders into Shakespeare and Company, the legendary Left Bank bookshop, and ends up living above the store and working there during the day. You get to know the makeshift staff who leads our memoirist down a literary rabbit hole in the shadow of Notre Dame and into all the little nooks and crannies you'd hope to find on your next trip to the City of Light.
$12.79 at Amazon; $16.56 at Bookshop.org
Scotland
The Outrun by Amy Liptrot
Reading this book is the next best thing to having your own remote Scottish island to self-isolate on. This memoir charts the author's return to her home on a sheep farm after a decade of hard-partying and fast living in London. You can almost hear the wind howling as you page through this inspiring story of self-discovery as Liptrot walks along the coast and dips into the icy Atlantic waters, tracks local wildlife, and reconnects with her parents, revisiting the place that ultimately shaped her.
$10.29 at Amazon; $14.67 at Bookshop.org
Iceland
The Greenhouse by Audur Ava Olafsdottir
One of the most relatable Icelandic novels, the story follows 20-something Lobbi who's facing what could best be described as a quarter-life crisis. After his mother dies suddenly in a car accident, he's left to tend to her greenhouse with his grieving father and autistic twin brother until he finds out he's going to be a father himself. He flees to find himself, taking the reader on a journey through the country on a mission to find purpose.
$10.99 at Amazon; $14.95 at Bookshop.org
Colombia
One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel García Márquez
Technically, the setting of this influential novel is fictional. It tells the story of the rise and fall, birth and death of the town of Macondo through the history of the Buendiá family. But the vivid descriptions of the humid Colombian jungle and old colonial towns bring the story to life. This mythical and complex tale, originally published in Spanish in 1967, follows the progression of the Buendiás and examines how people change—and don't—with time.
$13.89 at Amazon; $15.63 at Bookshop.org
FYI
This spring, a travel guide that Anthony Bourdain started writing prior to his death in 2018 will hit shelves, co-authored by his longtime assistant Laurie Woolever. The book outlines tips for visiting some of his favorite places’many of which are in his own words.
Preorder via Bookshop.org
See you Monday.
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