Travellin' Penguin

Meme

My Blog’s Name in Books

Posted on April 28, 2018April 28, 2018 by TravellinPenguin

I saw this little meme at On Bookes (originally from Fictionophile) and thought I might join in. Though the name of my blog is quite long I did manage to find books from my shelves. You might get a better idea why I am focusing on TBR. So many really good unread books!

The rules are:

1. Spell out your blog’s name

2. Find a book from your TBR that begins with each letter. You cannot add books from another source other than your shelves.

3. Have fun looking through your shelves finding books that meet the criteria.

(The dates are the published dates of the book on my shelf, not necessarily the original publication date.)

T The Travelling Cat: A Journey Round Britain with Pugwash by Frederick Harrison

– 1989

R Rose in Bloom by Louisa May Alcott – 1876 first published

(My copy is newer than this one)

A Australian Notebooks by Betty Churcher by Betty Churcher – 2014

V Van Gogh: The Life by Steven Naifeh – 2012

E Essays After Eighty by Donald Hall – 2014

L Lost In A Good Book by Jasper Fforde – 2002

L Longitude by Dave Sobel – 1998

I In The Presence of Horses by Barbara Dimmick – 1999

N Native Son by Richard Wright – 1940 (I think if one can only read one African

American book this is the one to read. ) I cheated here. I have read this book…..twice!

I wanted to include it because it is such an excellent and important book

P The Paris Wife by Paula McLain – 2012

Ellen Montgomery’s Bookshelf by Susan Bogert Warner – 1903

Namma: A Tibetan Love Story by Kate Karko – 2001

G The Golden Arrow by Mary Webb – 1983

Up The Junction by Nell Dunn – 2013

I The Italian Girl by Iris Murdoch – 1979

N New Worlds in Old Books by Leona Rostenberg – 1999

That spells out Travellin’ Penguin. Have you read any of these books and would you recommend them? See you next time…. gardner

Travel

Walking the Americas- Levison Wood

Posted on April 27, 2018 by TravellinPenguin

Snip20180427_1 I love travel books about walking across the world, bicycling or motorbiking. I live vicariously through the authors and feel every step they take. I picked this book up a few months ago at a local independent bookshop because I fell in love with the cover. It is a beautiful book to look at. I thought Mr. Penguin would enjoy reading it because it takes place in Central America and Mexico which is an area he has always been interested in. But as it goes, when one buys a book for another, it was not his mood at the moment and it sat unread on the shelf until I picked it up.

I read it in less than two days as I could not put it down. As I got further into this book it dawned on me that Levison Wood also wrote a book I read, Walking The Nile. That book was gripping as one of his friends actually died on that walk due to extreme heat. It took him awhile to get over that. When I bought this book I had no clue he was the author of the Nile book, then the penny dropped and it all fell into place. Snip20180427_4

The author is a British citizen, aged in his 30’s and spent four years in the army in the Parachute Regiment. He served a tour of duty in Afghanistan and his interest in walking in various countries appears to be unabated. He left the army in 2010.

Another walk he undertook was to walk in the Himalayas from Afghanistan to Bhutan. The Nile walk was made into a tv series of which I saw a few episodes.

The blurb on the back of the Americas book states:

“Walking The Americas chronicles Levison Wood’s 1,800 mile trek along the spine of the Americas, through eight countries from Mexico to Colombia, experiencing some of the world’s most diverse, beautiful and unpredictable places.

His journey took him from violent and dangerous cities to ancient Mayan ruins lying still unexplored in the jungles of Mexico and Guatemala. He encountered members of indigenous tribes, migrants heading towards the US border and proud Nicaraguan revolutionaries on his travels, where at the end of it all, he attempted to cross one of the most impenetrable borders on earth: the Darién Gap route from Panama into South America.

This trek required every ounce of Levison Wood’s guile, tact, strength and resilience in one of the most raw, real and exciting journeys of his life.”

The blurb does not state the fact he had a good friend that did this walk with him; Alberto, who is Mexican, accompanied him along the entire trip. I think the walk would have been much more difficult had he been a solo traveller.

It was written in 2017 and the walk occurred during the lead up to the 2016 U.S Presidential election. They too were gobsmacked when in a small Central American town they heard Trump won. There is some good humour from Alberto about the wall Trump wants to build between Mexico and the U.S.

Mr. Wood is an excellent writer. This journey details a great deal of history of the eight countries travelled. There are some real danger spots in the Darien and very much of the book is extremely suspenseful. The reader really wonders if they will make it or not. I doubt the book would have been published had they not succeeded but I was never completely certain.

I have read a great deal of travel writing and this is right up there with the best. It is a wonderful journey of history, hardship, friendship and suspense. If you enjoy travel writing this man is a wonderful one to follow. One day I will chase up his Himalaya walk but I am still committed to reading mostly from my TBR shelves so I want to stay on Snip20180427_2 track. I will warn readers- if you have a lot to do around the house, don’t pick up this book as you won’t be able to move until it is finished and nothing else will get done.

TBR Challenge

The 1977 Book Event

Posted on April 17, 2018 by TravellinPenguin

Kaggsy of kaggsysbookishramblings and Simon of stuckinabook host a regular event where a year is chosen and those who participate read a book published in that year. This time around the year is 1977. I enjoy reading what people post up on their blogs but I have not participated before. No idea why. Other things just seemed to get in the way.

In my last post I stated I was fed up with all of the unread books on my shelves and I have decided to do something about it. You can read about my plan here (if you are so inclined). I have to say I am beginning this project with quite a bit of enthusiasm. I went to random.org and entered the number of books I have on my shelf (1250) and let the wheels begin to turn. Up popped an old paperback book on my shelf written by Helene Hanff. Most book lovers will have read her lovely book 84 Charing Cross Road. However my chosen book is one of her lesser known books called Apple of My Eye.

Snip20180417_1

I started it yesterday and am on the last few pages now. I have loved this story. And guess what??!! It was published in 1977. What a coincidence. So I am featuring this book as my entry into the event of books published in 1977. It also appears to be the only book on my shelves published in 1977.

Helene Hanff is a long time New Yorker. In 1976 she was asked by a publisher to write a tourist guide book detailing what a tourist would want to do when visiting New York City. Well, like a lot of us, who never visit the attractions in our home city, instead opting to travel to see the sights in other parts of the world, Helene is no different.

She is telling her friend Patsy about this project and what on earth is she going to feature in this book. Patsy also was born and raised in New York and they both start by stating they’d not visited the Statue of Liberty in all their years there. That is the beginning of many outings they begin in exploring New York. This book is that story.

The book is so much fun to read. They visit all of the well known places, walking to most places or taking buses. They took a taxi once and would only take the underground to get home as one can’t see New York if they are underground.

They visit all of the neighbourhoods on the east and west side of Fifth Avenue in Manhattan and talk about the differences of the people who live on each side. They talk about the restaurants they eat in, the people they meet, the history of the places they visit. They talk about the newly built World Trade Centre and dare each other to visit the viewing platform at the top. Remember this is 1977 and things in New York were very different then to what they are now.

They talk about the attitudes towards redevelopment, what they think about the decaying parts of the city and some of the older decrepit buildings. Their conversations are so amusing. I chuckled out loud a few times as they bantered back and forth with their varying views on this most diverse city.

They took a bus tour into Harlem and when Patsy’s apartment complex next to Central Park was featured as part of the tour with the guide telling visitors incorrectly who lives in it they make it their mission to correct him.

The two of them often had conversations with each other that were totally separate. Helene would chatter away filling Patsy in on the history of certain places and Patsy, not listening would be talking about something completely different at the same time.

If you enjoy books that take place in New York then this one is so much fun. I also learned a lot about the New York of 40 years ago. I also have a confession to make. I have travelled extensively in this world of ours but I have never been to New York City. Though it is one of my favourite settings to read about. I have such a romantic notion of what this city is like. I’m sure that bubble would burst if I actually visited the place.

I only wish Helene Hanff had written many books because her writing is wonderful, astute and informative. I guarantee these two women will brighten your day. Snip20160609_6