I’m not a hot weather person, as many people are.  I tend to stay out of the sun, a fear of wrinkles since I’m now over 30.  However, it’s been such a harsh winter, I’ve been dreaming of sunny days, vivid colors, the salty ocean.  A margarita or a tortilla on the beach.  It doesn’t matter because I am finding myself, like many other of our literary travelers, craving for that golden ball in the sky.

Maybe that’s why I chose our latest series of Mexico articles?  Or perhaps it was the fact I had such a good time in Mexico when I visited there – the warm people who suffered through my terrible Spanish, the delicious street food that I never got sick from once, the colorful festiveness on every street corner.

Whatever the motivation, I’m happy to introduce our Mexican series, complete with three inspiring articles about Mexican literary travels and an interview with Peggy Stevens Falkenstein, Mexican travel writer.

Frances Calderon de la Barca: Life in Mexico

Chasing a Phantom in San Miguel de Allende: Beat Inspiration Neal Cassady

Edward Abbey Desert Solitaire in the Pinacate Biosphere Reserve

Peggy Stevens Falkenstein: Tying Loose Ends in Mexico

Stay warm and explore your literary imagination in sunny Mexico!

Jennifer, Network Editorial Director

Lehane is also the crime novel mastermind behind Mystic River and Gone Baby Gone, both adapted into powerhouse films.

Lehane first became popular when President Bill Clinton was in office.  Clinton asked his personal aide to find him some leisure reading.  The aide gave him Lehane’s Prayers for Rain, which Clinton was photographed holding as he emerged from Air Force One.

In the summer of 2003, I took a graduate fiction class at Harvard.  My professor recommended a talk by Dennis Lehane.  The conference  room was packed, standing room only, because Mystic River was about to come out in movie form, with Clint Eastwood directing.

Sitting there in a wooden a chair, I saw Lehane speaking in front of me, cracking up the entire audience.  With the flair of a Boston accent, Lehane told hilarious anecdotes of how his father visited the Mystic River set, met Clint Eastwood and then informed his son he could still get him a job at the local plant.  Lehane said that  Eastwood got a little “Dirty Harry on him” when persuading him to direct Mystic River.  Lehane said a limo driver was the best job for writers because you can write for hours at a time while waiting for the customer at any given event.

Basically, he was a man of the people.  Like Springsteen in Jersey, the working man’s hero.

Shutter Island opens this week and I will be sure to be there.  Though not the most literary film, it certainly will be a lot of scary fun.

Remember to explore your literary imagination with Dennis Lehane and Shutter Island . . .

Jennifer, Network Editorial Director

It is with a heavy heart that LT found out today that famed Catcher in the Rye author J.D. Salinger died at the age of 91 of natural causes in his New Hampshire home.

Catcher in the Rye is the novel that defined adolescent angst for so many high school students in the US.  Published in 1951, the book became a literary staple in classrooms as well as in the hearts of American readers.

Salinger lived a reclusive life in the town of Cornish, New Hampshire, refusing interview requests and publicity.  He also gave up publishing his writing, since he hadn’t published a story since 1965.

Salinger, however, came out of hiding in 2009 through attorneys to sue an author who wrote a continuation novel about Holden Caulfield’s life sixty years after the original book took place.  Salinger and his onslaught of attorneys sued the writer in defense of copyright and won.  Publication of the sequel has been banned in the US.

As we say goodbye to one of the most brilliant novelists of all time, take a look our Holden Caulfield-inspired LT article published in 2007 entitled: Holden Caulfield in Winter Manhattan.

Rest in peace J.D. Salinger . . .

Jennifer, Network Editorial Director

We rarely publish full-scale biographies.  However, this one was so compelling I couldn’t pass it up.

Introducing our newest article: Zelda Fitzgerald: The Roaring Twenties Icon by Sara Hodon.

Zelda Fitzgerald sadly knew the depths of despair all too well.  She lived most of her adult life in them.  Even sadder, her marriage to F. Scott was not the partying, drunken fun that it appeared on the outside.

Amidst all the chaos, Zelda attempted writing, yet failed.  She never reached the heights that her husband did, a mental anguish she never overcame.

Explore your literary imagination with the beautiful, mischievous and misunderstood Zelda Fitzgerald!

Jennifer, Network Editorial Director

Take a look at our hilarious, newest Feature article entitled:

Tips for Driving in England: Shakespeare, Henry James & Thomas Hardy

I selected this article in particular because it was quite different from our usual articles.  As author Hunter James crashes around the countryside of “traditional England,” he discovers what is acceptable in this unique literary world and what is not.

Hunter James uses driving as a vehicle, excuse the pun, to explore the native lands of Shakespeare, Henry James (and maybe some Brenda James?) and the insufferable Thomas Hardy.  Even a little Dickens might be thrown in there.

Can he convince the Brits at Stratford-upon-Avon that Shakespeare didn’t really write all of those stories?  Are his praises sung by the curator?  Read and find out!

Jennifer, Network Editorial Director

Time to make resolutions.  And many of us can’t keep them, let’s be honest.  It’s hard to stick to that diet, or lose those 10 pounds we really don’t need to lose anyway, right?  Try a solid New Year’s resolution you can do this year instead.

Here at LT, we suggest a reading resolution.  How many books have you read this year that involve great travels that inspire you?  How many of you still haven’t read On The Road or another great traveling work of fiction that you’ve been dying to read?  If so, then it’s time to set your reading resolution for 2010.

We suggest either trying to set an amount of books to read i.e. 10 great travel books for all of 2010 (we understand you like to read other types of literature as well!) or pick two travel classics you still haven’t had the time to read.  For ideas, troll Literary Traveler and see what inspires you.

Another tip comes from Sharp Brains, an article entitled 10 Brain Fitness New Year’s Resolutions by Alavaro Fernandez, which says:

“If you usually read non-fiction, try something new this season. Pick up a good fiction book. Or vice versa. For bonus points, subscribe to or simply read a new magazine, perhaps one that your partner craves? It will help you understand another perspective.”

We like that idea.

So this year, make a resolution you can achieve, and you’ll feel much more accomplished in 2010!

Jennifer

**Editor’s Note: LT thanks you for all your support in 2009 – we look forward to inspiring you in 2010 as well.  Happy New Year to all our literary travelers!

It’s very possible with a few clicks of the mouse here at LT.  First of all, we have our gift guide entitled: Literary Traveler Holiday Gifts.  You will find classic, timeless gifts for the bookworm in your family or circle of friends.  The best part is we’ve included gifts no manner your financial situation, or if you just want to splurge on that special someone or stay frugal this year.

For example, the priciest item on the list includes the Amazon Kindle, a perfect indulgence for the e-bookworm.  Another great item is the Levenger tote, priced at $58.  I bought mine a few years ago and I love all the pockets and the stylish look – I receive compliments all the time.  Or for the kids, buy the Kid’s Trip Diary for a mere $6.95.  Kids can record their travels, write and draw.

Not included on the list, but a great extra are Cinzia Designs Sunreaders (photo above).  Uber-stylish and sleek, these prescription sunglasses channel old Hollywood glamour – think Betty Draper in Mad Men!  Prices range from $24 to $135.  And each sunreader comes with a vogue carrying case.

To get into the holiday spirit, here’s an older article you may like: Who Wrote ‘Twas the Night Before Christmas?  A Literary Debate.  This article discusses who really penned this famous poem: was it Clement Clark Moore, the known author, or Henry Livingston Jr.?  There are convincing arguments for both sides, thus it is up to you to decide.

We hope all of this holiday info gets you geared up for next week.  Happy Holidays to you and your family from LT!

Jennifer

Can you believe it’s finally coming out?

We waited months and months, and now it’s delayed again!  I’m talking about the release date of the movie, The Lovely Bones, which is based on the best-seller by Alice Sebold.

I was excited to learn that it was to be released on my birthday, this past December 11th; however, the release has been pushed back yet again to January 15, 2010.

The movie’s director is none other than Peter Jackson, of The Lord of the Rings trilogy that exploded into theaters several years ago.  LOTR was such a phenomenon that it put Jackson on the directorial map for good.

Once Jackson read The Lovely Bones, he was so intrigued and inspired by the story that he immediately bought the movie rights, not allowing any other contestants a chance to bid.  After months of filming in rural Pennsylvania, the movie was sent to post-production and then screened by test audiences.

Apparently, the studio had geared all of its publicity toward an adult audience, yet the movie did not strike a chord with this demographic.  Instead, it received high ratings amongst teenage girls and very young woman. Perhaps this is the delay, is the movie studio back to square one in regard to publicity?

Whatever happened, I am glad that this novel is adapted to the screen, and I can’t wait to see it, even though I’m not a young girl anymore (sadly enough).

In the interest of not spoiling the plot for those of our literary travelers who haven’t read the novel, all I have to say is be prepared for an emotional ride, whether reading The Lovely Bones or watching it on the big screen.

Happy Holidays!

Jennifer

Alexander Pushkin: I Loved You Linen Factory by native Russian writer, Maria Kozyreva.  Step into a Slavic literary world where every year, Russians gather in the Kaluga region to celebrate the most famous poet of their culture.  Yes, the celebration does take place in a linen factory and you will see why it’s the most appropriate place!

Check out our newest article:

Philip Roth: Goodbye Columbus, Hello Newark by David Silon.  Here is a Newark, New Jersey you never expected, from the eyes of Pulitzer Prize-winner Philip Roth.  What was it like to grow up in warring Newark and how did this influence one of his most famous novels, Goodbye Columbus?  Delve into the city of old Newark and Jewish culture for the Hanukkah season!

The Kaliningrad oblast is a province of Russia.  Many people do not know about it due to its unique location, which is not connected to the mainland.  Instead, Kaliningrad is located between Lithuania and Poland and on the Baltic Sea.

Personally, I have never been to this province, yet I did live in Eastern Europe for two years, and have been in the Kaliningrad vicinity, visiting both Lithuania a few times and Poland once.  In fact, I lived in Estonia for two years, so I can assure you, it’s true, the Eastern European blues do exist, and they do emerge in the dark, winter months.

To find happiness while surrounded by bleak gray skies can be difficult.  For me, enduring my first year of darkness was the worst.  You are not prepared for the sun to rise around 10 am and to set at 3 pm.  And though it is “day” the sky looks like dusk.  A midnight blue haze eclipses any possibility of sun.

The other reason for misery is the wind.  Every day I would walk out of my apartment and say to myself, “it can’t get any windier, right?”  And the next day, it would be windier still.  People ask me the lowest temperatures I had suffered.  In Finnish Lapland, I snowshoed, dipped in an ice hole and saw reindeer at 40 degrees below Celsius.  In Estonia, my second Christmas on my way to Lapland, I survived -30 C.

So you can see why it’s hard to find a little joy in those extreme conditions.  Take a look at Lisa Piergallini’s article and find out how philosopher Immanuel Kant found it.

Happy Thanksgiving to all.  And remember to explore your literary imagination this holiday season . . .

Jennifer, Network Editorial Director