books
-
The Year of Living Danishly—Uncovering the Secrets of the World’s Happiest Country: Helen Russell
Published by Icon Books, 2015, 368 pages Helen Russell lived in London, working crazy hours with hardly any time off. When her partner is offered a job at Lego in Jutland, Denmark, they realize that it is going to be… Continue reading
-
Dancing with Cuba—A Memoir of the Revolution: Alma Guillermoprieto
Published by Pantheon, 2004, 290 pages Alma Guillermoprieto is a Mexican journalist who started out wanting to be a dancer. As a young woman, she trained in New York and then spent six months in Cuba in 1970 teaching modern dance. This… Continue reading
-
Tales of a Female Nomad—Living at Large in the World: Rita Golden Gelman
Published by Crown, 2001, 320 pages When her marriage starts to disintegrate, Rita Golden Gelman decides to go to Mexico on her own to take a break and think things through. Never having traveled on her own, she is nervous… Continue reading
-
Wild by Nature—From Siberia to Australia: Sarah Maquis
Published by Thomas Dunne Books / Allen & Unwin, 2014, 272 pages I love the way Sarah Maquis begins this book: “Put on your shoes. We’re going walking.” And walk she does, equipped with a backpack and a cart, through… Continue reading
-
Why LA? Pourquoi Paris? An Artistic Pairing of Two Iconic Cities: Diane Ratican
With illustrations by Nick Lu and Eric GiriatPublished by Illustre Books, 2014, 256 pages “When you fall in love with a city, it is forever.” This quote from Toni Morrison encapsulates the spirit of this delightful book. Diane Ratican has… Continue reading
-
Patagonian Road—A Year Alone Through Latin America: Kate McCahill
Published by Santa Fe Writer’s Project, 2017, 350 pages Inspired by Paul Theroux’s travel book, The Old Patagonian Express, Kate McCahill decides to take a year off and travel through Latin America. Unlike Theroux, she is determined to spend time in… Continue reading
-
Calabria—The Other Italy: Karen Haid
Published by Mill City Press, 2015, 280 pages Calabria is the toe in the boot of Italy. It’s the region that non-Calabrese Italians tend to look down on as crime-ridden and backward, something I found out for myself. When I… Continue reading
-
The Summer Book: Tove Jansson
Published by Random House / Sort Of Books, 1975, 160 pages Tove Jansson is a Finnish writer best known for her children’s books about the Moomins. This is one of her few books for adults—a gentle, meditative narrative about the… Continue reading
-
Radio Shangri-La—What I Discovered on my Accidental Journey to the Happiest Kingdom on Earth: Lisa Napoli
Published by Broadway Paperbacks, 2011, 293 pages Lisa Napoli was working at a radio station in Los Angeles, dissatisfied with her life, when a chance encounter led her to a radio job in Thimpu, the capital of Bhutan. All she… Continue reading
-
Forward—Letters Written on a Trip Around the World: Lina Boegli
Published by Cornell University Library / Legare Street Press, first published in 1904, 326 pages Alone in Cracow (in what was then Austria) and bored and lonely, Swiss pioneer traveler Lina Boegli decided to see if a woman could work… Continue reading
Women's Travel Books 