Book Riot's Read Harder Challenge discussion

I will be reading Werner Herzog for this one: Of Walking in Ice: Munich-Paris, 11/23 to 12/14, 1974

Barbara wrote: "Virginia wrote: "Here's another list of travel memoirs by people of color. I think I am going with Catfish and Mandala: A Two-Wheeled Voyage Through the Landscape and Memory of Vietnam...."

I recommend My Invented Country: A Nostalgic Journey Through Chile

Would Wild: From Lost to Found on the Pacific Crest Trail count for this?

I'm wondering if this book counts Into Thin Air: A Personal Account of the Mount Everest Disaster

Karin wrote: "I'm wondering if this book counts Into Thin Air: A Personal Account of the Mount Everest Disaster"

I would count it. Although the crux of the book relies on what happened on the mountain, Krakauer does speak a fair bit about what traveling to Everest entails and the impact "recreational climbing" has on the area.

Karin wrote: "I'm wondering if this book counts Into Thin Air: A Personal Account of the Mount Everest Disaster"

I would count it and it's a good book. Also, No Shortcuts to the Top: Climbing the World's 14 Highest Peaks is fabulous and would count even more than Into Thin Air, in my opinion!

I think I might read The Sex Lives of Cannibals: Adrift in the Equatorial Pacific.

I just read The Jaunt by Stephen King. I am going to count that as a travel memoir. The most unsettling travel memoir possible.

My aunt loaned me an old paperback copy of Come, Tell Me How You Live. It will be my first Agatha Christie!

Maybe I'm reading too much into the nature of this task, but doesn't the word "memoir" generally mean non-fiction? I see some folks referencing fiction titles to fulfill this task and am now kinda confused. Some clarification, perhaps, would be helpful. Thoughts??

Ashley wrote: "Maybe I'm reading too much into the nature of this task, but doesn't the word "memoir" generally mean non-fiction? I see some folks referencing fiction titles to fulfill this task and am now kinda ..."

I thought memoir referred to non-fiction as well.

Ashley wrote: "Maybe I'm reading too much into the nature of this task, but doesn't the word "memoir" generally mean non-fiction? I see some folks referencing fiction titles to fulfill this task and am now kinda ..."

I have always interpreted memoir as non-fiction.

I went the graphic novel route, and just finished Displacement: A Travelogue by Lucy Knisley, about taking a cruise vacation with her grandparents in their 90s. A very bittersweet story. I thought it was a good companion to her previous travelogue, An Age of License: A Travelogue -- the two together make up one journey, in my mind.

While I'm sure some will be able to rationalize the use of a fictional "memoir," such as A Natural History of Dragons, I imagine the intent of using that word in the task is to specify nonfiction.

The Jaunt is the only one I see that is fiction. And to each his/her own. There are not winners or judges of this challenge.

I chose The Jaunt 100% tongue in cheek. Not even written as a memoir.

30 Travel Memoirs for Your Read Harder 2017 Challenge

My life on the road, by the wondrful Gloria Steinem

Here are some more ideas for this category (it's been posted above, too, but it won't hurt to repost!):

http://bookriot.com/2017/01/23/30-tra...

Krista wrote: "Oh my. I was returning a book to OverDrive (what I use to check out ebooks and audiobooks from my local library) and did a search for this topic.

I think I'm going to tag [book:A Walk in the Wood..."

Read this a few years ago - truly a pleasure to read.

Shannon wrote: "So I have a question, do you think that An Astronaut's Guide to Life on Earth would qualify?"

I was thinking about doing this one too. It does feel like a bit of a stretch for the category, or maybe just a non-traditional choice. My other thought was one of Karl Pilkington's books, if just for a little levity.

Last year I read The Humorless Ladies of Border Control: Touring the Punk Underground from Belgrade to Ulaanbaatar and would recommend it to any one interested in DIY/low budget travels in Eastern Europe/Russia/Mongolia.

I was going to read Wild: From Lost to Found on the Pacific Crest Trail but I decided to go with a book on my shelf, won in a Goodreads Giveaway, The Wonder Trail: True Stories from Los Angeles to the End of the World.

Ariel wrote: "Krista wrote: "I think I'm going to tag A Walk in the Woods: Rediscovering America on the Appalachian Trail for this one.

That would mean a lot to me as out of college with my first degree I was ..."

Tip: don't read A Walk in the Woods in public. Bryson is hilarious. You will laugh and people will stare at you.

currenntly reading a. j. leibling's BETWEEN MEALS

I might read Michael Palin's Pole to Pole. But I'm really really tempted to read one of Ida Pfeiffer's travel memoirs. Ida travelled solo in the early 19thc to Jerusalem and then went to Iceland and other places. http://www.distinguishedwomen.com/bio... Some of her memoirs are available free on Project Gutenberg.

I read The Naturalist in Nicaragua by Thomas Belt, which is available in the public domain if you are looking for an electronic copy. It was a fascinating look at Nicaragua in the late 1800's, after William Walker's failed takeover and before the Somosa reign. There are a lot of really detailed passages about species of animals, insects, and plants, and geographic and mining interests, but there are also interesting stories about the people and their culture, and Belt's own experiences within the country.

Karin wrote: "I'm wondering if this book counts Into Thin Air: A Personal Account of the Mount Everest Disaster"

This was a great book, I read it last year and I agree that it counts for this task.

I haven't decided which book to read yet but I'm pretty sure one of these austronaut memoirs should work, because how many can write a book about travel in space?

I read Dark Star Safari: Overland from Cairo to Cape Town, and I'm pretty conflicted about it. On one hand, I knew very little about Africa (shame on me) going in and I learned a lot, but there was a lot of subtle and not-so-subtle racism on the part of the author. (I got particularly squirmy when he's in a canoe with an African and describes feeling like Huck Finn....) I'm honestly surprised how high it's rated!

C. wrote: "I haven't decided which book to read yet but I'm pretty sure one of these austronaut memoirs should work, because how many can write a book about travel in space?"

An Astronaut's Guide to Life on Earth was amazing! I highly recommend it!

How about a Paolo Coelho like The Pilgrimage or Aleph?

What about Shantaram... too much of a stretch for "memoir"? https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/3...

I'm reading Black Lamb and Grey Falcon for this one. It's large, but I've always meant to read it.

Erin wrote: "What about Shantaram... too much of a stretch for "memoir"? https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/3..."

I think a memoir for this challenge is supposed to be nonfiction.

I finished reading Pole to Pole last week. It is an account of the epic trip Michael Palin and his team made in the early '90s in their quest to go north to south by the 30o East Meridian. Based on diaries, notes and memories, it is fascinating. Illness, missing toilets on trains, getting lost, missing bags, and lots of Palin humour.

Graet List for task 8 travel memoir. I am reading Listening to a Continent Sing, about a bicycle trip across the US listening to bird songs.

Just finished Wild: From Lost to Found on the Pacific Crest Trail by Cheryl Strayed. Loved it!

I just read A Walk in the Woods: Rediscovering America on the Appalachian Trail and really enjoyed it. I read Wild: From Lost to Found on the Pacific Crest Trail a couple years ago and I find these accounts of long hiking trails very enjoyable and inspiring. Bryson brought the Appalachian Trail to life in a humorous way.

Jessica wrote: "I just read A Walk in the Woods: Rediscovering America on the Appalachian Trail and really enjoyed it. I read Wild: From Lost to Found on the Pacific Crest Trail a coupl..."

I just finished A Walk in the Woods! I enjoyed it and being from NH, it was fun!

am reading a j liebling's BETWEEN MEALS

I read What I Was Doing While You Were Breeding and really enjoyed it. I also spent my early twenties in a long relationship, started travelling and dating people as time and country allowed and then settled down in my late thirties to have a family, so it was a familiar feeling read.

Just finishing Riding with Reindeer by Robert Goldstein. If you've ever visited Finland (or want to), this is a delight. I'm not inspired to ride a bicycle from Helsinki to Lapland, but I thoroughly enjoyed the author's adventures. Humorous, descriptive and full of unusual characters.

My first book on this year's checklist. :)

I really wanted to find a diverse author to fit this task and ended up going with On the Noodle Road: From Beijing to Rome, with Love and Pasta. Written by a Chinese-American woman, it follows her attempts to trace the noodle along the Silk Road, while also reconciling the East-West differences in her own identity. Food, travel, identity - sounds great, right??? I wish it had been. Not only does she not eat a lot of noodles, but she spends most of her time musing about her marriage and giving us a superficial look at marriage in some of the more oppressed countries she visits. I would have thought this book was great if she had used it as a means to actually examine marriage (and family and food) throughout Asia, the Middle East, and parts of Europe, but she is distressingly cavalier about some very serious topics. Full review here, but to sum up, I was really disappointed and wouldn't recommend this book.

This isn't my favorite genre, so I decided to go with a short one: A Florence Diary, Diana Athill's published diary from a trip she took to Italy in the late 1940s.

Nancy wrote: "What I Was Doing While You Were BreedingIt was difficult to choose just one, since I love this category! I think I'm going with What I Was Doing While You Were Breeding by Kristin N..."

Was thinking of this one too :)

If you want a laugh, many of Bill Bryson's books would work for this one. A Walk in the Woods in particular is hilarious!

Has anyone read Burma Chronicles? Would this fit?

I'm going for It's On the Meter: Traveling the World by London Taxi.

I read Meeting Faith: The Forest Journals of a Black Buddhist Nun for this task. It's very meandering and meditative (unsurprisingly), and not a particularly standard travel memoir. I loved it, but I read through it very slowly, since I wanted to set it down and think about what I reading every couple of pages. It would be a great fit for the POC Spiritual Journey task as well.

I've started The Temporary Bride: A Memoir of Love and Food in Iran for this challenge.