If you read none of my other recommendations . . .
I have few regrets when it comes to books. I may regret that I spent time reading some of the more inane pieces of writing that have found their way into my backpack on library runs, or my luggage on a sleep-deprived whim in some airport bookstore. But the truth is that - on balance - there've been less bad books in my life than there've been good.
I can't even say that I begrudge the time that I spent reading part of a certain series which I'm sure I need not name, simply because I feel it's wrong to judge something like a book based entirely on hearsay. And I can legitimately say that I've earned my dislike of those books, based on their writing style and my own experience in reading them.
That being said, I do have a regret in regards to my book reviews that I've posted on this blog - and that is this. When I started writing them, I stuck to books I had read in the past week - and I was long past the point where, for the first time, I read Alice Steinbach's Without Reservations.
My love of these two books - Without Reservations and Educating Alice - is easy to explain. First, they are travelogues. Alice Steinbach writes about the experience of travel - about the lessons you can learn from it, and about a gentle kind of personal growth. Second, she's a wonderful writer. She combines keen eye for detail honed by years as a journalist with an impressive and graceful mastery of words.
I could gush on and on about what an amazing experience these books are, but I think that the best possible thing I can do is urge you to read the books for yourselves. They are treasures - especially to those of us who have lived overseas or travelled extensively, or have wanted to travel. They are soothing, and exciting at the same time. Inspirational and over-all simply wonderful.
I will say this - don't expect to rush through these books. They are, in my opinion, meant to be savored.
And that's all I will say for now. READ THEM!
Oh, also, for the design nerds among us - check out the hardcover versions from the library if you can, and pay attention to the layout of Without Reservations. And the choice of font for both of the books. I think you'll be as pleased with the attention to detail as I was. :)
I can't even say that I begrudge the time that I spent reading part of a certain series which I'm sure I need not name, simply because I feel it's wrong to judge something like a book based entirely on hearsay. And I can legitimately say that I've earned my dislike of those books, based on their writing style and my own experience in reading them.
That being said, I do have a regret in regards to my book reviews that I've posted on this blog - and that is this. When I started writing them, I stuck to books I had read in the past week - and I was long past the point where, for the first time, I read Alice Steinbach's Without Reservations.
Luckily for me, Without Reservations is not the only book that this Pulitzer Prize-winning writer has had published, and last week, feeling in a bit of a literary slump, with little I felt inspired to review, I searched the library catalog for an author I knew to be inspirational. And lo and behold, there was Alice Steinbach's Educating Alice.
My love of these two books - Without Reservations and Educating Alice - is easy to explain. First, they are travelogues. Alice Steinbach writes about the experience of travel - about the lessons you can learn from it, and about a gentle kind of personal growth. Second, she's a wonderful writer. She combines keen eye for detail honed by years as a journalist with an impressive and graceful mastery of words. I could gush on and on about what an amazing experience these books are, but I think that the best possible thing I can do is urge you to read the books for yourselves. They are treasures - especially to those of us who have lived overseas or travelled extensively, or have wanted to travel. They are soothing, and exciting at the same time. Inspirational and over-all simply wonderful.
I will say this - don't expect to rush through these books. They are, in my opinion, meant to be savored.
And that's all I will say for now. READ THEM!
Oh, also, for the design nerds among us - check out the hardcover versions from the library if you can, and pay attention to the layout of Without Reservations. And the choice of font for both of the books. I think you'll be as pleased with the attention to detail as I was. :)
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