Travel Books
Reads on the Road
- 2008-07-22
Top 5 Books for August 2008 - 2008-07-22
The August Travel Book - 2008-07-02
Lonely Planet - Dublin City Guide - 2008-07-01
Top 5 Books for July 2008 - 2008-06-05
Europe on a Budget - 2008-06-03
Top 5 Books for June 2008 - 2008-05-08
Top 5 Books May 2008 - 2008-05-08
Travel Book for May 2008 - 2008-04-08
Top 5 Books April 2008 - 2008-04-08
The April Travel Book - 2008-03-05
The March Travel Book - 2008-03-05
Top 5 Books March 2008 - 2008-02-07
The February Travel Book - 2008-02-06
Top 5 Traveller Reads February - 2008-01-15
The January Travel Book - 2008-01-15
The Top 5 Traveller Reads in January - 2007-12-11
The December Travel Book - 2007-12-11
The Top 5 Traveller Reads in December - 2007-11-02
The November Travel Book - 2007-11-02
The Top 5 Traveller Reads in November - 2007-09-27
The October Travel Book - 2007-09-27
The Top 5 Traveller Reads in October - 2007-09-06
The September Travel Book - 2007-09-06
Top 5 Reads on the Road in September - 2007-07-31
Top 5 Reads on the Road in August - 2007-07-31
The August Travel Book - 2007-07-04
Top 5 Reads on the Road in July - 2007-06-08
Top 5 Reads on the Road in June - 2007-05-03
Top 5 Travel Reads in May
- Shantaram by Gregory David Roberts
Shantaram sat on my desk for several weeks before I plucked up the courage to start reading the 936 pages but now that I've finished, I'm going to miss this weighty tome. Based on a true story this is a gritty and thrilling memoir of Roberts' escape from prison where he was beaten mercilessly before fleeing to Bombay. It's a story of love between men and women, father and son and Roberts and India. This love story is entwined with slum living, health clinics, the mafia, the black market, Bollywood, drugs, freedom fighting in Afghanistan, money laundering and much more. It encapsulates the heart and soul of India - the smells, the music, the colour and the heartache. It's gripping throughout, there are some hilarious moments and there are times when you will be reduced to tears - so beware of sobbing on busy commuter trains. You'll also learn some good Hindi swearwords - words you won't even find in the most comprehensive phrasebooks.
Shantaram by Gregory David Roberts is published by Little Brown Publishing (paperback; £8.99). It is also available through amazon.co.uk and all good booksellers. - The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini
I'm not the kind of person who reads trashy novels on holiday, so The Kite Runner ticked quite a few boxes for me. It's different, dark and it'll make you blubber in no time. Amir is a young Pashtun boy growing up in Kabul, Afghanistan. He witnesses a horrible crime and is haunted by the guilt of betraying his best friend, Hassan. As the friends become distant the Soviet Union invades - forcing Amir and his father to escape to Pakistan and then the United States. Amir marries and has a comfortable life, but still cannot let go of his guilt. Hosseini manages to manipulate your feelings with the greatest of ease and the characters are well constructed, but this is quite an intense read - so if you don't mind sobbing by the pool, make space in your suitcase.
The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini is published by Bloomsbury (paperback; £7.99). It is also available through amazon.co.uk and all good booksellers.
- Reviews by Louise MacDonald - Down River by John Hart
American thrillers usually turn me off more than the thought of digesting a puss infected sponge but having given Down River a chance, perhaps I was a little too quick to judge the mucus feeding literary trend. Adam Chase is the character with the most page space and sympathy for him is elicited through a tale or murder, wrongful accusation and family rejection. Five years after being ostracised Adam returns to the family fold, amidst a bout of fresh killings. It's slightly unbelievable at points and the grammatical errors are guaranteed to annoy the anally retentive readers in the crowd but overall, it'll definitely distract you during the merciless airport delays and rail failures this summer. The momentum is this book's strong point above everything else.
Down River by John Hart is published by John Murray (paperback; £7.99). It is also available through amazon.co.uk and all good booksellers. - Midnight's Children by Salman Rushdie
Here's a piece of random trivia. This is the only Indian book on the Time's list of the 100 best English-language novels. It won the Booker prize in 1981 and the Booker of Bookers prize in 1993 and 2008. Here's why. Rushdie centres the novel around the independence and partition of India, back in 1947. Your central character is a telepath called Saleem Sinai, born at the exact moment that India became independent. From here Rushdie launches into an allegorical plot where Saleem's life parallels the ups and downs of the free country. It's a tale comprised of aural history, not too dissimilar to the fairytale annals of the Aboriginals. It's also left a twenty seven year, award winning legacy and is most certainly, a tough one to put down.
Midnight's Children by Salman Rushdie is published by Random House (paperback; £7.99). It is also available through rbooks.co.uk and all good booksellers. - A Wild Life by Dick Pitman
The full title of this read includes: Adventures of an Accidental Conservationist in Africa. This doesn't describe the half of it. Mr Pitman did indeed fly to Africa on a whim, to start afresh in a career which he knew next to nothing about. What he successfully launched himself into however was a life of crucial, animal life saving and historical observation. Dick witnessed everything from the migratory patterns of Black Rhinos to the chilling aftermath of the war in Mozambique. The writing style is refreshingly honest, selfless and way above the egotistical literary sphere, so often inflated by wildlife crusaders recounting their tales of South Africa. It's morish and delightfully enlightening.
A Wild Life by Dick Pitman is published by Summersdale (paperback; £7.99). It is also available through amazon.co.uk and all good booksellers.
- Reviews by Rob Savage
