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Post by divtal on Oct 21, 2019 21:33:04 GMT
I have a neighbor who is undergoing chemo-therapy. Doctors, including her husband, are confident, so far. The further she gets from a treatment, the better she feels, but she does have some rough days. Another neighbor, and I, visit her when she feels up to it. We're thinking about books, with a touch of humor, that she might enjoy.
She has a great sense of humor. She's in her 70's, is very well read, and VERY well traveled. Two overseas trips a year isn't unusual. And, her destinations are not just the high-points of the Europe's most celebrated sites. I'm not sure about Antarctica, but she's been to every other continent. She's crazy about Australia, and Oceania. She loves "birding," and enjoys the "safari" type of journeys ... with a camera, of course.
The first book that popped to my mind is Douglas Adams' Last Chance to See, a chronicle of his worldwide travels with a biologist who was studying breeds of animals, that were/are teetering on the brink of extinction. Adams' British humor emphasized the serious difficulties of the journey in a delightful way. And, the book is also informative, and poignant. (We've taken into consideration the title, as possibly being inappropriate for someone in her situation, but decided that it's doubtful that it would be a problem, for the person we know.)
Her travels aren't "hikes," per-se. But, something like Bill Bryson's A Walk in the Woods, is the kind of thing we're looking for. I'll offer her my copy of that, if she hasn't read it.
I'm hoping that "members of the board," might have some other thoughts/recommendations. If all goes well, they may be able to return to Australia, in late January.
Thanks.
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Post by Carl LaFong on Oct 21, 2019 22:30:12 GMT
Bill Brysonβs travel book about Australia is a great read.
Itβs called In a Sunburned Country in North America and Down Under in the UK.
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Post by divtal on Oct 21, 2019 22:46:35 GMT
Thank you, Carl.
Bryson is so prolific. I didn't know of that one, and it goes on the list!
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Post by Jep Gambardella on Oct 22, 2019 11:13:35 GMT
Thank you, Carl. Bryson is so prolific. I didn't know of that one, and it goes on the list! There is another Bryson book about traveling in Europe. It was the first book of his that I read and it made me into a fan. If I remember correctly, just before he moves back from England to the USA he decides to "recreate" the trip he had taken in Europe decades earlier - so he chronicles his present trip and reminisces about the earlier one (part of which he took with the same guy who would much later accompany him in the Appallachian Trail hike from "A Walk in the Woods").
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Post by Carl LaFong on Oct 22, 2019 12:37:59 GMT
Thank you, Carl. Bryson is so prolific. I didn't know of that one, and it goes on the list! There is another Bryson book about traveling in Europe. It was the first book of his that I read and it made me into a fan. If I remember correctly, just before he moves back from England to the USA he decides to "recreate" the trip he had taken in Europe decades earlier - so he chronicles his present trip and reminisces about the earlier one (part of which he took with the same guy who would much later accompany him in the Appallachian Trail hike from "A Walk in the Woods"). "Neither Here nor There: Travels in Europe".
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Post by divtal on Oct 22, 2019 16:27:39 GMT
This is all great. I'm headed to the bookstore, now.
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Post by nutsberryfarm π on Oct 27, 2019 23:21:21 GMT
divtal two great aussy writers: Barcelona by robert hughes Voss by patrick white i'm sure goz has some good recs too!
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Post by goz on Oct 27, 2019 23:40:41 GMT
divtal two great aussy writers: Barcelona by robert hughes Voss by patrick white i'm sure goz has some good recs too! I googled this, however it is a great list and I have read nearly all of them, know a couple of the authors and two of the film directors of the subsequent films. www.buzzfeed.com/jemimaskelley/books-every-australian-needs-to-read To this I would add the brilliant 'A Town Like Alice' by Neville Shute, and am thinking of a few others. My sis in law is a book publisher who publishes award winning author Frank Moorhouse and a wonderful photographer David Moore.. Modestly I have my own book available on Amazon however it is expensive in US and is only a short biography historical book, needless to say not a bestseller, though I have higher hopes for the sequel on which I am working now.
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Post by nutsberryfarm π on Nov 16, 2019 0:45:31 GMT
divtal two great aussy writers: Barcelona by robert hughes Voss by patrick white i'm sure goz has some good recs too! I googled this, however it is a great list and I have read nearly all of them, know a couple of the authors and two of the film directors of the subsequent films. www.buzzfeed.com/jemimaskelley/books-every-australian-needs-to-read To this I would add the brilliant 'A Town Like Alice' by Neville Shute, and am thinking of a few others. My sis in law is a book publisher who publishes award winning author Frank Moorhouse and a wonderful photographer David Moore.. Modestly I have my own book available on Amazon however it is expensive in US and is only a short biography historical book, needless to say not a bestseller, though I have higher hopes for the sequel on which I am working now. "Scapegoats of the Empire: The True Story of Breaker Morant's Bushveldt Carbineers" by Edward Witton enjoyed the book as much as the movie!
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Post by nutsberryfarm π on Nov 16, 2019 0:46:38 GMT
I have a neighbor who is undergoing chemo-therapy. Doctors, including her husband, are confident, so far. The further she gets from a treatment, the better she feels, but she does have some rough days. Another neighbor, and I, visit her when she feels up to it. We're thinking about books, with a touch of humor, that she might enjoy. She has a great sense of humor. She's in her 70's, is very well read, and VERY well traveled. Two overseas trips a year isn't unusual. And, her destinations are not just the high-points of the Europe's most celebrated sites. I'm not sure about Antarctica, but she's been to every other continent. She's crazy about Australia, and Oceania. She loves "birding," and enjoys the "safari" type of journeys ... with a camera, of course. The first book that popped to my mind is Douglas Adams' Last Chance to See, a chronicle of his worldwide travels with a biologist who was studying breeds of animals, that were/are teetering on the brink of extinction. Adams' British humor emphasized the serious difficulties of the journey in a delightful way. And, the book is also informative, and poignant. (We've taken into consideration the title, as possibly being inappropriate for someone in her situation, but decided that it's doubtful that it would be a problem, for the person we know.) Her travels aren't "hikes," per-se. But, something like Bill Bryson's A Walk in the Woods, is the kind of thing we're looking for. I'll offer her my copy of that, if she hasn't read it. I'm hoping that "members of the board," might have some other thoughts/recommendations. If all goes well, they may be able to return to Australia, in late January. Thanks. hope all is going well!
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Post by staggerstag on Nov 16, 2019 13:39:45 GMT
I like Bill Bryson a lot. The first book of his I read was The Lost Continent, of the USA. There is something on every page to make you laugh. I remember one passage in that book where he had travelled to NYC and booked into an hotel in Times Square where "my room was so small I had to leave it and come back in again in order to turn around". Another favourite of mine is Paul Kilduff's humorous (and informative) account of traveling with Ryan Air around Europe's less known airports. My copy of this book also had a fake red sticker printed above his head (as a nod to the inevitable 'extras' that Ryan Air adds on to the initial price of their flights) saying : "Only Β£0.01* *price excludes fees and charges of Β£7.98 (full price Β£7.99)"
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Post by Carl LaFong on Nov 16, 2019 14:26:56 GMT
My copy of this book also had a fake red sticker printed above his head (as a nod to the inevitable 'extras' that Ryan Air adds on to the initial price of their flights) saying : "Only Β£0.01* *price excludes fees and charges of Β£7.98 (full price Β£7.99)"
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