Monday, April 22, 2013

island diary: What to read? Or: travel with strangers and classics + a travel novel for free

This blog post is inspired by the fact that i am packing bags for some island time, and by the "It's Monday! What are you reading?" series, more about the series and previous reads, at the bottom of this post.



6 days to the island. Which books to pack? It's always such a difficult question. How could I predict the mood of the days there, and the fitting books for it?

Some books are waiting to be packed already, though. The one that feels most fitting is the holiday paperback that I found in the bookshelf, at the delay-hotel we were booked in after our plane had a technical problem. And there are 2 other chance finds, both contemporary classics, and both from the telephone box book exchange where people can leave and take books: Henry Miller's "Big Sur", and Monika Maron's "Stille Zeile Sechs".

Travel with strangers..
I'll also looked for travel memoirs to carry on my e-book reader, rather picked not my research, but by cover and title, by destination and short introduction: light travels with "strangers", so to say. Following that approach, I found quiet a number of interesting reads this year, here are some of them (which are now back to their normal price, i guess):
The Lost Mountain - 44 Days Across the Pyrenees

The Kindness of Strangers - Penniless Across America
Journey to Ki - A travel memoir from the Himalaya

.. and classics 

And I will look for some classic reads, too - "Robinson Crusoe", "Around the World in 80 Days" and the like: classics in new digital form. I don't really think to read those from page 1 to the end, but am tempted by the idea to go on a beach walk with Robinson Crusoe in my pocket, or head on an island drive with Jules Vernes. Also, I found an e-book collection with tales from Mallorca. That might be an interesting companion, too.

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A travel novel for free
To celebrate the upcoming island time, and to add my own book to the hemisphere of those chance travel finds for some days, the new e-book version of my travel novel "Masala Moments" will be available for free at Amazon on Tuesday, and probably also on Wednesday.

Masala Moments - a travel novel from Asia
This new and updated e-book edition includes photos, the short story "Chai", and more extras. Enjoy! 


India in a teacup. Its flavour in pages. Its aroma in words. That is Masala Moments, a travel novel from India. Based on her own journeys through Asia, Dorothee Lang weaves ancient tales, lessons of karma, and modern myths into an inspiring story.



*****
Previous reads.. 
...are collected here: bookshelf: currently  reading
...there also is a visual bookshelf, just click it to get there:

The link is also listed in the "It's Monday! What are you reading?" series that is hosted by Sheila at Book Journey, participating blogs are listed in this Linky Book List


More diary island notes: Island diary

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And to end this blog post with the starting question again:
How do you pick the books to take to an island (or on a journey)? 

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

When embarking on a journey, I try to choose books that are small and light, but of course that's not the only requirement. Like you, it can depend on mood, and also on circumstance; what I choose for airplane reading will not be the same as what i want to read once I've arrived. Right now, I'm just finishing "Lost in Translation: Life in a New Language", an introspective memoir by Eva Hoffman about her move at the age of 13 from Poland to Canada (and beyond). I'd recommend this for travel; small and easy to read and yet dense in thought-provoking material. A fascinating look into cultural displacement, exile, language, fragmentation, assimilation...in short a great story told in a very strong voice.

Dorothee said...

Chris, thanks for this book suggestion! i just looked it up and put it on my reading list.