Twelve Days in Persia

India in Mind

Finished India in Mind, edited and with an introduction by Pankaj Mishra

Travels with Herodotus

Many years ago I saw The English Patient on the cinema. Alot of things caught my interest in the movie, among them a book mentioned: Histories by Herodotus. A few years later I found the book at a local bookstore and bought it, but since then I has been standing safe in my bookshelves. Untill this summer.

A few weeks ago, when I was browsing an airport bookstore I came over Travels with Herodotus by Ryszard Kapuscinski. The book whistled my song and soon after I sat at the gate reading.

Kapuscinski's book is not an easy read, but still I have enjoyed his travels through several decades, through several continents, always with Herodotus in his rucksack. Travels with Herodotus has been in my bag through my travels so far this summer. I am packing again for another travel, and this time I consider taking with me Histories.

A House in Fez

Travel books are always on top of my reading list, and one genre of travels books is books written by people who have followed the adventurous road to a house or a place in another country. For me it started with Frances Mayes and her Tuscany home, books I read over and over again, and from there I have been to quite alot of new countries and places.

The latest bud on the rosebush (for me) is Suzanna Clarke's A House in Fez. Quite interesting, though by no means it can be compared to Mayes and her writing. Here we meet Suzanna and her partner, and Australien couple who fall in love with Morocco and the old town Fez, and end up buying an old house which is in need of total renovation. Too much of the story is about problems with Moroccan bureacracy, all seen through a pair of modern, western eyes. We do get to know a little about the history and traditions of Fez, and that's what made me finish to the last page.

The book is now in my basket of books to give away. Anyone interested?

Italian Journey

We are leaving to Italy tomorrow morning. I will be away for two weeks and are busy packing now. Packing clothes is easy, packing books is always a challenge. I have made piles for several days - guidebooks, travel books, novels, notebooks, moleskins, maps, books with background information for the book I am writing right now.......there are always so many books I want to bring with me. I put away a few, make new piles, then find new books I know I will be wanting while I am in Italy.

There is one book which is on top of my piles though, Italian Journey by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe. I haev had this book for some time and knew that now it is time to take it with me to Italy. And from the map on one of the front pages I see that Goethe visited both Roma and Terracina during his journey. So I will be walking The Appian Way following his footsteps.

One Foot in Laos

Travel litterature is on top of my book lists, both for reading and for book collecting. And I tend to prefere (most often) books written by women. A few years ago I discovered Dervla Myrphy, and since then I have enjoyed many a trip with her.

A few years ago I visited Laos for a couple of weeks, and when I found Dervla's One Foot in Laos I knew this would be a book for me. For some reason or other I didn't read the book right away (my list of books to read is always looooong), but when I searched through my shelves on Match 8th, the International Women's Day, to find a few books written by women, this one cried out my name.

Dervla Murphy's courage has always fascinated me. I can never travel the way she does, mostly hiking alone deep in jungels (:-)), but I love to read about her adventures. One Foor in Laos is no exception. Murphy's books have no photos, a rare way today with the millions of blogs around, to read about travels without illustrations. She doesn't need photos though, her words make perfect illustrations in my mind, and sitting curled up in my sofa I can well see the butterflies, trees, creeks and tracks she describe.

Eat, Pray, Love

Several friends have mentioned this book for a long time, telling me that this is a book I would love. Somehow their words didn't reach me, and I never came around looking for, or buying the book.....untill I saw it at an airport bookstore a few weeks ago and knew at once: Yes, this must be a book for me. Now the book is read and I can agree, both with my friends and with my own knowledge - Yes, this was a book for me.

Eat, Pray, Love, is, just like the title tells, a book in three parts, every part about a new country and the author's experiences there. Italy, India and Indonesia. With several travels already planned this year to Italy, and a three week's travel to India coming up in October/November, my interest was of course fully awaken already when I read the back cover of the book.

The author, Elizabeth Gilbert, has been through a hard divorce and a rather sad love story, and set out for a year in the world to find her inner self again. In Italy she eats, in India she prays and meditates and in Indonesia she finds love. Her months in Italy and Indonesia was qujite interesting reading, the middle part about her long months in India was just a long, boring interlude. Gilbert's writing is easy to follow though, with alot of funny thouches, so all in all I find this a vert good book, easy to recommend.......................and the first part when she lived in Roma for a few months..........In four weeks I'll be back in Roma! I can't wait!

Instead of jewels, perfume, shoes and new clothes....

My passion is travel books. When other women buy jewels, a new bottle of perfume, shoes, chic clothes.....well, I buy another book or ten. And on top of my passion list are travel books.

It can be an old paperback worn to pieces, or a full coloured coffee table books which makes me empty my wallet. It might be a book describing travels close to where I live, or the traveller's tales take me around the world. The dream lies in them all.

Looking through my fast growing book collection I can find tracks from early childhood. I have a book from 1941 which I've inherited from my father, the inscription on the first page tells that this was a Christmas gift when he was 9. It tells the story of two children travelling around the world and all through the book there are photos, maps, tickets and drawings illustrating the adventures of the kids. I have another book from a few years later, S.O.S. Arktis, which takes me to an icy cold world of hard days filled with challenges, and yet another from 1965, Kartet som vokste (The Growing Map) - the great explorer's tales told for youths. Add Jules Verne, stories from the first missionaries, National Geographic and other books and magazines, and you have enough to fill the mind of a young traveller to be.

My collection of travel books is growing steadily. I know I should make a list of what I have, but that's a task for some coming future.

A couple of months ago I was browsing the travel section in one of the book stores here in Trondheim. I do this often, but my treasure hunting is not always successful. That spesific day I found the golden egg though: Burton Holmes TRAVELOGUES, The Greatest Traveler of His Time, 1892-1952. Hardbound. Full coloured. Huge. Tempting. (Unfortunately amazon has no image available).

Luckily we live in the credit card area. I bought the books, and now it resides on top of my chest of creativity.

Used books at Salvation Army

I was in town today and decided to visit one of the Salvation Army's thrift stores, to browse for books. I was there also last week and saw two Name of the Rose by Umberto Eco. Thought about buying one of them for my son, but was too busy. Well, when I came today they were both sold. Alot of "new" used books filled the shelves though, and I found alot I wanted to buy.

Ended up with a Dostojevski for my son, and an old paperback for myself, Elliot Paul's The Last Time I Saw PARIS. A Bantam book printed in 1945, with tempting names of the chapters. Like

- a starway down to antiquity

- to the memory of a secondhand accordion

- excerpts from a series of letters

- a dead man on the sidewalk

........can't wait to eat the first bite.