Today is your third-and-final guest installment for The Well-Read Vacay 2013. Please join me in welcoming Jennifer from The Relentless Reader! I heart Jen's blog because she and I have SUPER similar taste in books. Plus, she introduced me to the awesome idea of Google-mapping all of the books I read throughout the year (check out her map below!). A great way to mind-travel from the comfort of your living room. Speaking of which, read on to check out her latest book travels!
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Reading makes immigrants of us all. It takes us away
from home, but more important, it finds homes for us everywhere. ~Jean Rhys
One of
the great things about being is reader is being able to travel the world
without leaving the comfort of my own home. I can visit every corner of the
globe without breaking my budget. I can satisfy my curiosity while staying true
to my introverted roots.
I've
been to Africa while wearing my fuzzy slippers. I've walked the streets of New
York in my smiley-face pajama pants. I've been to Japan and India while cuddled
up in bed. I spent a long weekend enjoying the sun in Chile while my hometown
was being pummeled with 15” of snow.
Here are
a few books that have recently swept me off to distant lands:
This
year I also decided to keep track of all of the places I visit through literature.
So, where
have books taken you?
(Don't forget to check Jennifer out at therelentlessreader.blogspot.com, or on Facebook and Twitter!!)
Nice post! I loved your google map of all the places you've visited in your reads. Traveling by books is the best! Ok, I'd love a trip to Italy ... but in the meantime perhaps Beautiful Ruins.
ReplyDeleteSarah @WordHits
Thanks Sarah! I'd love to visit Italy too but the next best thing is definitely Beautiful Ruins ;)
DeleteI love the idea of the map - I had so much fun clicking through your books/locations. Great quote at beginning of post too!
ReplyDeleteThank you, thank you! I've had a lot of fun putting that map together. The only problem I've had is when authors set their stories in fictional locations, lol. Don't they know I'm working on a map!? Jeez. ;)
DeleteI love the mapping idea, but I'd have the same problem, since I read a fair bit of fantasy. Where would I map a fantasy land? And does, say, a steampunk version of a town get a spot on the real-world map? Or Cinder's Beijing?
DeleteI don't know what you'd do with fantasy locations! I've slapped stuff on the map and written in the description that it's a fictional location. And hey, it's your map. You can do what you want :)
DeleteWhat a great idea! My current read has taken me to Australia.
ReplyDeleteThanks :) Australia is one of the places I haven't "visited" yet this year. I really want to before 2013 is over!
DeleteThat map is such a cool idea.
ReplyDeleteThanks so much :) Every now and then I'll just gaze upon it and be terribly impressed with my "travels", lol.
DeleteJennifer, that map is so cool! I love the idea. Until I can get the whole appartation thing down, imagination travelling is where it's at for me. Love love love it!
ReplyDeleteThanks dahling! I can't afford the real travel so doing it in my brain is the way to go!
DeleteI had Beautiful Ruins in my hands at the library the other day! Then I realized my library card, which works at almost every library in our county, was not accepted at the library I was at, and I would have to join by paying $80. So, now I am on a waiting list for it. Lol.
ReplyDeleteToo bad you were at that library when you found it! I hope it comes for you soon and I hope you dig it!
DeleteI never did get around to mapping my books. I really need to do this for 2014. Great job, my dear!
ReplyDeleteI hope you do, it's a hoot :) Thanks!
DeleteAlso books that help us travel also help us travel to areas that are war-torn so we can go without being in danger and also figure out ways to help where we can. Kite Runner was that for me. So hard but eye-opening.
ReplyDeleteVery good point! I've visited many places in books that I wouldn't want to see in person.
DeleteNice post. I enjoy my travels too. Your map is a fun way to keep track of them. I read Beautiful Ruins last year and I loved, loved, loved my time in Italy. I'm ready to go back, in books or in person!
ReplyDeleteThanks Leslie! Oh, how I would LOVE to see Italy in person. It's my dream vacation. :)
DeleteI have had SO much fun with my reading map this year! I find myself looking at "unclaimed" areas and wanting to find stories that will fill those gaps.
ReplyDeleteYes! I know what you mean Monika. There are a few places that I'd really like to hit this year too!
DeleteI definitely need to do a reading map next year. Beautiful Ruins has been on my list for such a long time, I definitely need to get to it. It was amazing experiencing Chechnya in A Constellation of Vital Phenomena.
ReplyDeleteOh yes! Chechnya! That was an amazing book and such a great setting!
DeleteThat is such an amazing idea, Jen! That is my favourite thing about reading. I love to travel but books allow me to do it much more frequently than my bank account does :)Great post!
ReplyDeleteThanks Ellie! It's been fun and easy enough to do. :)
DeleteWonderful guest post, you are so right, books can take you anywhere and anytime as well. I was recently in 1980's California when I read The Wonderbread Summer and in 1800's London when I read Murder as a Fine Art :)
ReplyDeleteThanks Naida :) I'm going to be reading Wonderbread fairly soon as well. I'm really looking forward to all of the 80's references!
DeleteI know my map would be far too full of U.S. and Great Britain locations and would make me feel provincial, guilty, and lazy but I love your map, Jennifer!
ReplyDeleteI'm a big fan of reading about other cultures so I tend to read quite a few books set in Africa and Asia. It's fun to see those accumulate on my map :)
DeleteI love this map idea!!! My current read has scenes in Chicago, southern Wisconsin, and Romania.
ReplyDeleteOhh Romania, I don't believe I've read anything set there. Yay for Wisconsin Chris!!
DeleteGreat post, Jennifer! I'm going to get my Google map going here one of these days. I love the concept of never leaving home to travel to faraway places, and that's how I've always viewed books -- my ticket to somewhere. :)
ReplyDeleteThanks! You'll have to let me know when you get it going so I can check it out :)
DeleteGreat post! I think it was your post that made me interested in Moloka'i, though I admit I haven't read it yet. At the moment my reading's taken me to Scotland, and thinking on it recently I've been no further really. Quite a surprise that, a bad one!
ReplyDeleteMoloka'i was a delight. I'd really like to check out some of his other books. Hmmm, Scotland. Now I'm wondering if I've been there this year! I'll have to check :)
DeleteWowza, great comments on this post while I was gone! Big ol' kudos to Jennifer for keeping up on the responses! Love it :)
ReplyDeleteThis was super fun Kelly! Thanks again for asking me :)
DeleteGreat post Jennifer, and yes reading does take you places. It certainly made me put countries on my list of places to visit, purely based on books alone!
ReplyDeleteThanks Melinda! I'm always finding places that I want to visit for real :)
DeleteThis reminds me... I need to catch up on my map! I started one and then moved in March so kinda fell behind.
ReplyDeleteWhat a fantabulous post this has been. Never seen this kind of useful post. I am grateful to you and expect more number of posts like these. Thank you very much. Nghệ thuật sống
ReplyDelete