Friday, June 21, 2013

TWRV: Books That Take Me Away


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:


...Moloka’i by Alan Brennert led me to Hawaii...


...and Beautiful Ruins by Jess Walter set me in a seaside town in Italy.

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!!)

42 comments:

  1. 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.

    Sarah @WordHits

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    1. Thanks Sarah! I'd love to visit Italy too but the next best thing is definitely Beautiful Ruins ;)

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  2. I love the idea of the map - I had so much fun clicking through your books/locations. Great quote at beginning of post too!

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    1. Thank 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. ;)

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    2. I 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?

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    3. I 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 :)

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  3. What a great idea! My current read has taken me to Australia.

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    1. Thanks :) Australia is one of the places I haven't "visited" yet this year. I really want to before 2013 is over!

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  4. That map is such a cool idea.

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    1. Thanks so much :) Every now and then I'll just gaze upon it and be terribly impressed with my "travels", lol.

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  5. Jennifer, 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!

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    1. Thanks dahling! I can't afford the real travel so doing it in my brain is the way to go!

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  6. I 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.

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    1. Too bad you were at that library when you found it! I hope it comes for you soon and I hope you dig it!

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  7. I never did get around to mapping my books. I really need to do this for 2014. Great job, my dear!

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  8. Also 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.

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    1. Very good point! I've visited many places in books that I wouldn't want to see in person.

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  9. Nice 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!

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    1. Thanks Leslie! Oh, how I would LOVE to see Italy in person. It's my dream vacation. :)

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  10. I 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.

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    1. Yes! I know what you mean Monika. There are a few places that I'd really like to hit this year too!

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  11. I 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.

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    1. Oh yes! Chechnya! That was an amazing book and such a great setting!

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  12. That 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!

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    1. Thanks Ellie! It's been fun and easy enough to do. :)

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  13. Wonderful 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 :)

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    1. Thanks Naida :) I'm going to be reading Wonderbread fairly soon as well. I'm really looking forward to all of the 80's references!

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  14. I 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!

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    1. I'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 :)

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  15. I love this map idea!!! My current read has scenes in Chicago, southern Wisconsin, and Romania.

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    1. Ohh Romania, I don't believe I've read anything set there. Yay for Wisconsin Chris!!

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  16. Great 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. :)

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    1. Thanks! You'll have to let me know when you get it going so I can check it out :)

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  17. Great 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!

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    1. Moloka'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 :)

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  18. Wowza, great comments on this post while I was gone! Big ol' kudos to Jennifer for keeping up on the responses! Love it :)

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    1. This was super fun Kelly! Thanks again for asking me :)

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  19. Great 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!

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    1. Thanks Melinda! I'm always finding places that I want to visit for real :)

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  20. This reminds me... I need to catch up on my map! I started one and then moved in March so kinda fell behind.

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  21. What 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

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