Armchair Adventures: Arizona’s Novel Destinations

“Novel destinations” have enhanced our travels through north central Arizona. Using the recommendations from so many of you, we’ve started some armchair explorations of Arizona. Today I’ll tell you about a few of them as we head out to north eastern Arizona. . .

   . . . land of the Navajo, Hopi, and Hualapai Indian Reservations.


Lieutenant Joe Leaphorn of the Navajo Tribal police – a character created by award-winning writer, Tony Hillerman introduced us to the Reservation.  

With the help of the delightful owner, I selected a couple of used paperbacks from a towering stack of Hillerman’s books on display at Bent River Books and Music, 1010 N. Main Street  in Cottonwood, a small town not far from Sedona. 


Thankfully, Hillerman’s  got more than 35 years of writing under his belt and a few dozen more adventures waiting for us now that we’ve discovered this New Mexico author.

I am almost embarrassed to admit that in addition to never having read Hillerman, we’d also not experienced  -- until now --the writing of Louis L’Amour, the author of some 89 novels set in America’s frontier – perhaps his best known being the Hopalong Cassidy series. (Photo is from his website which can be accessed by clicking his name above.)


I chose at random, The Haunted Mesa, from a bookstore at the Phoenix airport. The story based on the disappearance of the Anasazi, or 'ancient enemy’ as the Navajo called them – it is so engrossing that I can barely put it down.  And I’ll certainly be reading more of his books – soon.

I must thank a clerk at Barnes and Noble Bookstore in Scottsdale for suggesting Phoenix Noir, a collection of short stories by contemporary authors set in or near Phoenix. It is not a book I would have purchased had it not been recommended – it is dark.  The stories aren’t those that appear in tourist publications, yet it was one of the best books I’ve read this year because it gave me a look at the ‘other side’ of the city. I read them in short doses and let each story percolate before moving on to the next.



Phoenix Noir is part of a series of books published by Akashic Books; all are noir (dark) short stories and the dozens of cities in which they are set stretch across the globe from Seattle to Barcelona.

This post kicks off a new monthly feature at TravelnWrite – our Armchair Adventures. They require you pack nothing more than a book to your favorite chair.  If you have a ‘novel destination’ to be included in future posts, send it our way.

On the beach with Frances Mayes

‘The journey itself is home’  Frances said, quoting the 17th Century Japanese poet and haiku master, Matsuo Basho.

Actually, Basho’s full quote was, “Each day is a journey and the journey itself is home” -- the first entry of his masterpiece, “Narrow Road to a Far Provence.”

Long or short version -  it works for me. It’s the perfect response to those who say, ‘You are never home anymore.’ 

‘No, The journey itself is home,’ I will answer from now on.

Frances Mayes, the author who introduced the world to Tuscany and its sun, has been a friend and mentor of mine for nearly 20 years:

We both embarked on adventures of home ownership on foreign soil two decades ago. She and her husband, Ed, in Tuscany and Joel and I in Mexico.We had similar adventures along the way – she just had the good sense to write about them and make money – I didn’t.
She and Ed now spend a great deal of time at their homes in Cortona, Italy. Joel and I sold ours in Bucerias, Mexico several years ago.

I should mention Frances and I have never met; probably never will.  But I’ve read and re-read her books so many times that I feel as though we are long-time friends. She’s definitely a mentor.

Before traveling in Europe, I always grab my, now dog-eared, copy of “A Year in the World” to see if Frances spent time in any of our intended destinations and if so, what tips she has for me.  She is the one who introduced me to Spanish poet, Lorca, and inspired my search for his ‘duende’, that elusive earth spirit of Andalucia on our recent travels there.

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I’ve been reading her, “Every Day in Tuscany, Seasons of Italian Life” during my lazy afternoons on the beach.  It’s a touching look at  her experiences and life’s lessons learned since she lost her heart to Tuscany.

When I selected her to join me on our Hawaiian holiday, I didn’t realize that my friend Frances would be mentoring me again.

This trip, while providing us post-card perfect  idyllic tropical days has also found us being jolted –  far too many times – with disquieting news about friends. . . a colleague’s death, . . .a friend’s cancer diagnosis. . .another facing surgery. . .with frightening regularity the negative news has arrived.

Is it a sign of our age or could the moon and stars simply be out of alignment?  

We think about our friends. We think about us. How many years ahead will we be able to consider our days as journeys and the journeys home?  Life, like travel itself, is an experience in which we must anticipate the unexpected – but must it be bad?

So having pondering repeatedly those and related questions at seaside, I returned to Frances and as if on cue, she was also pondering similar questions and observed: 

“Life’s little wake-up calls. (Do they have to be so numerous?) Scroll down the list and start to wail – or shout out Carpe diem.”

Carpe diem, seize the day! Once again Frances has given me a phrase. . .one I’ve been repeating all week. 

We must seize the day –  yes, we will plan for next year’s return. . .in fact, we’ve been invited to dance with the the Honolulu Lions I wrote about earlier this week and who in their right mind would want to miss that. . .right? The reservations at Ko Olina, our Pacific paradise home are confirmed. We plan to be here under the Hawaiian sun. . .just as Frances will be under her Tuscan sun.

Carpe diem. . .seize the day.  . .each day is a journey and the journey itself is home.

How have you seized your day? Is your journey itself a home?

Book It: A Holiday at Home!

When we aren’t living out of a suitcase we are armchair travelers. It’s the easiest of getaways requiring no more preparation and planning than opening a book’s cover (or flipping a switch and downloading, for those techie’s out there).

We’ve often found that our favorite books are not those we we’ve selected, but those that have been recommended to us by friends.  So I’ve asked a few blogosphere friends to make some recommendations. . .novels, guidebooks, essays, poetry. . .whatever they think would  make for an armchair getaway in 2012. Here’s what they suggest:

Outdoor Adventure Travel

TITLE: “Lost Angel Walkabout: One Traveler’s Tales” (CreateSpace, 2010)

AUTHOR: Linda Ballou

Recommended by: Dick Jordan, San Anselmo, California.

About this collection of travel narratives, Dick wrote,  “Linda’s travels have taken her on a wide path across much of the globe.  One of the reasons I enjoyed her book so much is that I have actually ventured – albeit as a less adventurous traveler – to several of the places she writes about in Alaska, Arizona, the British Virgin Islands, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Montana and Wyoming.”

Freelance travel writer Dick Jordan, when not on the road, makes his home in Northern California. He writes one of our favorite travel blogs, Tales Told From the Road.

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TITLE: “The Lost Explorer: Finding Mallory on Mount Everest,” (Simon and Schuster, 2001)

AUTHORS: Conrad Anker and David Roberts

Recommended by:  Niki Sepsas, Birmingham, Alabama and the High Seas

George Leigh Mallory was last seen alive on Mt. Everest in June, 1924.  In 1999 professional mountaineer and co-author Anker discovered Mallory’s  mummified remains.  “Interesting read on Mallory, his adventures, and his death on Everest. Authors are still trying to determine if he actually reached the summit. Lots of vivid descriptions, theories on his death, etc.” Niki said.

Birmingham, Alabama is home to freelance writer, travel guide and cruise ship speaker Niki Sepsas, who has among his writing credits, a novel,“Song of the Gypsy.”

The Greek Connection

TITLE: "Greece on My Wheels” (Summersdale Publishers, Ltd., 2003)

AUTHOR: Edward Enfield

Recommended by:  Bill Kitson, North Yorkshire, England 

Enfield, in this lighthearted and entertaining book, tells of his adventures biking through the Peloponnese in the footsteps of romantic poet Lord Byron.

“This book could only have been written by an Englishman. . .for two reasons,” Bill wrote, “One that the humour is archetypal English and two, I doubt whether any other nationality but the English would be daft enough to have undertaken this adventure.”

North Yorkshire, England is home-base for Bill Kitson who has brought detective Mike Nash to life in a series of nail-biter crime novels; but he and his wife/editor, Val, hold Loutro, Crete close to their hearts as well.

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By coincidence, another blogosphere friend, Jeffrey Siger, shares the Kitson’s love of Greece and by further coincidence, writes about murder as well.   He shares a blog with seven other mystery writers around the world so he was unable to suggest only one book - he says head around the world with the books of those with whom he shares the blog, Murder is Everywhere:

“If you are interested in a trip to Thailand, read Tim Hallinan; France, Cara Black; Brazil, Leighton Gage; Iceland, Yrsa Sigurdardottir; England, Dan Waddell; or South Africa, Michael Stanley,” he recommends. And if you are interested in Greece. . .

 Jeffrey Siger gave up a New York law practice to move to the island of Mykonos, Greece where he has given life to Inspector Andreas Kaldis in a series of murder mysteries set in Greece.

Afghanistan from the Armchair

TITLE: Born Under A Million Shadows (St. Martin’s Griffin, 2010)

AUTHOR: Andrea Busfield

RECOMMENDED BY: Suzi Butcher, London

Suzi said, “Sometimes books take us to places we are unlikely to be able to travel to ourselves - like Afghanistan! I especially like this novel as it is filled with gentle humour, despite the obvious tragedy of the current situation. It is the story of an Afghan boy whose mother works for three Westerners, and his perception of what they get up to is often hilarious as well as extremely moving.”

Suzi Butcher is the editor of Packabook Travel Novels a great website to both browse and buy books and a related blog that showcases novels and novel destinations. She also has a fabulous on-line book club that you can join for free!

And Just One More. . .

By now your armchair suitcase should be full, but if not, let us add a final recommendation:

TITLE:  Book Lust To Go Recommended Reading for Travelers, Vagabonds and Dreamers. (Sasquatch Books, 2010)

AUTHOR: Nancy Pearl

Nancy Pearl was the librarian at Seattle’s Public Library; famous for her love of books and reading. She gave rise to the program, “If All Seattle Read the Same Book” which caught on in cities throughout the United States.

Since her retirement from that post, she continues to do what she did best as a librarian – find great reads and  recommend them. She has three “Book Lust” titles to her credit, but this one is perfect for armchair travelers.  And don’t get me wrong, this isn’t a list of books, it is a book about books from A – Z; beginning with A is for Adventure and ending with Zipping through Zimbabwe – a great read on its own.

Note:  I’ve added links on the titles which will take you to Amazon for each of the books recommended. There you'll find more description and reviews. If you purchase from one of these links we make a few cents, but that isn't our intent.  This post is meant to provide new armchair itineraries. Thanks to those who contributed suggestions - may you all have safe and satisfying journeys in 2012.

YOUR TURN! What armchair itinerary do you want to add to this list?

TravelnWrite: "Pack a Book" for the Road



Scottsdale - (c) Jackie Smith, 2011

While the High Plains Drifters were seeking sun in America's Southwest, we also were enjoying Spain. . .thanks to the books we were reading - one a novel and one a narrative - both set in our next destination.

Pre-trip 'research' is half the fun of our journeys.  And our bags, no matter how small, will never leave home without a book or two tucked inside. Yes, the printed-on-paper-kind of book that whisks us into the history of the place or that is set in a place we may be visiting one day. Really it doesn't matter if its about a place we are visiting, might visit, may-never-visit. Books provide us a window on the world.

We are armchair travelers and armchair shoppers as well.  Nothing like Amazon or Book Depository web sites to search for new reads. But often those are a game of chance: sometimes we find something and other times not - just like visiting the local bookstores.  How often have I lamented, "If only there was a place that had all those books in one spot so I could spend my time choosing between them and not searching for them."

And then a few weeks ago while reading a favorite blog of mine, A Traveler's Library I was introduced to a virtual travel book lover's paradise, Packabook.com . Created by London-based Suzi Butcher, this site groups books by country: novels, memoirs, and guidebooks. Countries range from Afghanistan to Vietnam; Bosnia to Brazil, Thailand to Turkey and dozens of others in between.

Packabook also has a great on-line book club, One Country One Book.  Each month a country and a book are featured.  The first week the novel is introduced, the second week the country is the focus, the third week offers travel ideas and the month wraps up with reviews and ideas for the next destination.  This month's book/locale is, "The Guernsey Literary and Sweet Potato Peel Pie Society." It's free and fun - I highly recommend signing up.

Me on "Zoba's' Beach - Joel Smith photo

Packabook has an accompanying blog of the same name.  And I can't tell you how much fun it was to add our reading recommendations after Suzi invited TravelnWrite to be guest bloggers.  Read our guest post to see where we followed Zorba and other novel characters on Crete.

Holiday Homework, Road Reads, and other Novel stuff

Nothing like a good book to get you in the mood for travel.

We turned to our local (just up the road 30 miles or so) travel guru Rick Steves’ for the homework part of our trip to Spain  Over the years we've come to appreciate his practical tips for getting around and saving money, not to mention hand-drawn, easy-to-understand maps. We've been reading his large book on Spain, but will only be taking one of his Snapshot Series books --  Madrid and Toledo -- with us. This series provides a compact, light-weight book specific to certain cities.

(I know you are thinking, why don't they use Kindle, or Nook or some phone with apps? Well, we pack light and between our cell phone, camera and Netbook, we have all the wires, chargers and batteries we want to carry - so give us a good ol' paperback in which we can jot notes and flag pages with the flick of a wrist and we are quite happy.)

Pre-trip reading:
I’ve learned much about the Spanish Civil War and the military coup of Francisco Franco in 1936, by re-reading the novel, The Return by English author Victoria Hislop. Caught up in the story she tells of Concha and Pablo Ramirez and their children, I’ve also learned much about flamenco dancing and its importance in the Spanish culture. Even if you don't travel to Spain, this would be a great summer read for beach or armchair.

A real life story by Frances Mayes, A Year In  the World, The Journey of a Passionate Traveler has almost had me tasting the tapas she ate and certainly smelling the orange blossoms as she has explored towns and cities in Spain and Portugal.  In her usual style she has also sparked my interest in not only the poetry of Spanish son, Federico Garcia Lorca, but in his life as well.  She’s also prompted me to research the Spanish concept of duende, in both flamenco dance and life itself. But, more on that later.

On the road reads. . .okay, so on the seas, reads:
I'll be seeing views similar to this photo -- taken on our repositioning cruise two years ago -- when I open Mark Twain’s Innocence Abroad the perfect re-read for the cruise. Then I want to find a copy of Bill Bryson’s Icons of England. . .you can never have too much to read.

We’ve got a lot of sea days reading time though and I am looking for your suggestions.  Any recommendations? Books set in Spain, England or France? Cruise stories? (I read Christopher Columbus's diaries on our last cruise and it was fascinating)

Note: Although I’ve added these books to the Amazon carousel on the lower right hand corner of the blog. I've also added a link in this post for those who get this by email and may want to look more closely at a book: simply click that link - it will take you to that book's page on Amazon. 

A Beach + A Book = Hawaiian Paradise

My new shoes are off - it's time to kick-back
j. smith photo (c) 2011

It's a kick-back Hawaiian Saturday . . .the kind where you do what you have to do early and then head to the beach with a book.

We try to read novels set in the locales we are visiting while on the road and we've been reading some great ones these last few weeks.  If you need a good beach book, try one of these:

Moloka'i by Alan Brennert (he also wrote Honolulu) who takes the reader back a century or so to experience a little known time and place, the Leper Colony on Moloka'i.  As the author's afterward indicates the research materials are vast and he's created characters based on historical accounts.  It's been a long time since a book has moved me to tears but the story he created of  Rachel Kalama was so beautifully told that I did cry at the ending.

Best South Sea Stories, edited by two University of Hawaii professors, was calling out from a shelf at Border's in downtown Waikiki.  The collection of short stories put together by  A. Grove Day and Carl Stroven are whisking me to South Sea islands aboard sailing vessels of all shapes and sizes in tales written by the likes of James A. Michener, W. Somerset Maugham, Herman Melville and Jack London, just to name a few.

And of course, a trip to Hawaii isn't complete without reading of the adventures of the rotund Chinese police detective, Charlie Chan.  This trip we've followed his work on a case in the last book of the series written by Earl Derr Biggers' Keeper of the Keys.

We found Love Finds You in Lahaina, Hawaii at our nearby Costco.  The title would have normally turned me off, had it not been written by Bodie Thoene of the husband and wife writing, research team Bodie and Brock Thoene (pronounced Tay-nee), I am eager to start it before we leave.  The duo introduced me to Prague and Vienna in another series of historical novels they wrote.  They have spent each spring for most of their adult lives writing and teaching in Hawaii.

Summer Travel - Novel Destinations

The next best thing to actually traveling there, is being transported by some writer whose skills with the written word take us from Kirkland to far-away places.  We've had some great armchair trips this summer to:

          "Winds of Crete" Loutro, Crete

• Crete - Two outstanding books of vastly differing subject matter have led us back to our favorite spots on this southern Greek island.  

A very used, dog-earred paper-back copy of Winds of Crete, by David MacNeil Doren, that I found in Portland, Oregon's Powell's Bookstore kept us totally absorbed as the author recounted the six years that he and his wife lived in Crete.  The book was first published in England in 1974.
        
Who Pays the Ferryman? a novel by Michael J. Bird, based on his BBC television series of the same name, took us to some of our favorite cities as we followed the story of Alan Haldane's return to Crete after a 35-year absence and the love story that ensues. We ordered this book, first published in England in 1977, from The Book Depository (which offers free world-wide shipping; no minimum purchase required).

•  Europe  - by train, bike, horse, boat and on foot in two books by a London journalist, Andrew Eames.

In his, The 8:55 to Baghdad, we tagged along on his 2002 trip from London to Iraq on the trail of Agatha Christie, the legendary mystery writer, who as a 30-something recently divorced woman in 1928 made the trip alone.  He masterfully weaves a biographical account of Christie into his travel tale that had us wanting to hop the next train from London and learn more about Agatha's travels. I came across this book in the biography section at a  Barnes and Noble.

(This book re-ignited our desire to read more Agatha Christie books and have just completed a cruise in her Death on the Nile and took an English garden tour in Nemesis.)

Patrick Leigh Fermor, the British travel writer who at age 18 in 1933 set out to walk the Hook of Holland to Istanbul provided the inspiration for Eames' Blue River, Black Sea, the story of his own journey on foot, bike and horseback along the Danube into the heart of the New Europe.

           Sipping raki with Bill and Val Kitson 

• England has been the setting for a murder mysteries written by Bill Kitson, the author we met in the tiny village of Loutro, on Crete's southern coast.

The first book -- in what we hope will be a long series of mysteries -- introduces detective Mike Nash, in a riviting read titled Depth of Despair.  I ordered it on-line through Amazon.  While not a travel book, the plot has taken us from tarns in England's Lakes District to Russia and back. It is a book with such a gripping storyline that it we found it hard to put down.   I've just received the second book in the series, The Chosen, also set in England, which by coincidence opens with an article, fictitious of course, from The Seattle Times.

Note: I've been able to add all but one of the books referenced in this post to the Amazon carousel that appears on our blog - if you click on a book it will open an Amazon page that describes the book, author, and offers professional and reader's reviews.  And yes, if you click on one of the books and ultimately buy it from the carousel, we get a few cents from the sale.  (That's a disclaimer; not a sales pitch!)