Courtsey of Gina Gagliano, First Second Books

When I picked up To Timbuktu, written by Casey Scieszka and illustrations by Steven Weinberg, I wasn’t so sure.  I mean, I can be a bit of a literary snob … yet at the same time, I like fun books with a unique twist.  Sometimes it’s good to relax your brain.  But what To Timbuktu offered was a book with heart, comedy and some pretty cool cartooning.  Definitely not the brain relaxer I had set myself up for–don’t let the accompanying cartoons fool you.  Instead, I was transported into my past as a young woman who studied abroad in the Caribbean and as a Peace Corps volunteer in Eastern Europe.  I kept saying to myself throughout the whole book, “They have it right!”

Allow me to explain.  The premise of To Timbuktu is the author and artist, Casey and Steven, are a young couple in a budding relationship.  Fresh out of prestigious colleges, they decide to explore nine countries throughout Asia and Africa together–even though they’ve been involved in an opposite coast, long distance relationship (she in California and he in Maine).  Yet they take the risk.  They teach in China.  They travel throughout Southeast Asia.  They live in Mali–all the while, finding themselves as individuals and as a couple.

The part that drew me in was the honest portrayal of living abroad in second and third world countries.  No, it’s not all sunshine and roses.  You certainly can’t change most things, as much as you want and as much as it makes sense.  And for your sanity, you do need to take a break from your surroundings once in a while.  Casey and Steven accurately depict what it is to be a first world foreigner amongst the natives, especially when they live in Mali for a year for Casey’s Fulbright Scholarship.

It throws us back into our ever-returning identity dilemma–are we long-term tourists?  Temporary residents?  Honorary locals?

Yes, what are they?  Casey and Steven leave that up to the reader to decide.  There’s also an element of could you survive this experience?  The couple comes across as VERY patient, even braving the obnoxious behavior of fellow American Chris, who invites himself on their vacation.  China seems like a cakewalk compared to Mali where they are taunted and viewed as “human ATMs.”

Despite all the brutal honesty, their story is fun and funny.  I thought it brilliant how Casey “interviews” each country and how Steven seems loved by all for his tall, skinny whiteness wherever he goes.  The couple shows a sense of humor too–from collecting Chinese Ethnic Minority Trading Cards to letting their students give themselves American names such as “Dad” and “Mummy Vista.”  And you come to love the people who love Casey and Steven, who coincidentally all have names that start with the letter M … Mabo, Moussa, Maria.  What’s up with that?

Steven’s artistry only adds to the words as I had a clear picture in my head of what these places were actually like.  And when I looked up what Casey and Steven actually look like, the cartoons depict them accurately.

To Timbuktu is a powerful mixture of soul and sincerity combined with a topping of humor.  For anyone who has been the first world traveler in a foreign land, this book will speak to you.

To read more about and/or purchase To Timbuktu, please click here.

Peter Kubicek w/ Jackson Pollock's Autumn Rhythm / Photo by Sheva Tauby

On a sunny and warm spring day, I traveled from my Westchester home on the express bus down to New York City.  After a pleasant ride (only 38 minutes!), I arrived at The Metropolitan Museum of Art on 85th and 5th.  The cherry blossoms in full bloom swayed with the breeze.  The emerald green of Central Park lured me as I sat on a bench, watching the joggers go round and round.  Finally, it was time to enter The Met.

I’m ashamed to admit it, but for the sake of LT honesty, I will.  After living in Brooklyn for two years and Westchester County for almost four years, this was my first time at The Met.  How shameful.  I’d even visited the Guggeheim, MoMA and The Museum of Natural History.

However, I couldn’t have chosen a better day and a better tour guide.  Peter Kubicek, subject of our latest interview, was my guide.  He earned a coveted docent position seven years ago and has been giving tours ever since.

I was first taken by the massive Auguste Rodin sculpture, The Burghers of Calais.  To me, it looked like a tribute to suffering and injustice.  The gargantuan feet of the men embedded in the earth, the nooses around their necks, the hands of despair covering the face of one man.  They all stood silently but bravely in black, robes flowing.

What struck me as we walked along was how Central Park was so well integrated with The Met.  Yes, of course, The Met is in The Park, but I expected a dark museum–like the Hermitage in St. Petersburg, Russia.  To my surprise, the windows gave way to the bright pink cherry blossoms, blue sky and cityscape.  I had the museum and the natural world.  I was having my cake and eating it too.

As the Monet and Picasso rooms were flanked by rowdy European kids on their spring vacations, we sidestepped the frenzy and opted for the serenity of the Asian world.  The Chinese Scholar’s Court had these interesting rocks, which reminded me of a cross between a volcanic rock and the elephant man.  The bizarre harshness of these structures mixed with the delicate, green plant life represented the balance–what Kubicek referred to as the “yin/yan” (or duality of opposites) the Chinese like to have in their gardens.  If only we Americans could achieve such a thing.

But perhaps my favorite of the day was the Jackson Pollock.  The painting entitled Autumn Rhythm (Number 30)–as seen in the photo above–was fitful.  As Kubicek stated, “there is no place for the eye to rest.”  This was true.  Calamity was not in Pollock’s interest.  The painting, to me, represented Pollock’s mind (perhaps alcohol-fueled mind), which seemed to never shut off.  Not until his untimely death.

My day at The Met was fun and refreshing.  It is a museum that lets the city in.  It breathes the life the people, the excitement of art and the spirit of New York.  Even though I am not a New Yorker, I almost felt like one in The Met.

Please continue reading Interview with Peter Kubicek, Author of Holocaust Memoir 1000: 1 ODDS.

To sign up for one of Peter’s tours, please see tour info.  His next scheduled tour is May 15, 2011.

Photo by Janet Halliday

Of all places to find Jane Austen, who would think The New Forest in Hampshire, England?  Writer Janet Halliday cleverly thought of this idea as she was inspired by Austen’s adventures in the nearby village of Beaulieu.  Halliday details the wildlife, plant life and springtime beauty of The New Forest in our latest article.

Literary Traveler: When is the best time to visit The New Forest i.e. spring, autumn?

Janet Halliday: All the seasons have their joys, but my special favourite is late spring/early summer; say May and June. In spring there’s the fresh green foliage, bluebells and primroses; in summer the foals are everywhere and the fabulous honey-scented heather makes the moor areas purple; and in autumn the russets and golds as the trees change colour are lovely. Winter is maybe best avoided, though, as it can be very wet and muddy.

LT: Do you think Austen’s time spent in Beaulieu had an influence on her famous works in any way?

JH: I’m no expert on Austen, but given her powers of observation I’d be surprised if some of the things she experienced on those visits didn’t end up in her works, even if the material isn’t specifically referenced to Beaulieu.

LT: Are you scared of the wild pigs of The New Forest?  We have wild boars in the US and they’re pretty big and terrifying.

JH: No. Just give them a respectfully wide berth – especially if they have piglets – and they’ll ignore you. They aren’t ‘wild pigs’, they’re domestic ones being allowed to forage, but you should adopt the same cautious attitude to them as to any large, untethered animal.

Incidentally you should never, never feed any of the ponies/cows/pigs/donkeys. It encourages them to come close to roads, to pester people, and to be less self-reliant. They are monitored by their owners and by the Verderers (people charged with the management of grazing in the forest) and if conditions mean the animals need extra feed, the owners will provide it.

Please continue onto our latest article, Ponies & Tranquility, Jane Austen’s New Forest.

By Ammon Monroe Aurand, Jr.

Yeah, I know.  I’m 11 years behind.  The novel Plain Truth by Jodi Picoult was published in the year 2000 and still continues to be successful.  However, I hadn’t gotten around to reading Picoult until this year.  I was inspired by our blogger Katie Davis’ feature article on Plain Truth.  After reading it, the intent of reading the book stayed with me.  When my mother gave me a free copy, I knew it was the perfect time to start reading.

I was curious as to why Picoult is so popular, especially with women readers.  I was also curious to see how she handled the Amish topic.  What I’ve found reading the book is Picoult did impeccable research on the Amish, detective work and the Pennsylvania court system.  I like a dark edge to my reading and Picoult brings it as she portrays the Amish as enigmatic people.  Katie, the Amish girl that’s at the center of attention, is a pious, young woman, but she also has a dark side, which makes her all the more human to us readers.

The woman protagonist, Ellie, a non-Amish woman and lawyer, is so flawed–just like the rest of us.  She’s successful in her career, thin, attractive and financially stable.  She seems to have it all.  But that’s just looking on the surface.  Underneath, just like Amish Katie, Ellie has a dark side that makes her so humanizing, she could be any of my women friends approaching 40.

And, of course, anyone who reads Picoult knows about her flawless descriptions that evoke a picture in one’s mind of exactly what is happening, but in a lovely and poetic way. In this excerpt, Picoult masterfully describes an Amish barn raising:

Mixed with the sweet, raw scent of new construction was the heavier tang of men’s sweat as they hoisted the other walls into place, secured them, and climbed the wooden rigging like monkeys to fasten the boards of the roof.

So I can say I fully understand why women love Picoult and why she’s so popular.  She creates a very human world where women can feel just like themselves.

Please continue onto The Plain Truth about Amish Country by Katie Davis.

Jane Austen's House Museum / Photo by Helen Palmer

Jane Austen arouses feelings of the provincial life in England.  The English countryside arouses feelings of home life with quiet villages and quaint cottages.  It is from this connection to English home that Austen wrote her best work.  Today, Jane Austen’s House Museum located in Chawton is open to the public.  Book-lovers of Austen’s great works can explore her humble residence and the place where she labored over characters, plot and setting.  Writer Helen Palmer has been exploring Austen’s House since 2006 as she discusses her deep connection to it in our latest Jane Austen article.  But first, Palmer answers a few extra questions:

Literary Traveler: In the article, you wrote that you’ve made many visits to Austen’s home in Chawton. Was there anything that stood out during your most recent visit?

Helen Palmer: My most recent visit to the house was memorable in that the village lay under several inches of snow, and all the trees were frosted white. This past winter was a particularly long and cold one in England – visiting the house in the big freeze gave me much more of a feeling for the harshness of life in Austen’s time. I could imagine Jane and her sister Cassandra huddled around the open fire to keep warm. Obviously it’s lovely to visit the house in the spring or summer time when everything is in bloom, but I’ve enjoyed seeing it in every season.

LT: Jane Austen continues to inspire us as writers.  Were you surprised to hear Austen was heavily edited?

HP: I was quite surprised – and fascinated to hear that NPR interview with Kathryn Sutherland at Oxford University. Like many people I had always had the image of Jane Austen sitting at her writing table with her quill, turning out perfectly polished prose. Learning that she had trouble with punctuation doesn’t change my appreciation of her as a writer though. The essence of her genius is unchanged.

LT: How does Austen continue to inspire you as a literary writer and travel writer?

HP: I think for me it’s her wit and lightness of touch that continue to inspire, both in writing and in life. It’s her gift for observation of people and their foibles that’s completely timeless.

Please continue reading our latest article: Jane Austen, A Beloved Friend in Chawton.

Robert Pattinson / Photo by Nicolas Genin

Water for Elephants was a surprise hit.  It reached #1 on the New York Times Bestseller list, captivating audiences with its young-old protagonist, timeless love story and circus theme.  It even has a big leading lady named Rosie, the elephant.  Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen was never supposed to succeed; Gruen was rejected many times by publishers but never gave up.  She finally found a small publisher, Algonquin Books, who helped turn Gruen’s book into a huge success.

From that success, not only came a bevy of die-hard Gruen fans, but a feature-length movie based on the novel.  The lead role of Jacob goes to Robert Pattinson, more commonly known as “Edward” in the Twilight Saga movies.  The beautiful Marlena, Jacob’s love interest, is played by Reese Witherspoon.  And Oscar winner Christoph Waltz (of Inglourious Basterds fame) plays August, the villain.  The choice of Pattinson raised many eyebrows, so it will be interesting to see how he is received by audiences in the role of Jacob.

Water for Elephants hits theaters on April 22, 2011.  The book is wonderful and has a magnificent, larger-than-life presence.  We’re hoping the movie is the same.

Henry James, Library of Congress

by Katie Davis

Henry James was not a one-hit-wonder novelist. Throughout his lifetime he wrote more than 22 novels, in addition to over 100 short stories, and many essays and plays. Though not all of his works became classics, he produced such gems as The Turn of the Screw, Daisy Miller, The Portrait of a Lady, The Wings of the Dove, and The Ambassadors, the piece James considered his “most perfect work of art.”

James’ accomplishments alone suggest a passion for the novel as a literary form, but in his essay “The Art of Fiction,” James makes his feelings explicit. As most people during the late 19th Century did not consider novels to be serious, meaningful works, James strived to convince them that the novel should be viewed as “one of the fine arts” rather than a work of mere “make-believe.” Fortunately for us, James sprinkled the essay with advice on how to craft the perfect novel.  So, for all you (budding) novelists out there, listen up! Henry James has something to say:

“The only reason for the existence of a novel is that it does compete with life.”

As a true proponent of literary realism, James believed a novel should strive to portray events as authentically as possible in order to capture the texture of the human experience. To accomplish this he advocated strict attention to detail and the use of thorough description. Without an “air of reality,” James believed there was no point in writing a novel at all.

“A novel is in its broadest definition a personal impression of life.”

For James, the real did not signify the objective. He believed the novel was indeed a reflection of the author’s personal experience in the world and that a work would possess more “truth of detail” if it came out of the writer’s individual impressions. Therefore, James prescribed to the well-worn mantra “Write what you know!”

“The only obligation to which in advance we may hold a novel without incurring the accusation of being arbitrary, is that it be interesting.”

Though Henry James believed the novel to be a literary art form, he did not ignore its primary function: to entertain. So if you are stuck in a writer’s rut, don’t be afraid to have a little fun. After all, James believed that novelists should enjoy the creative freedom of writing and he urged us to “take possession of it, explore it to its utmost extent, reveal it, rejoice in it.”

Happy Birthday to Henry James b. April 15, 1843

Photo by Paul / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

I’ve been struggling with a scene in my novel.  It’s a pivotal scene and needs memorable description.  I didn’t know where to turn for inspiration until I found an old book of literary short stories on my bookshelf.  The book hadn’t been read in a while–I could smell its age.  I opened to the table of contents and flipped through the names of writing legends: William Faulkner, Joyce Carol Oates, John Steinbeck.  For some inexplicable reason out of all these great writers, I was drawn to Eudora Welty and her classic short A Worn Path.

Let me share with you the paragraph that inspired me:

The woods were deep and still.  The sun made the pine needles almost too bright too look at, up where the wind rocked.  The cones dropped as light as feathers.  Down in the hollow was the mourning dove–it was not too late for him.

I was amazed (and still am) at how a writer can be so in scene, so in the moment.  Welty describes nature as if she’s looking right at what she’s describing.  These words are so carefully scripted and thought-out, I realized what a wordsmith she really was.  It’s not just the beauty of her descriptions, but how original they are and how Welty views nature as a sacred topic.  That’s what makes her one of the greats.

We applaud all of Eudora Welty’s literary contributions today, on her birthday April 13th.  Please continue reading our archived article entitled Eudora Welty: A Woman of Southern Charm & Dark Solitude.

Scott Turow

When you become a best-selling author who has sold more than 25 million copies of your books worldwide, you quit your day job, right?  Not Scott Turow.  The mystery-suspense novelist has had his books translated into over 25 languages, but he still works as a partner in a Chicago law firm.  Turow, born April 12, 1949, seems happy to wear both hats as writer and lawyer.  In his spare time, he contributes opinion pieces and essays to a plethora of literary magazines, including The New Yorker, Vanity Fair, Playboy and The Atlantic.

Turow has been developing his other creative side: music.  He plays in the Rock Bottom Remainders, a band of bestselling authors, which includes heavy hitters such as Stephen King, Mitch Albom and Amy Tan.  Their motto is simple: “The more people drink, the better we sound.”  Even though it sounds like a comedy, the band seriously donates all their proceeds to literary causes.  They’ve raised $2 million so far, and in 2010, they played their “Wordstock” tour to support the victims of the Haitian earthquake.

Scott Turow is a man of many talents.  We celebrate his birthday today, April 12, as his new novel Innocent hits the shelves.  Happy Birthday, Mr. Turow!

Book Cover by Janet Shaw © 1986, Courtesy of American Girl

American Girl Dolls is a little girl phenomenon.  The dolls are not of my generation, so I never played with them; however, the generation after me has fond memories of American Girl.  (I’m from the Cabbage Patch Kid generation.)  I found out about the dolls last Christmas when my fiance’s little cousins were playing with them.  They showed me the books that come with each doll.  I was shocked to see that one doll, Molly, was growing up in World War II.  Kit was another doll in crisis; she watches her father lose his job during the Great Depression and she must save the family’s home.  These are pretty heavy subjects for little girls.  I remember playing in a worry-less wonderland with my vapid Barbies.

I like that these dolls have a back story and that children are encouraged to read and learn about history.  I find it even more fascinating in this world of the Wii, X-box, Internet and a thousand channels of brain-rotting TV, the dolls seem to be thriving.  Writer Katy Kelleher reminisces about her childhood with her American Girl Doll named Kirsten in our latest feature article: Of Dreams and Dolls: American Girls and the Spirit of Exploration.