Once upon a time, I was searching for travel literature via blogs, and I found this list which I saved on my computer (just found where I saved it). Some of these authors/books have been mentioned above, but there might be a few new ones in here, too. I would also add (if you don't mind a bit of natural history) the biography of Alexander von Humboldt, Homboldt's Cosmos, which describes his journeys in Meso/South America. The following are 100 great travel literature arranged alphabetically by authorÂs name: #01 Desert Solitaire (1968) / Edward Abbey #02 London (2000) / Peter Ackroyd #03 A Visit to Don Otavio (1953) / Sybille Bedford #04 Chasing the Sea (2003) / Tom Bissell #05 Down Under (published as In a Sunburned Country in the U.S.) (2000) / Bill Bryson #06 A Walk in the Woods (1997) / Bill Bryson #07 The Lost Continent (1989) / Bill Bryson #08 The Road to Oxiana (1937) / Robert Byron #09 Road Fever (1991) / Tim Cahill #10 The Muses are Heard (1956) / Truman Capote #11 The Songlines (1987) / Bruce Chatwin #12 In Patagonia (1977) / Bruce Chatwin #13 The Age of Kali (1998) / William Dalrymple #14 From the Holy Mountain (1997) / William Dalrymple #15 City of Djinns (1993) / William Dalrymple #16 In Xanadu (1990) / William Dalrymple #17 Out of Africa (1937) / Isak Dinesen #18 Stranger on a Train (2002) / Jenny Diski #19 My Family and Other Animals (1956) / Gerald Durrell #20 Bitter Lemons of Cyprus (1957) / Lawrence Durrell #21 An Unexpected Light (1999) / Jason Elliot #22 The Snow Geese (2002) / William Fiennes #23 Europe, Europe (1989) / Hans Magnus Enzensberger #24 All the Wrong Places (1988) / James Fenton #25 Chasing the Monsoon (1991) / Alexander Frater #26 In an Antique Land (1993) / Amitav Ghosh #27 Paris to the Moon (2000) / Adam Gopnik #28 Ghost Riders (2003) / Richard Grant #29 The Size of the World (1997) / Jeff Greenwald #30 Seven Years in Tibet (1953) / Heinrich Harrer #31 A Moveable Feast (1964) / Ernest Hemingway #32 Oracle Bones: A Journey Between ChinaÂs Past and Present (2006) / Peter Hessler #33 River Town: Two Years on the Yangtze (2001) / Peter Hessler #34 Kon-Tiki: Across the Pacific by Raft (1950) / Thor Heyerdahl #35 Barcelona (1992) / Robert Hughes #36 Video Night in Kathmandu (1988) / Pico Iyer #37 Ghost Train Through the Andes: On My GrandfatherÂs Trail in Chile and Bolivia (2006) / Michael Jacobs #38 Balkan Ghosts (1993) / Robert D. Kaplan #39 The Shadow of the Sun (2001) / Ryszard KapuÂciñski #40 Sea and Sardinia (1921) / D.H. Lawrence #41 Blue Highways (1982) / William Least Heat-Moon #42 Between the Woods and the Water (1986) / Patrick Leigh Fermor #43 A Time of Gifts (1977) / Patrick Leigh Fermor #44 Golden Earth (1952) / Norman Lewis #45 Artic Dreams (1986) / Barry Lopez #46 Red Dust (2001) / Ma Jian #47 Fabled Shore: From the Pyrenees to Portugal by Road (1949) / Rose Macaulay #48 The Hall of a Thousand Columns (2005) / Tim Mackintosh-Smith

Just ditched the trilogy of Foundation by Asimov . I read Foundation and I quit them when I was halfaway through The Foundation and the Empire; I enjoyed the series when I read them more than twenty years ago, but at the moment I found them too "episodics" and not so riveting IÂm leaving to my loved mountains the day after tomorrow, and IÂm taking along, four Graham Greene novels: - The Heart of the Matter (a re-read) - The Human Factor (also a re-read) - The Ministry of Fear - and - Monsignor Quixote two George OrwellÂs - Burmese Day (re-read) and - Coming up for Air Robertson Davies - Fifth Business Alasdair Gray - Poor Things; IÂm really intrigued by this one. From the back cover What strange secret made beautiful, tempestuos Bella Baxter irresistible to the poor medical student Archie McCandless? Was it her queer origin in the home of monstruos Godwin Baxter, the genius whose voice could perforate eardrums? This story of love and scientific daring storms through Victorian operating theatres, continental Casinos and a Parisian brothel to its happy end in a decent, old fashioned Scottish marriage I don't think I'll read them all, but, just in case... grelobe

I have some to add before we turn the page of the calendar. Juliet in August by Dianne Warren. I liked this very much. Before We Were Yours by Lisa Wingate. This is a book club selection and I purposely didn't look at anything about it beforehand. I did accidentally see a pop-up somewhere that said "Blockbuster hit!" which made my heart sink just a little. :) This had me turning pages very quickly though and it was only when I was half-way through did I look at the book jacket to discover that the orphanage operation was based in fact. DH remembered reading about the scandal but it was news to me. I had to put it down by 2:30 a.m. since my concentration was failing but I finished up promptly with my morning coffee. Really liked this book and look forward to the discussion at March's meeting. My visit to the library this week: Isaac's Storm by Erik Larson. I'm looking forward to this since there were many here who spoke about it favorably. Also, Endurance: Shackelton's Legendary Antarctic Expedition by Caroline Alexander. I've started this one and so far, so great. I need to be in the mood to savor the details and look up places and terms that I don't know. The photos are excellent. There is one shot of the Captain's quarters that shows full bookcases. I'm so curious what's in there... Lastly, thinking I might need a break from all this catastrophe I picked up On the Same Page by N.D. Galland. I know nothing about this except that it takes place at Martha's Vineyard.

Second half of July. The Last Painting of Sara de Vos by Dominic Smith: Very much enjoyed this tale that goes back and forth between 17th century Holland, 1950s NYC, and present day Australia. There was one bit that I could have done without but overall a good book. 4 stars The Road by Cormac McCarthy: Another good one. I almost put this down a couple of times towards the beginning (another post-apocalyptic... do I need this?). I'm glad I didn't. It is a well written, moving novel. 4 stars The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel by Deborah Moggach: Originally titled These Foolish Things, it was renamed after the movie came out. I was looking for something a bit humorous. It was okay. I haven't seen the movie but was able to accurately guess which actors played some roles (typecasting?). 3 stars Open Secrets by Alice Munro: Finishing out the month with this book of short stories by one of my favorite authors. Being able to pick up an older book by one of my favorites that I haven't yet read always makes me glad that I don't binge read authors. Will probably be 5 stars The computer system of the county library system I use was attacked (reportedly by ransomware) a few weeks ago. The online catalog is not working and no interlibrary loans are going through (I have several requests that are in limbo until this is straightened out.). A bit frustrating but, as a library worker said to me last week, it has resulted in a return to the old practice of browsing the stacks. That is why my last few books (and the one up next) are all by authors with last names beginning with "M". I knew I wanted one book by an "M" and chose other books in the same aisle that I thought I'd like (with a bit of online/Goodreads referencing). We adapt. Happy reading!