Posts Tagged ‘books’
Japanese cellphone novels
A few weeks ago, I saw an article in the NY Times about the exploding popularity of “cellphone novels” in Japan. Until recently, cellphone novels — composed on phone keypads by young women wielding dexterous thumbs and read by fans on their tiny screens — had been dismissed in Japan as a subgenre unworthy of [...]
Two Laps Around the World
2007 has been a big year. I recently wrote about the birth of my first child. Now, I’m here with news about a different type of birth – that of my first book. Two Laps Around the World: Tales and Insights from a Life Sabbatical is now on the market. The book is about the experiences that [...]
Books by camel
I saw a unique story in yesterday’s newspaper about a library service in rural Kenya that delivers books by camel. And you thought the bookmobile was rustic. Try having your books delivered by camel, then reading them under the shade of the acacia tree. For 11 years, eager readers in Kenya’s isolated North Eastern Province have [...]
Books, espresso and Buenos Aires
Argentines love to read and to drink coffee. So the annual Buenos Aires International Book Fair, which runs late into the night and draws more than one million visitors during its two-week schedule, is a popular event with most Argentines. Here is a description from a recent Washington Post article: For all those who love to read, who enjoy [...]
Meeting people, not places
Anyone who has traveled much has no doubt discovered that the best experiences on the road often result from encounters with people rather than places. That point is emphasized again in a recent Washington Post story by travel writer Tahir Shah. In an article about books that inspire wanderlust, Shah recounts a meeting he once had with the legendary [...]
Literary inspirations to travel
I was intrigued by a recent story in the NY Times about literature that inspires people to travel. The newspaper polled authors for titles that have aroused their wanderlust. It got me to thinking about books I’ve read that fit into that category. Not travel narratives, for they are meant to invoke dreams of the road, but other literature that makes one want to [...]
Fighting terrorism with poetry?
No, it’s not a joke. In Yemen, poets are bringing a message of peace to people that the government cannot reach. Crammed into a mud-brick shop, his audience, some with their hands resting on their gold-trimmed daggers, listen to his verse denouncing violence and Islamic militancy. When he finishes, there is silence. Then the room erupts [...]
‘Road Trip USA’
Ah, the enchantment of the American road. Rolf Potts uses his Yahoo travel column this week to interview Jamie Jensen, author of Road Trip USA. Jensen discusses the attraction of this uniquely American journey: In Europe, you have towns and cities where people walk around; in America, we drive. It’s the difference between the passegiata [...]
A new life in Morocco
“It’s my duty to give my children an interesting childhood.” So says Tahir Shah, a British writer who moved his wife and two children to Morocco, renovated a 10-bedroom mansion, began a new life, and then wrote a book (The Caliph’s House) about the whole experience. The New York Times profiled Shah and his new [...]
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Bob Riel is a writer and a traveler. Go here to read more about Bob, his work and the Travels in the Riel World blog.
Great American Road Trips
Two Laps Around the World
My travel memoir - Two Laps Around the World: Tales and Insights from a Life Sabbatical - is about two round-the-world journeys with my wife.
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