Travel Book Review: Joan Frank’s Try to Get Lost

I tell everyone that I’m not teaching anymore so my husband and I can travel. That is absolutely true, and it is also true that I’m not teaching so I can have more time to write and read. Travel, reading, writing: the triumvirate for happiness. This puts travel writing–such as this collection of essays with a great title by Joan Frank–squarely in my happy place.

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On the Gravitational Pull of Things

The plan is to travel. Our children are grown, and we’re coming up to our last day of working full time. To get out there, we’re renting out this house and unloading its contents, ready to step into the next season of our lives with lighter luggage. 

So, we must deal with things. 

I walk through the rooms of our suburban house and inventory the objects, organize them into stacks, plot their disbursement. Sometimes, in a burst, I’ll unload a great deal at once. Sometimes, objects persist. 

For example, this gargoyle. 

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12 Stops on my Book-Love Tour of New York City

I’ve been to New York City to see the big attractions and dazzling shows, but my trip last week was something quieter and so sweet: a book-love tour of Manhattan.

This trip was my own creation–self-guided, budget-friendly, and flexible enough for browsing, contemplating, reading, and writing. I missed a few gems, but I also stopped at a surprising number of great destinations in my few days in the city: seven book stores, three museums, and two libraries. I walked or took the subway everywhere. Each night I fell into my clean, no-frills hostel bed exhausted and happy. Can I recommend this 12-stop trip to my fellow book lovers? 100 percent. It was wonderful. Let’s start with the libraries, shall we?

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