LiteraryTraveler.net

This Monday, April 23, marks the first annual World Book Night in the United States.  Started in the UK last year, World Book Night is an extension of World Book Day, which is in its fifteenth year and is celebrated in over one hundred countries.  World Book Day was originally started by UNESCO and according to their website was conceived as “a worldwide tribute to books and their authors…encouraging everyone, and in particular young people, to discover the pleasure of reading and to gain a renewed respect for the extraordinary contributions of those who have furthered the social and cultural progress of humanity.”  The date, April 23, was chosen in particular for its literary importance, as it marks the birth and/or death of many famous writers including Miguel de Cervantes and William Shakespeare.  The date also has historical significance, coinciding with St. George’s Day.  Fittingly, in Catalonia, Spain, the day is marked by the giving of roses and books to loved ones, with the incantation, “a rose for love and a book forever.”

Similarly to this beautiful tradition, the giving of books is the backbone of World Book Night, which is modeled after a World Book Day event in the UK, which sends “tokens” to schools –redeemable only on World Book Day for a free book at participating bookstores.  Started last year in the UK, World Book Night is a spin off of sorts, geared to adults, and while the moniker would suggest an after hours celebration, World Book Night is an all day event.  Instead of sending out tokens to schools, World Book Night relies on volunteers to act as “givers.”  The givers choose their favorites from the thirty titles selected to take part in the event; this year’s choices range from Maya Angelou’s classic I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings to pop culture phenom The Hunger Games and 28 other titles with a variety appropriate for both older teens and adults.  The givers will receive twenty copies of one title and on April 23 will go out into their communities to give away the books free of charge.  The event is made possible through the generosity of volunteers, who give their time, but also the authors, who do not receive royalties, and the publishers and printers, who produce the books free of charge.

As the premise of World Book Night is to promote reading in adults who are not typically avid bibliophiles by nature, givers are expected to go to places off the beaten path for readers.  Instead of schools and libraries, they will set their sights on shopping malls and train stations.  One New Providence, NJ giver spread the word through The Alternative Press that they will be outside of a local Dunkin Donuts handing out copies of The Book Thief by Markus Zusak.

Almost 80,000 givers have been secured world wide and will distribute 2.5 million books on Monday.  The United States makes up 25,000 of those generous volunteers, spread over 6,000 cities and towns.  While it is too late to get involved this year, visit the website and add your name to the mailing list so that during next year’s event you can personally help spread the literary love.  For now, remember, if you are out and about on April 23^rd and see someone in front of your local coffee shop handing out books, smile, wave, and wish them a Good (World Book) Night!

Looking for a weekend getaway to the Big Apple, or perhaps planning a surprise trip for the book lover in your life?  The Library Hotel in New York City will make certain that your efforts are duly rewarded with bibliophilic charm. Conveniently located on Madison Avenue, the boutique hotel houses sixty guest rooms, and true to its name, the rooms are organized according to the Dewey Decimal System. Each of the ten guest floors are represented by a category of the DDC, with each room on a particular floor being uniquely designed in light of a topic found in that category. The eighth floor, devoted to Literature, offers rooms that range from Classic Fiction (Room 800.002) to Fairy Tales (Room 800.005).

While it is true that there are more historic literary hotels in NYC, such as The Algonquin or The Plaza, where literary legends such as F. Scott Fitzgerald once lodged, The Library offers a unique experience that will not disappoint. If history is what you are after, simply request a room on the ninth floor, which is dedicated to the subject. For a romantic weekend, popular room choices are the Erotic Literature room (800.001), or the Love room (1100.006) on the floor dedicated to Philosophy. From Astronomy to Mythology to a room in The Library dedicated to Libraries, there really is something for everyone. Request a particular room in advance, or enjoy the surprise upon arrival. Each room contains an individual library of books on the particular theme, and the hotel in its entirety contains over 6,000 books housed on its various mahogany bookshelves.

The second floor Reading Room is open 24 hours a day, offering a complimentary continental breakfast in the morning and wine and cheese reception in the evening. The fourteenth floor features a Writer’s Den, complete with fireplace, along with a Poetry Garden with access to a gorgeous rooftop terrace.The warm, comfortable atmosphere of the former is contrasted with the breezy eloquence of the latter and at night the two join forces to create the popular Bookmarks Lounge, where you can sip signature cocktails such as the Great Gatsby or the Capote in deep leather chairs by the fire or taking in views of the city on the terrace.

Extra incentives for the literary traveler include 24 hour access to an espresso machine in the Reading Room and chocolates left daily on each pillow inscribed with literary quotes. Specials and Packages are available through the hotel’s website and include a “Book Lover’s Deal” as well as a “Guilty Pleasure Package” which includes a selection of books from the historic Strand Bookstore, handpicked or selected based on your individual interests, as well as admission for two to the Morgan Library and Museum.

While there’s no shortage of hotels in New York City, the unique ambiance and bookish allure of The Library Hotel is a nice little niche.

Photo by Michael Cavén

When traveling Europe by train, one is subjected to many hours of butt-numbingly cramped quarters with only miles upon miles of countryside sameness to stimulate the mind. There’s not much to do besides watch the wooded hills and rolling farmlands melt by through dingy glass. Thusly, the literary traveler must be properly equipped. Armed with an absorbing novel or a rollicking history, the literary traveler can vanish an eight-hour leg into nothing.

For experienced readers, eight hours can translate into hundreds of pages. By the time you’ve arrived at your destination, you’ve finished the book, read the about the author and closely studied the copyright information. But never fear! Go find your lodgings, relieve yourself of your bags, refuel with the local fare, check a few items off your sightseeing list and then it’s time to reload. Europe’s major cities are home to some of the world’s finest bookshops. But unless you speak the native language, they’re not all going to work for you. However, the following list of shops definitely will. So, fellow book hunters and European travelers, I bequeath to you five of the choicest English language bookshops.

1. London Review Bookshop 14 Bury Place, Bloomsbury, London

In a neighborhood full of wonderful hole-in-wall bookshops, LRB is surely Bloomsbury’s finest for both popular and academic books. Just a block from the British Museum, this well stocked shop is one to get lost in. Take a seat in one of the plush armchairs and choose your next destination as you flip through their impressive travel section. If you’re lucky, you’ll stop by during one of the frequent literary discussions or lectures put on by the shop’s friendly, passionate and somewhat cheeky staff. When I remarked on the fine condition of the shop’s older volumes, the cashier winked conspiratorially and murmured that he had a first edition of Darwin’s “Origin of Species” in the back room.

Purchases: Just one: a woodblock sized volume of Edward Gibbon’s seminal work, The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire. After all, I didn’t want to get bogged down with paper so early in the trip.

2. Shakespeare & Company 37 Rue Bûcherie, Paris

o Okay, so this isn’t exactly an insider’s pick, but the location and ambience of this world famous bookseller cannot be topped. Located on Paris’ Left Bank, a short walk from Île de la Cité and Notre-Dame Cathedral, Shakespeare & Co. is the literary traveler’s ideal break from a leisurely stroll along the Seine. Founded in 1951 by American George Whitman, who lived upstairs until his death in December 2011, the shop became a bustling epicenter of local literary and artistic activity. Whitman was an eccentric, free-spirited fellow who described the name of his shop as a “novel in three words.” Shakespeare & Co.’s bohemian atmosphere attracted the likes of famous Beat poets Allen Ginsberg and William S. Burroughs, who likely slept in one of the 13 beds kept onsite for travelling writers, artists and literary enthusiasts.

Purchases: With the long haul to Berlin looming large, I picked up two novels: Paul Auster’s novel, Man in the Dark and James Ellroy’s crime fiction, The Big Nowhere.

3. St. George’s Bookshop 27 Wörtherstrasse, Berlin

As I talked up fellow travelers at hostels and pubs looking for the inside track on the next city’s best English bookshops, St. George’s in Berlin was consistently and emphatically promised as one of the best I would ever set foot in. Located in the heart of the fashionable Prenzlauer Berg district, St. George’s is primarily a used bookstore but you will find its staff more than happy to make a special order if you are seeking something new or rare. Due to its trendy location, St. George’s staff and clientele is decidedly hipster, yet determinatively friendly. So even if you’re a self-professed square like I, and you amble in wearing a fanny pack with your sandals and socks, and possess nary a tattoo or piercing, rest assure you’ll still be welcomed as the second coming of Lou Reed.

Also notable, the easy-going staff allowed me free reign of the rolling ladder used to reach the floor-to-ceiling stacks: a virtue in today’s liability-worried world. Thanks to St. George’s lax safety policy, I ended up with a few gems from the top row.

Purchases: Kurt Vonnegut’s, Galapagos, David Mitchell’s, Cloud Atlas, and Steven E. Ozment’s, A Mighty Fortress.

4. The Globe Bookstore and Café Pštrossova 6, Prague

Though only founded in 1993, The Globe’s interior reeks of history. The building that houses this charming bookshop is over 120 years old and possesses vaulted ceilings that dwarf the jammed shelves below. The cashier’s counter is a giant slab of oak riddled with the swirls and knobs of old age. It is easy to imagine the counter flipped on its side, doubling as the door to a medieval monastery. The Globe is a great place to meet Prague’s American expatriate community who frequently drop by for the bookshop’s well-liked book readings and film screenings. Behind the shop’s dense, labyrinthine main floor is a lovely café, which is the perfect place to retire with your purchases. The menu is a delicious and fun mix of Eastern European-American fusion with a selection of Czech beers so rich and tasty it’s worth dusting off the old “nectar of the gods” cliché.

Purchases: In what was perhaps the most physically debilitating purchase of the trip, I picked up A Dance with Dragons, the gargantuan 5th novel in George R.R. Martin’s wildly popular fantasy series. I think I saw someone reading one of them in every country I visited that summer.

5. Paperback Exchange 4R Via delle Oche, Florence

I stumbled upon this quaint and quiet shop by accident. After climbing Il Duomo in temperatures exceeding 90 degrees, I was desperate for a place to cool down. The Paperback Exchange appeared before me like mirage, its signage promising both air conditioning and half-priced paperbacks. Done and done. With a vast collection of art theory and art history books, this shop is a must for Florence’s many visiting Brunelleschi, Caravaggio and Michelangelo aficionados. The Exchange in the shop’s name comes from the staff’s willingness to accept your old, well-loved books in exchange for store credit.

Purchases: Ross King’s, Michelangelo and the Pope’s Ceiling.

Well, fellow book hunters, we have come to the end of this list. I hope you all get to peruse the shelves of one (or all!) of the aforementioned bookstores someday soon. As for me, I am still battling back pain from lugging my badly misshapen pack which, due to my inability to pass up a good find, had begun to spring rectangles in the oddest places. Until next time, happy travels!

Jeffrey Eugenides, Artwork by Dan Park

There are a heck of a lot of “Best of 2011″ lists coming out this week. There’s the best music, the best films, and, of course, the best books. But with so many “best of” lists, put out by practically every blog, magazine, and newspaper around, it’s hard to tell which books really came out on top.

But fear not! After combing through some well respected sources’ “best of” lists, it was clear which books were the real winners. The lists consulted included those compiled by Publisher’s Weekly, Kirkus Review, National Public Radio, Barnes & Noble, The Economist, Paste Magazine, Slate Magazine, Goodreads, the Washington Post, the Washington Examiner, the Village Voice, the Los Angeles Public Library, The New Republic, Amazon, The Horn Book, Esquire, and The New York Times.

There were, of course, books that made it onto just one or two lists, but to really be the best of the year, a book’s got to make a bigger splash than that. Therefore, the books that made it onto three or more of these lists are posted below on this compilation of what may as well be called “The Best of the Best Books of 2011″:

The Top 15 Fiction Books:
1. The Marriage Plot by Jeffrey Eugenides
2. 1Q84 by Haruki Murakami
3. State of Wonder by Ann Patchett
4. Open City by Teju Cole
5. The Tiger’s Wife by Tea Obreht
6. A Dance with Dragons by George R. R. Martin
7. Train Dreams by Denis Johnson
8. 11/22/63 by Stephen King
9. The Submission by Amy Waldman
10. The Art of Fielding by Chad Harbach
11. The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern
12. The Tragedy of Arthur by Arthur Phillips
13. Swamplandia! by Karen Russell
14. The Paris Wife by Paula McLain
15. The Pale King by David Foster Wallace

The Top 13 Nonfiction Books:
1. Blood, Bones, and Butter by Gabrielle Hamilton
2. Blue Nights by Joan Didion
3. The Swerve: How the World Became Modern by Stephen Greenblatt
4. Bossypants by Tina Fey
5. Townie: A Memoir by Andre Dubus III
6. In the Garden of Beasts: Love, Terror, and an American Family in Hitler’s Berlin by Erik Larson
7. Hemingway’s Boat by Paul Hendrickson
8. The Information: A History, a Theory, a Flood by James Gleick
9. Malcolm X: A Life of Reinvention by Manning Marable
10. Thinking, Fast and Slow by Daniel Kahneman
11. Catherine the Great by Robert K. Massie
12. 1861: The Civil War Awakening by Adam Goodheart
13. Charles Dickens: A Life by Claire Tomalin

The Top 11 Young Adult Books:
1. Divergent by Veronica Roth
2. The Scorpio Races by Maggie Stiefvater
3. Daughter of Smoke and Bone by Laini Taylor
4. Between Shades of Gray by Ruta Sepetys
5. Blink & Caution by Tim Wynne-Jones
6. Beauty Queens by Libba Bray
7. Anya’s Ghost by Vera Brosgol
8. The Future of Us by Jay Asher and Carolyn Mackler
9. The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland in a Ship of Her Own Making by Catherynne M. Valente
10. A Monster Calls by Patrick Ness
11. Chime by Franny Billingsley

The clear favorite of critics is The Marriage Plot, which shows up on seven different lists. Additionally, 1Q84, Divergent, and Blood, Bones, and Butter all made it onto six. It goes to show how diverse readers’ (and editors’) tastes are across America. Clearly, though, there’s still common ground, and if you’re looking for a good book to devour this holiday season, chances are you’ll find plenty of worthwhile material on this list.

I’ve heard critics of the e-reader mention everything from the death of book publishing to the strain on our eyes as their reasons for eschewing this new technology.  They scoff at the tidy little devices, the Kindles with their bland gray screens and the flashy gloss of the iPad.  They aren’t interested in seeing what should be–in their opinions–carefully tucked away behind a mussed-up cover all splayed out on a screen.  Like all Luddites, they cling fruitlessly to their books and magazines, holding out their paper products for all the world to see.  Look, they cry, I still read, as though the very act of reading were somehow compromised by the lack of pages.

You might wonder why I describe the book traditionalists in such specific yet derogatory terms.  This is probably because I still number myself among the masses.  But I am slowly changing.

The change began months ago, when I received a Kindle as a Christmas present.  I did not fall instantly in love.  There were aspects I liked, but the idea of a little square of plastic replacing all my boxes of books?  Well, that just didn’t seem possible.

However, I am beginning to see the beauty of the Kindle, to understand the allure of reading off a screen rather than a page.  With one click, I can buy the book recommended by an overzealous friend.  My Kindle offers instant gratification–not to mention the ability to read whatever I please (I admit I have more than a few literary guilty pleasures), free from the judgment of the subway-riding populace.

Oddly, my Kindle also has brought me closer to strangers.

We tend to believe in the isolating powers of technology, but recently I’ve come to see that new gadgets can be excellent conversation starters.  And I am not alone in this observation.  Yesterday, The New York Times ran an article suggesting that e-readers weren’t a sign of the impending downfall of human interaction, but rather another way to open lines of communication between strangers.  Furthermore, they argue, e-readers are just plain cool:

“I think, historically, there has been a stigma attached to the bookworm, and that actually came from the not-untrue notion that, if you were reading, you weren’t socializing with other people,” Dr. Levinson said. “But the e-reader changes that also because e-readers are intrinsically connected to bigger systems.” For many, e-readers are today’s must-have accessory, eroding old notions of what being bookish might have meant. “Buying literature has become cool again,” he said.

I don’t know whether my Kindle signals to the rest of the universe that I’m a hip, modern bookworm.  But it could scream nerd for all I care.  I’m slowly evolving from book-lover to simply word-lover, and the change feels great.  So, go ahead, ask me about my Kindle.  Just don’t ask me what I’m reading–it might be kind of embarrassing.

Today, in honor the holiday and the long weekend, I’ve decided to forgo Friday links and instead focus on one of my favorite American authors: Mark Twain.

For a lot of people, “summer reading” means one of two things. Either they’re referring to the mandatory “great books” assigned by High school English teachers or they’re talking about the light, “trashy,” less-than-literary novels commonly termed “beach reads.”  But when I hear the term “summer books,” I think about something else entirely.

For me, a summer book is one that I return to over and over, one that breathes heat out of its pages and soothes with its particular brand of fantasy.  These books feel carefree – reading a summer classic is about as satisfying as climbing a tree, or diving into a swimming hole.

My all-time favorite summer book is The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, though Huck Finn comes in at a close second.  These novels perfectly capture the mischievousness of childhood, the excitement and the continual yearning for freedom.  They speak to a part of me that still sometimes secretly longs to run away from home and join a circus, or a band of traveling musicians, or just float lazily down a river, ignoring all of my other responsibilities.  With his sharp wit and ability to capture the local color perfectly, Twain transports me back to a different time, one that only appears simpler at first glance.

Another reason I love Twain has less to do with his characters and more to do with the setting.  Twain is an American Author.  He is quite possibly the quintessential American Author.  Not only does he write in that hilarious, rambling, biting-yet-kind voice that feels so American, he also manages to inject each of his novels all the beauty of our country while remaining authentic.  He does not sugar-coat his books; childhood is not a perfect place, free of tension.  Tom and Huck may not be aware of the great injustices of the world at the beginning of their journeys, but as they grow and progress, they come to see our world for what it really is.

This July 4th, do America proud and pick up a book by one of our many great authors.  If Twain isn’t your cup of tea, how about some Faulkner?  Or Melville?  (May I suggest Benito Cereno?)  Or, if you don’t have that much time, check out one of our articles on Mark Twain, which include A Revealing Interview with Terrell Dempsy, Author of Searching for Jim: Slavery in Sam Clemens’s World, Mark Twain in Unionville, Nevada, and Finding Mark Twain’s Hannibal.   You can also search for other American authors at LiteraryTraveler.com.

Happy reading!

I am, it must be said, a good patriot.  I love my country and adore all things American.  However, America, beautiful as it may be, lacks a certain something. We might have wilderness and amber waves of grain, but our melting pot mentality makes a unified national character somewhat harder to obtain.

Not that I am complaining; I am thoroughly convinced that the United States is one of the most wonderful places in the world.  However, I occasionally feel a certain twinge of jealousy when reading about the historic centers of the so-called Old World.  As much as I adore our purple mountain majesty, I sometimes suspect that Europe has cornered the market on majestic.  There is a grandeur conferred on buildings and squares by age and the slow weathering of time that no amount of modern mechanics can ever recreate.

Today Literary Traveler has added a new feature article to our website, titled Sun & Moon in Montepulciano, Under The Tuscan Sun & New Moon Film Locations. In this piece, writer Deborah Downes journeys to a hill town in southern Tuscany to see the sights immortalized in two famous films.  Both movies (and both books) center around an American woman visiting Italy, traveling through the crowded city streets and learning her way around the new landscape and culture.  Although very different, New Moon and Under the Tuscan Sun share more than just a setting – they also share a sense of adventure, the over-brimming of excitement that comes with the exploration of an ancient place, and the somewhat contradictory feeling that stems from the discovery of something new.

Join us in Italy this May Day by taking a look at our newest feature article.  Not only did Downes teach me a thing or two about Italian history, but she also takes her readers on an imaginative journey through the snaking alleyways and winding streets of Montepulciano.  For those of us unable to travel across the Atlantic, this is the perfect weekend getaway.  Just try not to get lost.

Reading our newest feature article, on Henry Miller’s Paris, I couldn’t help but feel that it had been written just for me.  I am sitting on my roof as I write this, soaking in the early spring sun.  Today the streets of Cambridge are rife with sandals, shorts, and other vestiges of summer, donned a little early out of optimistic excitement.

I think we get this way every spring – something about the hard winter wakens a desire for debauchery in all of us, no matter how slight.  Miller, with his graphic awareness of the human body, speaks to this new-found sensuality, a desire to eat, drink, and above all, be merry.  We have not yet reached the balmy days of June (which, I have been told, is named after the goddess of marriage because it is so perfect for weddings), but we certainly can dream.

However, one of the most distinguishing features of the dream is the surreal mixture of beauty and fear.  Like most major metropolises, Paris is a city of contradictions.  But Paris is set apart, distinguished by its uncanny beauty and history of decadence.  At the time he wrote Tropic of Cancer, Miller was, like many other great intellectuals, an American in Paris.  He was an expatriate, and as such, able to see the city for what it was, warts and all.  His Paris is not one of blossoms and romance and impressionist painting, but rather the earthly delights so powerfully captured by Hieronymus Bosch.  Yet as unsavory as this may seem at times, there is a powerful sense that Miller is truly alive in his works.

Writer William Caverlee drives home this point in our newest piece, in which he recalls two separate trips to France: one, taken in the 1970s when he was a young man, in love with Miller’s profanities and audacity, and a far more recent voyage.  Through his wanderings, Caverlee comes to see that there are several different ways of looking at Paris – and more than one way of reading Miller.  Cities, like books, are different the second time around, and not always in a good way.

But as for Miller, he’ll always have Paris.  Take a moment out of your busy spring cleaning schedule to read Henry Miller in Paris, the Mean Streets of the Tropic of Cancer and visit the so-called City of Light.

Every Friday, the staff at Literary Traveler will gather up the relevant book news from around the web, bringing it together in a handy post for book lovers to peruse.  Enjoy!

• The American Book Review asked several university professors to contribute some nominees to their list of America’s 40 Worst Books.  Some of their choices are – in our humble opinion – debatable.  They’ve included a personal favorite of mine, The Great Gatsby, on the grounds that it is “smug.”  Also on the list: Richard Yates’ Revolutionary Road and Cormac McCarthy’s All The Pretty Horses.
• On this day, in 1948, Jack Kerouac turned 26.  He wrote in his journal:  “Guess what?! – on my birthday today, wrote 4500-words(!) – scribbling away till six-thirty in the morning next day. A real way to celebrate another coming of age. And am I coming of age?”  Check out Barnes and Nobel Review for more reflections.
• Dave Eggers, novelist and founder of McSweeney’s, is also blowing out the candles on his birthday cake today.  Help him celebrate (in spirit, if not in person) by checking out  this fascinating interview with Eggers about his new book, Zeitoun.
• Is it possible to become a famous poet simply through social networking?  That’s the argument Jim Behrle made the other day when speaking to a crowd at the St. Mark’s Poetry Project.  “Self promotion is the only kind of promotion left,” he said.
• Ebooks are a little scary to many of us bibliophiles, but they may be the greenest way to access academic books and other frequently-updated texts. However, the case for the e-reader is a little more complicated than it might initially seem.
• And finally, congratulations to author Gail Haveren, translator Dayla Bilu, and everyone at Melville House.  Haveren’s novel The Confessions of Noa Weber was just awarded the 2010 Translated Book Award For Fiction.