"My Book Club" by steph4867

Send Photo to a Friend

Walking the Bible - Bruce Feiler

One part adventure story, one part archaeological detective work, one part spiritual exploration, this book describes one man’s inspiring personal odyssey - by foot, jeep, rowboat, and camel - through the greatest stories ever told.

Feeling the desire to reconnect to the Bible, award-winning author Bruce Feiler set out on a perilous, 10,000-mile journey across the Middle East retracing the Five Books of Moses through the desert. Traveling through three continents, five countries, and four war zones, Feiler is the first person to complete such a historic journey. He camps in the desert, crosses the Red Sea, climbs Mt. Sinai, and interviews bedouin and pilgrims alike, as he attempts to answer the question: Is the Bible just an abstraction, or is it a living, breathing entity?

Along with renowned archaeologist Avner Goren, Feiler treks through Turkey, Israel, the Palestinian territories, Egypt, the Sinai, and Jordan, visiting the actual places of some of history’s most storied events, from the mountain where Noah’s ark landed (Feiler meets a man who claims to have found the ark) to the site of the legendary burning bush. He visits the desert outpost in Turkey where Abraham first heard the words of God and barely escapes arrest on Mt. Nebo in Jordan, where Moses overlooked the Promised Land. In each place, he scrupulously gathers the latest archaeological research and sits down to read the stories in their natural surroundings. In vivid, lively prose, he explores how geography affects the larger narrative of the Bible and ultimately realizes how much these places - and his experience - have affected his own faith.

Send Photo to a Friend

WIthout Reservations - Alice Steinbach

Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Steinbach took an extended leave from her newspaper job to travel around Europe in search of spontaneity. She started off in Paris, where she got romantically involved with a Japanese man and shopped; moved on to London, where she shopped some more; took a course at Oxford University; and headed to Italy, where she wandered through Milan, Venice, Rome, and the Tuscan countryside--and shopped a bit more.

Chapters begin with postcards sent to Alice from Alice, each with a bit of advice or a lesson learned. Steinbach, divorced and with grown children, appears to be much at ease traveling alone, making new friends along the way. Her mental journey through the past and present and the reassessment of her life, rather than descriptions of the places visited or the people met, are at the heart of the narrative.

This pleasant, slightly romantic, remarkable journey will find an audience in large public libraries

Send Photo to a Friend

An Italian Affair - Laura Fraser

When her husband of one year left her for an old girlfriend, Fraser, in her mid-30s and suddenly alone, was devastated. In a state of shock, she decided to take a trip to Italy. Finding no solace with friends in Florence, she traveled to the island of Ischia, where she met M., a married university professor from France with whom she began a casual affair that continued on and off for the next two years. In this gentle memoir, she tells of her rendezvous with her lover in Milan, Lago Maggiore, London, the Aeolian Islands, Morocco and her own city, San Francisco all the places where they carried on their fairy-tale romance, enjoying beautiful scenery, languorous days in the sun, fabulous meals and good sex. The professor, a man of the world who took such liaisons casually, had an easy, humorous, slightly mocking manner that was just what she needed to help her recover from her broken heart. There were no expectations beyond having a good time. "It's simple," he told her. "All you need is an older man who can handle you, who will take care of you, who will love to have sex with you."

What M. offered Fraser was far more satisfying and restorative than the psychologically complicated relationships she found in the San Francisco singles scene.

Eventually, she was able to get her groove back and even forgive her husband. Writing in the second person, Fraser steps back and looks at the experience without sentimentality, recounting a tender story that gives hope to women with broken hearts.

Send Photo to a Friend

Avoiding Prison - Wendy Dale

Avoiding Prison & Other Noble Vacation Goals: Adventures in Love and Danger

What do you get when you mix David Sedaris, Lucille Ball, and a fifth of tequila in a blender? You get Wendy Dale, who is quite possibly the funniest travel writer since Homer. But strain off the foamy giggles, and what you're left with is this: a raw, smart, and passionate woman, in search of herself and awestruck at the beauty of even the ugliest corners of the earth.

"What's a nice girl like me doing in a place like this." That's the question Wendy Dale has been asking herself for the last two years. From salsa dancing in a rum-induced haze and struggling to exercise in Colombia ("the guerillas were using the track again today"), to crossing international borders unconventionally and dodging bombs in Lebanon ("the good news was that they were 'small bombs'"), Wendy somehow manages to find herself in the midst of hysterical, adventurous, and often illegal situations. Case in point -- every time she heads to Costa Rica, she is forced to visit another prison. Although a jail may not be everyone's idea of a place to find a date, Wendy soon falls in love with a man, a country, and its people and risks everything she has to clear his name.

Send Photo to a Friend

The Hills of Tuscany - Ferenc Mate

A sensuous valentine to author Ferenc Máté's adopted homeland, The Hills of Tuscany brims with lush descriptions of golden dales, scrumptious meals, rich wines, and friendly natives. After years of nomadic roaming from Central America to Canada, Máté (a writer) and his wife, Candace (a painter), visit Tuscany and impulsively decide that this is where they will settle down. A year later they return and begin the hunt for their dream house. As the likeable Mátés (they're funny and suitably grateful for the chance to live in one of the world's garden spots) troll the countryside with a series of colorful Tuscan middlemen, it's impossible not to become emotionally involved in their quest. And when they finally discover the perfect abode--La Marinaia, a tastefully renovated stone farmhouse set amid scenery that Ferenc describes as "like being in the middle of a painting"--you're thrilled right along with them. Subsequent chapters follow the Mátés' growing friendship with their neighbors, who not only help rototill the garden but also reveal where to find porcini mushrooms and truffles in the nearby woods. All in all, reading The Hills of Tuscany is the next best thing to quitting your job, climbing on a plane, and finding your own Tuscan dream house.

Send Photo to a Friend

Spotted in France - Gregory Edmont

Travels with Charley meets A Year in Provence in this real-life narrative about a goggle-sporting, Vespa-riding dog traveling through France with his American driver.

Gregory Edmont is a young American writer living in Paris. When he adopts a sophisticated Dalmatian named JP, his life suddenly becomes charmed: He's met with smiles every time he and JP step out, acquaintances become friends, and the City of Lights becomes home. But the road beckons—and their good fortune continues—when they receive a call from the eccentric Dalmatian breeder, Madame Clix: JP's services are needed to sire a litter in the south of France.

Greg and JP start out as they mean to continue: with a leisurely dinner at a Michelin-starred restaurant in the French countryside, with JP enjoying his own special delicacy. Then the adventures begin: with a near-arrest, as the French athorities question the legality of a two-wheeling dog. They escape, but the roller coaster of a journey includes a breakdown or two, a coven of witches (who thankfully possess scooter-repairing skills), a cleaver-bearing butcher, and more gastronomic excursions. When they finally arrive at their destination, they discover the power of love... just not quite as anyone expected.