Tag Archives: travel

What to read instead of Eat, Pray, Love: travelogues by women

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If you are interested in reading about women traveling the world and living overseas, but want to skip the spiritual elements presented in Eat, Pray, Love (One Woman’s Search for Everything Across Italy, India and Indonesia), try these books. The archived blog posts give more information.

Reading Lolita in Tehran (A Memoir in Books) by Azar Nafisi

The Bookseller of Kabul by Åsne Seierstad

Kabul Beauty School by Deborah Rodriguez (archived blog post)

A Year in the World (Journeys of a Passionate Traveler) by Francis Mayes (archived blog post)

Tales of a Female Nomad (Living at Large in the World) and Female Nomad and Friends (Tales of Breaking Free and Breaking Bread Around the World) both by Rita Golden Gelman (archived blog post)

From this list, Tales of a Female Nomad is a favorite. If you want to read more about living in Indonesia, start with that title. A Year in the World did not hold my attention; I don’t think I finished it.

Do you like to read travelogues by women living overseas? What book would you add to this list?

Reading: Female Nomad and Friends by Rita Golden Gelman

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Female Nomad and Friends (Tales of Breaking Free and Breaking Bread Around the World) by Rita Golden Gelman

Reactions: Enjoyed immensely. Not as much as her first travelogue, Tales of a Female Nomad, but quite close.

This travelogue is different from her first book in that Female Nomad and Friends is not written entirely by Golden Gelman. The stories come from other women travelers (with a handful contributed by Rita, and one man) who share their adventures of life on the road. All of the stories share a common thread of food. Eating exotic dishes, helping in the kitchen without sharing the same language, cooking for new friends.

Add Rita Golden Gelman to the list of People I Would Love to Meet. Her life so different from my own!

Now that I’m done with the book, I’m going to try out the recipes that appeal to me. Yes, the book has recipes! Brilliant. I’ll be trying out the Thai dishes first.

Why I read the book: I can’t get enough of these books – women traveling the world, adventures into unknown lands. I love traveling; the packing, airports, meeting new people, the joy of returning to tell friends and family what you discovered. Dreaming of going back again.

It’s been a long time since I’ve had such an adventure. If I miss one thing about being single, it’s the freedom to pick up and GO. Raising a family and homeschooling has kept me close to my home turf these past years. I think that’s why I enjoy these women travelogues so much. I can live vicariously through them.

Homeschool – mom moment: Since I loved Tales of a Female Nomad so much, I was happy to find Golden Gelman’s new book at the bookstore the other day as I shopped with my 11 year old. When she read the cover, she immediately recognized the author’s name. Our favorite children’s book by Rita is Pizza Pat. Care to guess how many times I’ve read it aloud? It’s a good thing I like it too.

Female Nomad and Friends by Rita Golden Gelman

What I’m reading: August 2008

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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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