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Bad year, good reads
Last year, with all its various lockdowns and restrictions was not a good year for travel. It was, however, an opportunity for some extra reading. This post highlights the good reads I discovered during 2021
My personal choice of reading is broadly speaking books that deepen my understanding of God and christianity, how-to books on my hobbies and, of course, travel. In this post I will share my good reads in travel. Among the the books I have read there is an inspirational guide, a couple of how-to books and personal journey books.
This my personal choice of good reads from the travel niche. Yours maybe different. That’s good and I would urge you to share your list in the comments section below.
Good Read 1 - Revolutionary Ride
Revolutionary Ride (£) by Lois Pryce starts with a note left on her motorcycle in London inviting her to Iran. Intrigued Lois sets off on a 3000 mile odyssey in search of the real Iran beyond the Islamic Republic portrayed in the Western media.
The idea of a single woman, riding a motorcycle across a strictly Islamic Republic is enough for me to start reading. From the first page I was hooked by not only the adventure but the way it was written with humour and insight.
Paperback
Kindle
Revolutionary Ride: On the Road in Search of the Real Iran – Lois Pryce
Nicholas Brealey Publishing
ISBN-10 : 9781473669987
ISBN-13 : 978-1473669987
Good Read 2 - Land of the Dawn Lit Mountains
Arunachal Pradesh translates as The land of the Dawn Lit Mountains and is reputed to be the least explored place on the planet. Antonia Bolingbroke-Kent sets out on motorcycle to explore. However, like Revolutionary Ride above, it is a chosen form of transport and plays only a minor role in her adventures. The author focuses on her exploration of Arunachal Pradesh often on foot or by local transport.
Her adventures take her to mountain villages, hidden valleys, impossibly perched monasteries and to places where the Yeti roams.
Her descriptions, sometimes visceral, sometimes with an eloquent mystique take the reader on the treks with her.
Paperback
Kindle
Land of the Dawn-lit Mountains – Antonia Bolingbroke-Kent
Simon & Schuster UK
ISBN-10 : 9781471156564
ISBN-13 : 978-1471156564
Good Read 3 - Iceland Serow Saga
This is yet another book about a single women exploring on a motorcycle but differs from the two above in that it focuses primarily on the landscape.
Despite the cover of Iceland Serow Saga (£) depicting a motorcycle I was initially under the impression that Serow was the title of an ancient Icelandic saga. Serow is a lightweight, street-legal, trail bike manufactured in Japan and named after an agile Japanese wild goat.
Helen Lloyd’s plan is to explore as much of Iceland as possible on her Serow; and that means not sticking to the tarmac roads but heading off road into a landscape NASA used to test their moon rover vehicles.
Helen’s evocative description of the landscape, her adventures and the people she meets will carry you along with her. Woven into this account of a solo motorcycle trip exploring Iceland’s stark beauty are details of the sagas and history the country still holds dear.
Paperback
Kindle
Iceland Serow Saga: Big Adventures on a Small Motorbike – Helen Lloyd
Take On Creative
ISBN-10 : 0957660642
ISBN-13 : 978-0957660649
Good Read 4 - Slow Boat to Uruguay
No motorcycle this time, just a second-hand yacht. With a fluid collection of friends the author plans to sail from Rio to Uruguay. There is just one very big watery hurdle. The boat and the author are in Cape Town with the Atlantic between him and his ultimate destination.
With limited experience garnered from sailing the coastal waters of The Cape, watching Youtube videos and information from reading he sets off on his adventure. His wife Abi and mother-in-law and baby daughter, Lucy are to meet him in Rio, Brazil and act as crew.
Slow Boat to Uruguay (£) is of the “with limited know-how let’s do it” genre. Andrew Tunstall has a knack for self-deprecation and telling a great story. What could possibly go wrong on such a trip? Well, everything it seems.
For anyone who has ever thought about leaving a safe life behind and setting out on a big adventure this book is most definitely one to be read.
Paperback
Kindle
Slow Boat to Uruguay – Andrew Tunstall
Riofrio Books
ISBN-10 : 1916484700
ISBN-13 : 978-1916484702
Good Read 5 - Karachi Vice
I have always said the best way to get to know a city is to get to know the locals. that has served me well in my travels across the globe. Karachi is melting pot of cultures, ideologies and people.
Samira Shackle tells the story of this vast city of 20 million people through the eyes of some of its inhabitants. There is a an ambulance driver, an activist and a journalist included. Each one gives a new perspective on the city at a time when it is thrust unwillingly into the global spotlight.
In Karachi Vice (£) Samira takes you on a fast-paced journey around Karachi in the company of those who know it best; those who live there. Buckle up.
Hardcover
Kindle
Karachi Vice: Life and Death in a Contested City – Samira Shackle
Granta Publications Ltd.
ISBN-10 : 178378539X
ISBN-13 : 978-1783785391
Good Read 6 - The Bells of Old Tokyo
During 300 years of self-imposed isolation Japan developed its own sense of time. The public bells marked the passing of time.
In The Bells of Old Tokyo (£) the author explores the culture and history of Japan’s labyrinthine city, Tokyo, through these old bells. She meets with many who who give her an insight into the change undergone by the city and its neighbourhoods.
In her travels around the neighbourhoods of Edo (the old name for Tokyo) she reflects not just on time but on history and impermanence in a culture that values change and modernisation
Paperback
Kindle
The Bells of Old Tokyo: Travels in Japanese Time – Anna Sherman
Picador
ISBN-10 : 1529000491
ISBN-13 : 978-1529000498
Good Read 7 - How to Become a Professional Travel Writer
I have read many “How to…” books on becoming a travel writer and even considered writing one myself. Anyone who can write about travel can be a travel writer. Reading advice on countless blogs of the “10 things to do to become a travel writer” style might help make you a good travel writer.
The important word here is “professional”. Narina and Mark, the authors of How to become a Professional Travel Writer (£) are both accomplished professional travel writers and give advice in a readable and enjoyable style on how to achieve “professional” status.
I have to admit I was a little skeptical about whether I would find the book useful. By the last page I decided the title should include the word “…more…” before “…professional…”.
Paperback
Kindle
How to Become a Professional Travel Writer – Mark Eveleigh and Narina Exelby
Published independently
ISBN-13 : 979-8545102747
More...
All the above and several more can be found on the Travel Unpacked shopfront (£) along with Good Reads from other years.
Another Good Read published in 2021 is Ride (£). This book falls into the inspirational, informational resource for planning a trip and has been reviewed in more detail elswhere on this site.
