A good backpack book can make for fun reading while you on the road, but it can also be the perfect inspiration to get out amongst it yourself. Intrepid Express reader Rachelle Boyle found a great book that gave her the ‘get-up-and-go’…
“If you ever begin to feel like you should be settling down and being sensible then this book is the cure! Antartica on a Plate: She came she saw she burnt the toast is Alexa Thomson’s recount of how she tossed in her thriving career as a web designer to be a cook on a remote airstrip in Antarctica.
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Some books inspire us to seek out new adventures, while others make great reading while on the road. Intrepid Express reader Arapine Walker recommends a book that turned out to be her perfect travelling companion in Italy…
“In 2008 my 3 girlfriends and I travelled from New Zealand to Italy to celebrate the first of us turning 50 (the new 30 by the way!) Just before we left Auckland I bought a book that I could read on the long flight to Rome via Los Angeles & Frankfurt. I bought Patricia Grace’s book Tu about three brothers during the second world war. It took me a week or so to read, as of course there was so much going on for a first-timer in Italy, however it was absolutely the right book at the right time and place.
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If you’ve got a stomach for adventure and won’t let it put you off your own travels, here’s a great book for your backpack recommendation from Intrepid Twitter follower Bob Kane…
“The Darkest Jungle: The True Story of the Darien Expedition and America’s Ill-Fated Race to Connect the Seas.
Navy Lt. Isaac Strain’s 1854 expedition into the Darién Gap was one of the first to explore the remote, seductive jungle and, without question, one of the unluckiest. They were unable to obtain native guides. They didn’t carry enough provisions. Existing maps were a joke. Vampire bats drank their blood when they were sleeping. Worms hatched under their skin and starting eating their flesh.
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If you are in need of a little inspiration then try this novel tip from Intrepid Express reader Alice Kalambokas…
“Leaving Microsoft to Change the World, by John Wood, is not only extremely inspiring, encouraging and relentless, but giving. Giving to people and gives up a lot of potential wealth to pursue a purpose.
John Wood visited Nepal and was encouraged by locals to return with some books. He started a book drive and was overwhelmed by the response. So the next year he went back to deliver these books and on this journey decided to leave Microsoft to change the world – to build schools and libraries and assist with children’s education.
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You can imagine that Intrepid’s CEO and co-founder doesn’t have much time to sit down and enjoy a good book, but holidays are the exception and Darrell Wade felt compelled to review his latest travel read…
“Earlier this year I was trekking in Nepal with my family. We had three weeks and quickly got into the routine of early rises, wonderful walking all day and finishing mid afternoon at our new campsite. Some afternoons we’d play volleyball with our porters and guides, other days it was badminton – and we even played cricket a couple of times.
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Ever picked up a book that felt like an immediate best friend? Intrepid Express reader Kerynne Sbrocchi recommends a book that struck a chord with her own life journey…
“For those travellers, who like myself, travelled to Italy to research their ethnic heritage, I recommend Love Takes You Home, by Julie Capaldo. A truly heart-warming novel.
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Intrepid Express reader Diana Hinterleitner reviews a book that illustrates the benefits of understanding those who live in worlds beyond our own…
“In March 2008 I started reading Nine Parts of Desire. It is a collection of stories by Geraldine Brooks, a prizewinning foreign correspondent for The Wall Street Journal, who spent six years covering the Middle East through wars, insurrections, and the volcanic upheaval of resurgent fundamentalism.
I find reading short stories great for filling in between novels. My friend Tracy and I had planned a trip to East Africa for August 2008, but closer to the time of booking we decided that we would travel to North Africa instead and made plans to visit Egypt and Morocco.
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From a sublime icy slurp of a gelato to a simply delicious pizza, everything about Italy is full of flavour, so it’s no surprise that this book review from Express reader Kylie Sutherland comes with a warning, don’t read on an empty stomach…
“Dolce E Salata, by Marlena di Blasi, is a beautiful book chronicling an older American lady marrying a traditional Italian guy. It shares their mid-life adventures together, their move from Venice to the bittersweet countryside of Tuscany and the townspeople’s love of food and love of life itself.
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“After living in Australia for almost eight years and never venturing outside of Perth, I decided I wanted to explore more of this beautiful continent and booked a trip to Sydney in my last university holidays. By chance, I happened to grab my second-hand copy of Looking for Alibrandi, by Melinda Marchetta as reading material for the flight.
What luck to be reading a book set in Sydney while travelling around Sydney! Looking for Alibrandi depicts the struggle for identity of a teenage Italian-Australian living in Sydney. The novel has a unique perspective for the traveller as it is written with the familiarity of the native Australian, as well as with the cultural observations of the outsider.
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