Posts tagged ‘travel’

What I’m reading: August 2008

By Monica Brand, 26 August, 2008, 10 Comments

A Year in the World (Journeys of a Passionate Traveler) by Francis Mayes. Heavy on the food and history descriptions. I’m still in the first few chapters (Spain) with Mayes; not the most exciting read.

I’m enjoying Tales of a Female Nomad (Living at Large in the World) by children’s book author Rita Golden Gelman. I would finish it if I could FIND THE BOOK. I hate it when I do this, put an object down somewhere in the house and lose it (is it lost or misplaced? I hope it’s not misplaced outside. It’s a library hardcover).

Tales reminds me of the Gilbert book Eat, Pray, Love because both authors lived in Indonesia, by far the most exotic place I’ve ever lived. I like comparing my Indonesian experiences with other women. If you liked Eat, Pray, Love, you may like Tales of a Female Nomad. Tales isn’t a spiritual jouney like Eat, but there are spiritual elements to it.

While searching for Gelman’s book, I found this book. I started reading it months ago and – you guessed it – mislaid it. Maybe I’ll take Anytime Playdate (Inside the Preschool Entertainment Boom) by Dade Hayes on vacation with me next month to finish it. I like the fact that it’s the baby’s Daddy who authored this look into children’s television.

These I took out of the library but have yet to start them:

Without Reservations (The Travels of an Independent Woman) by Alice Steinback

Almost French (Love and Life in Paris) by Sarah Turnbull

Nothing to Declare (Memoirs of a Woman Traveling Alone) by Mary Morris

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What are you reading? Cybersurf over to 5 Minutes for Books to share what you’ve been reading this month.

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Relief blog post: journaling Indonesia

By Monica Brand, 23 May, 2008, 2 Comments

I’m at Relief Journal again today with the continuing saga of life in Indonesia. And it’s a saga, my Internet peeps. Today’s post has a smidgen of soap opera, which is scary because I never watch that nonsense. Except for a tiny lapse in judgment in high school when I would rush home to watch… dang, can’t remember the name of the show, but I really did get caught up in the drama.

Here’s a nifty story: Years after I quit watching the show, the actor who played the soap’s villain came into the Wendy’s where I had a part time job. He ordered a burger and fries to go. Yummy. (The actor, not the food, although I did adore Wendy’s chocolate pudding). I was going to say something like, “I loved your soap opera until I felt convicted it was sin,” but he looked not in the mood to be recognized, so I played it cool. Something in his eyes said, “Don’t be a college co-ed freak in the middle of this restaurant at 10 pm, I just want to quietly take my greasy food and go.” I can’t remember his name either, which is a good thing. If he ever Googles his name, I’d hate for him to read this.

Anyway, go get some Relief and leave me a comment. Please. Lucia had several comments last week and another on his latest post regarding The Path to Publication. If this were a competition, I’d be the big loser. Come on, guys, show me some love.

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