Tag: travel

Ice Museum

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Kavenna, Joanna. The Ice Museum: In Search of the Lost Land of Thule. Viking, 2006.

Reason read: I read somewhere that the Shetland Viking Fire Festival takes place every January.

Kavenna blames her obsession with Thule on Pytheas, stating he began the story when he claimed he had been to the mythical land of Thule by way of Marseilles. But what or where exactly is Thule? Is it a place of barren rocks, howling winds, and flinty skies? Is it a Nazi organization, a secret society borne out of prejudices and hate? Is it an ancient calling to barbaric Vikings and long-forgotten mythologies? Kavenna travels the globe looking for answers. She meets with the former president of Estonia, Lennart Meri, searching for the true Thule. She travels to a former Thule settlement in Greenland and talks with scientists about global warming and the threat to the region’s polar bears.
Throughout Kavenna’s journey her descriptions of the landscape and people are stunning. Her words crackle with the cold and demonstrate the warmth of the people.
Eye opening moment: I guess I never thought about it before. Nazis believed Iceland was the cradle of Germanic culture. That makes sense with the blond hair, blue eyes, and fair skin of its residents.

Favorite description of Iceland, “A land like a disaster film, a natural gore-flick- the country scattered with the innards of the earth” (p 68).
Here is another line I liked, “the past and the future lurked at the edges of the day time dusk” (p 288).

Author fact: even as a small child Kavenna was urging her parents to travel with her.

Book trivia: there are no photographs or illustrations of any king in The Ice Museum. Not even the author has representation.

Music: “I Do Like to be Beside the Seaside.”

BookLust Twist: from Book Lust To Go in the chapter called “Sheltering in the Shetlands” (p 204).

Windows of Brimnes

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Holm, Bill. Windows of Brimnes: an American in Iceland. Milkweed Editions, 2008.

Reason read: Iceland won its independence in the month of December.

Author fact: Holm is known as a poet, musician, Minnesotan, and all-around curmudgeon.

I wanted Windows of Brimnes to be all about Iceland. The culture. The food. The people. The flora and fauna. The traditions. The weather. Holm does not keep his focus strictly on Brimnes. Instead he rails against America, television, and modern technologies like cell phones and computers. He has his two cents about September 11th, 2001 and the subject of Communism. He traces his early years in Minneota and life during the war. Every once in awhile he comes back to his beloved Brimnes. Admittedly, these parts are so beautiful Holm makes me want to visit.
Confessional: I was forewarned about Holm’s rants about America. I was even urged to skip those parts. Because I can be a b!tch I decided to make note of every disparaging thing Holm said about the country from which he tried to distance himself. Here are some of the things he said: the United States is too much. It has too much religion, too much news, too many weapons of mass destruction, too much entertainment, too much electricity, too vast an area. America has broken connections to its past. America is indifferent to nature if money is to be made and greed always wins. America is obsessed with security and loves war of any kind. America’s sense of civility has fallen into disrepair. “Americans are a nation of mentally drugged cattle” (p 133). Holm was tired of apologizing for being American. I wonder what he would think of the state of our country now.

Three degrees of Natalie Merchant: there is a YouTube (PBS) video that is nearly thirty minutes long about Bill Holm and his windows of Brimnes. In that video he mentions Walt Whitman who is a hero of Natalie’s. She wrote a song about Mr. Whitman called “Song of Himself.”

Lines I liked, “Introverts never deceive you just to cheer you up” (p 57) and “I’ve had sixty-three years’ experience at being spoiled, and I’m almost getting good at it” (p 110).
Here is an example of Holm’s snarkiness, “The shenanigans of Bill and Monica were the subject of several of my favorites” (p 195). No need to explain. Everyone knows to whom you are referring.

Author fact: I am sure Holm was going for this look when he chose the author photograph, but he is one grumpy looking dude.

Book trivia: there are no photographs whatsoever in this little book.

Music: Anna Sigga Halgadottir, Bach’s Fugue in B Minor, Prelude from Well-Tempered Clavier I and Christmas Oratori, Beethoven, Brahms, Bruckner, Britten, Chopin’s Nocturn, Couperin, Debussy’s “Clair de Lune,” Dixie Chicks (twice), Dvorak, Faure, Franz Joseph Haydn’s Sonata no. 52 in E Flat Major, Hindemith, Fur Elise, Hall Bjorn Hjartason, Hindemith’s First Sonata, Leonard Bernstein, Mahler, Liszt, Loch Lomond, Mozart’s Turkish Rondo, Prokofiev’s Sonata #9 in C Major, Ravel’s “Pavane,” Rachmaninoff Prelude, Scarlatti, Scriabin, Schubert, Schumann, Swan Lake, Turkey in the Straw, Verdi, William Tell Overture, Wagner, “Waltzing Matilda,” and Wolf.

BookLust Twist: from Book Lust To Go in the obvious chapter called “Iceland” (p 99).

Seduced by the Beauty of the World

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Bloch, Donald and Iman Bijeveld. Seduced by the Beauty of the World. Harry N. Abrams, Inc., Publishers, 2003.

Reason read: India

Masti (Sanscrit) meaning (loosely): “the quiet, ecstatic surrender to the beauty around us.”
A dawn full of fishing boats bring a sense of community among the early risers. People, old and young, come to bathe in the Ganges and give thanks for the purification the healing waters bring. Citizens go about their bustling and hustling business, tending to their young and elderly alike. A culture of selfcare radiates from everywhere. People practicing yoga, getting massages, weight lifting and wrestling. The industries of bakers, barbers, potters, fishermen, stone cutters, teachers, marigold flowers sellers, cotton and tanning industries abound. The entertainment of camel racing is explored. The broad Ganges brings bathers of clothes and body and mind. The wilderness of Yakama, the once capital of Sikkim, with its misty mountains filled with butterflies and singing birds is in fully glory. Nature hides in plain sight. Readers will become intimate with the gods and goddesses: Allah, Kalijai, Indra, Brahma, Vishnu, Shiva, Ganesh, Parvati, Hanuman, Sarasvati, Surya, Jagannathan, Buddha, Yellamma, Menakshee, and Bahuchara. Bloch describes it all with stunning clarity and Bijeveld’s photography only adds to the beauty.
Edited to add: I forgot to make this comment. The last picture in the book tells a complicated story of struggle, defiance, and surrender. Heartbreaking and stunning in its complexity.

Lines I loved, “India is a land of ceremonies, rituals, processions, of bodies combining into crowds, crowds into masses” (p 13) and “This landscape needs no witness to exist” (p 103).

Author fact: the authors made four trips in ten years to India.

Book trivia: There are 152 color photographs that grace the pages of Seduced By the Beauty…

Music: one reference to Gershwin and another to Kishori Amonkar.

BookLust Twist: From More Book Lust in the chapter called “India: a Reader’s Itinerary” (p 125).

Africa on Six Wheels

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Levitov, Betty. Africa on Six Wheels: A Semester on Safari. University of Nebraska Press, 2007.

Reason read: Even though Betty and her students did not venture into Chad I chose to read Africa on Six Wheels to recognize Chad’s independence gained in December.

Betty Levitov took thirteen college students from Nebraska on a three month trek around the southern portion of Africa. By her own calculations they covered seven countries: Nambia, Botswana, Zambia, Malawi, Tanzania, Kenya, and South Africa. She wanted to transform the classroom into a “place of possibility” (p x). That in itself is an interesting topic for a book. Unfortunately, I found the continuity of Levitov’s story to be chaotic and sometimes hard to follow. At one point she is reliving her childhood, college years, and life with her husband. Without warning she switches to traveling with her students. Because she had taken several, shorter, trips with students there were times when I wasn’t sure which trip she was describing. There was the trip in 1998 (a semester in Zimbabwe) that she often contrasted with the 2022 trip. Plenty of flat tires and wrong turns!
As someone in the education field I appreciate Levitov’s focus on the curriculum and the attention afford to the learning outcomes. I just wonder what assessments she had in place to ensure success of the program.
As an aside, I learned a few things about Africa. For example, I never considered there would be a German population in Nambia or that there are specific names for the patterns of sand created by the wind in the dunes.

As an aside, one reviewer was pretty harsh about Africa on Six Wheels and said that the trip around Africa was not going to make Betty’s students into better people. Their trip was not going to change the world or have a profound impact on anyone.

Line I liked, “They owned their learning and claimed their territory” (p 180).

Book trivia: there are no photographs to this little short book. Too bad. Levitov mentioned Lonely Planet so many times that I wondered if their trip had been sponsored by the publisher.

Music: Beatles, Bob Marley, “Buffalo Soldier,” “Day O,” “Frere Jacques,” “Jambo,” “Jingle Bells,” John Denver’s “Country Roads,” and “My bonny Lies Over the Ocean.”

BookLust Twist: from Book Lust To Go in the chapter called “Africa: the Greenest Continent” (p 7).

Mystic Nomad

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Knopp, Annette. Mystic Nomad: A Woman’s Wild Journey to True Connection. Monkfish Book Publishing, 2025.

Reason read: as a member of the Early Review Program I get to read interesting books.

Annette shares a similar story to Elizabeth Gilbert. The entire time I was reading Mystic Nomad I was reminded of Eat, Love, Pray. Knopp spent eighteen months in India, Nepal, and Thailand searching for a way to quiet her mind. From intense meditation in an ashram to hiking in the mountains and taking classes in sculpture, Knopp tried looking within for peace. She even went to Australia to work in an opal mine. From there Knopp traveled to Japan, the United States, Costa Rica, and Peru. At thirty-two years old, she needed to come to terms with the relationship she had with the woman she called mother and more disturbing, her dependence on a predatory spiritual advisor. Her devotion to him was crippling, even after he caused her great pain. [As an aside, Annette’s relationship with Brian reminded me of Natalie Merchant’s song, “Seven Years.” When asked what the song was about all Miss Merchant would say was it was about a spiritual advisor who let her down.] Knopp’s path to self discovery was haunting and beautiful, full of joy and sorrow. She conquered obstacles and challenges while taking the time to soak up her surroundings.

Author fact: Annette Knopp has her own website here.

Book trivia: My e-version of Mystic Nomad did not have any photographs.

Music: Arthur Rubinstein, Beethoven, Sibelius, and Mozart.

Pagan Holiday

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Perrottet, Tony. Pagan Holiday: On the Trail of Ancient Roman Tourists. Random House, 2002.

Reason read: Tony Perrotte celebrates a birthday in October.

I don’t know which is more entertaining: Perrottet’s humor or his descriptions of traveling around ancient Rome and Naples. His denial about his wife’s pregnancy was funny (“…avoiding our impending parenthood situation” (p 127) as he called it. He certainly went to great lengths to see ancient Italy as a tourist would. Diving to see the lost town of Baiae with its spas, village, and lighthouse was interesting. Visiting the ancient hook-up spots and gladiator arenas. Imagining ancient day Ubers with stables for renting mule-pulled wagons. One’s status dictated how many mules pulled a customer around and whether or not he or she had a mule driver. Speaking of driving – what about chariot road rage as compared to modern day six lane highway antics? Or imagine soliciting a prostitute at their “office” better known as the local cemetery. Perrottet also visited Greece and Turkey hauling along his increasingly pregnant wife. Learning the sex of the child while on their journey brought them both one step closer to the reality of becoming parents, but it didn’t stop Perrottet from seeking out lost cities and crawling around pyramids.

As an aside, I would like to know if the Appian way is still lined with family vaults. That would be pretty interesting to see. I also want to know if Medusa’s head still graces with Arcadian Way.

Author fact: Tony Perrottet also authored Naked Olympics which is on my Challenge list.

Book trivia: Pagan Holiday was originally published as Route 66 A.D.

Music: “O mio babbino caro,” Jim Morrison, George Michael, Ringo Starr, “Zorba,” the Beatles, “Frere Jacques,” U2’s “Still Haven’t Found What I’m looking For,” Cole Porter,

Natalie connection: Sir Lawrence Alma-Tadema was a pre-Raphaelite painter featured in Pagan Holiday. His daughter wrote a poem called “If No One Ever Marries Me” which Natalie set to music.

BookLust Twist: from More Book Lust in the chapter “Dewey Deconstructed: 900s” (p 62). Also noted in Book Lust To Go in the chapter called “Where On Earth Do These Books Belong?” (p 261).

Wild Oz

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Clodd, Geoff. Wild Oz: Hilariously Unfiltered Backpacking Stories. Independently Published, 2025.

Reason read: this is a selection from LibraryThing’s Early Review program.

I do not know exactly what I was expecting from Wild Oz but this turned out to be a much different adventure. I think the subtitle about backpacking made me think he would be roughing it a little more than he did in his Oz adventures. I also thought there would be more variation to his escapades, especially through Thailand. Australia was just a string of towns where Clodd got this drunk and banged that chick. His stories start and stop without fanfare. Like a giggling kid farting for attention Clodd will tell you about crashing his moped in Thailand or trying to eat a dozen ice cream cones. The year is 2008 and he has decided to travel with a friend to Australia and Thailand for a year or more.
As an aside, Clodd interrupts himself from time to time to tell Vegas stories. That makes sense because he sustained his meager financial existence on internet gambling. I have to admit the prostitute stealing a plate was pretty funny.
Sometimes I thought Wild Oz was written by a horny fourteen year old left alone in the house without his parents for the very first time. His command of slang was pretty extensive (“suck on that!”). Chasing temporary employment and bedding various women while juggling excessive drinking and drugging, Clodd was finicky about dirty hands and paranoid about skin cancer and going bald. I think I just summed up the entire book in this last paragraph.

Fun fact: my husband and I have this game during horror movie season where we try to count the dead bodies. Exactly how many people were murdered during Nightmare on Elm Street? Sometimes we turn it into a drinking game – a swig for every time someone dies. We should take turns reading Wild Oz aloud and take a glug every time Clodd has sex with a different woman. That could be fun.

As an aside, I want to know how often Geoff has had to say “two fs and two ds” when telling someone how to spell his name.

Book trivia: Clodd makes pop references that some people may or may not get. For example, I didn’t know who Screech and Zack were.

Author fact: Wild Oz is Clodd’s first and only book on LibraryThing.

Playlist: “Let’s Get It Started” by Black Eyed Peas, Creed, Outkast, “Rape Me” by Nirvana, Janet Jackson, and Wolfmother (which I have on my run playlist).

Arabian Sands

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Thesiger, Wilfred. Arabian Sands. E.P. Dutton and Company, 1959.

Reason read: September is back to school month and a good time to learn about a strange region of the world.

Wilfred Thesiger was driven to go where others had not. He had a strong desire to test his limits and, where others shied away from them, unique challenges excited him. Nothing motivated him more than to say, “I know that no European had ever been here before me.” He sailed to Bahrain in a dhow simply because he wanted to have the same experience as an Arab sailor. He remembered his childhood as an explanation for his wanderlust spirit for his mother loved Africa.
In Arabian Sands Thesiger reported the Arabia he traveled in 1959 was unrecognizable from his earlier expeditions. He talked of long treks into the desert where “now” (in 1959) there were marring roads instead of endless stretches of dusty sand. [As an aside, what would he think of the region today? I am sure it has changed even more so since 1959.]
As a locust officer on behalf of the Locust Research Centre at the Natural History Museum, Thesiger was free to travel across the Empty Quarter. Although he showed no fear of danger wherever he went he had to hide behind a Syrian façade because of his Christianity. He absorbed the strange and fascinating culture of harsh people in a violent landscape. For example – the Islam faith. It regulated one’s religious observance, a man’s interactions with society and even the detailed routines of his daily life. Thesiger described the confusion of trying to identify various tribes by their saddles. It was important to know friend or foe to protect the camels from constant theft. [Speaking of camels, I found it remarkable that camels could be identified by the shape of their toes in the sand.] Thesiger became friends with Hamdu Uga who admitted he had just murdered three men. Thesiger casually reported that a mere two days later the young chief was murdered as well.

Quote to quote, “No, it is not the goal but the way there that matters, and the harder the way, the more worth the journey” (p 260).

Author fact: Thesiger was an avid hunter. He reported shooting seventy lions in the five years he was in the Sudan.

Book trivia: Maps were drawn by K.C. Jordan. Speaking of maps, there is a huge, fold-out map of the Empty Quarter at the back of Arabian Sands.

BookLust Twist: from Book Lust in the chapter called “Armchair Travel” (p 24). Again, in Book Lust To Go in the chapter called “Arabia Deserta” (p 23).

Maine Woods

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Thoreau, Henry David. The Maine Woods. Decorations by Clare Leighton. Ticknor and Fields, 1864.

Reason read: the Maine Lobster Festival is always the first weekend in August.

Henry D. Thoreau made three separate trips to Maine. Most of the Maine Woods is a descriptive narration about the journey and the nature witnessed along the way. From navigating rapids and hunting moose to observing flowers, trees, and small animals. From a cultural perspective, The Maine Woods paints a picture of Thoreau’s interactions with the natives in Maine: especially their canoe building and cooking skills and their hunting and fishing practices. Thoreau wanted to learn from the natives (“I would tell him all I knew, and he should tell me all he knew” p 221).
Thoreau could not help but insert a little politics into his narrative from time to time, “The Anglo-American can indeed cut down, and grub up all this waving forest, and make a stump speech, and vote for Buchanan on its ruins, but he cannot converse with the spirit of the tree he fells, he cannot read the poetry and mythology which retire as he advances” (p 309).
While the narrative just ends abruptly, the appendix includes a list of trees, flowers, shrubs, and birds seen along the excursions. It also includes how to outfit and excursion with tents, tools, etc. There is also a glossary of Indian words and their meanings.
I did not know this about Maine: in 1837 there were 230 sawmills on the Penobscot river.

Thoreau had a sense of humor, “We saw a pair of moose horns on the shore; and I asked Joe if a moose had shed them; but he said that there was a head attached to them, and I knew that they did not shed their heads more than once in their lives” (p 127).

As an aside, I thought of my papas when Thoreau was explaining how to steer a boat into waves to avoid capsizing or taking on water.
As another aside, Thoreau mentioned John Smith from 1614. That is the same year Captain Smith landed on Monhegan. Interestingly enough, Thoreau mentions a “Manhegan Island.” I’m not sure it’s the same one.
I’m glad to know some things never change. The nuisance of mosquitoes was just as bad then as it is now, “We were considerably molested by mosquitoes at this camp” (p 253).

Author fact: beyond being a naturalist and an essayist, Thoreau was a philosopher.

Book trivia: If only there were photographs! Or a map. I swear Thoreau mentions Monhegan (spelled Manhegan).

Music: “O Susanna!”

BookLust Twist: from Book Lust To Go in the chapter called “The Maine Chance” (p 135).

African in Greenland

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Kpomassie, Michel-Tet. An African in Greenland. Harcourt Brace Janovich, 1983.

Reason read: August is the last month of freedom for students returning to school. Every once in awhile I chose a travel book to recognize this fact.

Before Kpomassie can tell you about his time in Greenland he needs to explain where his life began and all that Western Africa entails. To understand his culture you must first embrace his origin story.
Upon discovering a book about Greenland, Kpomassie became obsessed with traveling to that “other” green land. Kpomassie exhibited a great deal of patience – it took him six years just to make it out of West Africa. But he was also smart and ambitious. Being bilingual he was able to pay his way as he traveled. He had hopes of living with seal hunters, sleeping in igloos, and riding the sledge. He wanted the full experience. He got more than he bargained for in the northern Greenland village of Rodebay. Families too poor for groceries ate rabid dogs. Their bathroom was a bucket by the door for everyone to see. A father takes his son-in-law hunting so his daughter and Kpomassie can have four days of intimate alone time. Parents ignore their young son while he practices oral sex on his two year old brother. Dos are so hungry they attack and devour their master. When the community is not hunting or fishing, they are fall-down drunk. Besides culture, Kpomassie learned about the science of fashion; what it took to survive temperatures that reached forty or fifty below zero.
I did not expect to laugh while reading An African in Greenland but Kpomassie’s account of using the grease from a lizard to grow one’s penis was hilarious.

As an aside, animals and there shed blood is very important to tribal cultures. I saw it in The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down as well as An African in Greenland. The butchering of whales, seals, and even dogs was difficult to read.

Confessional: Kpomassie’s father had five wives and how the hierarchy within that system worked: who was intimate and for how long; who did the cooking and how other chores were parsed out. Polygamy was natural in Western Africa, yet Kpomassie found it hard to share a woman with another man in Greenland. Curious.

Author fact: Kpomassie is the first African to choose to live in Greenland, trading in one green continent for another.

Book trivia: I do not know why I feel this way, but the preface by Jean Malaurie is a little self-indulgent.

Music: the Beatles

BookLust Twist: from Book Lust To Go in the chapter called “Where On Earth Do These Books Belong?” (p 258). Armchair travel, maybe?

Big Red Train Ride

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Newby, Eric. Big Red Train Ride: a Ride on the Trans-Siberian Railway. Penguin, 1978.

Reason read: the first electric trains were introduced in the month of July.

Six thousand miles. Seven time zones. The big, red Trans-Siberian train ride took Eric Newby and his wife from Moscow to the Pacific.

Eric Newby and his wife, Wanda, embarked on an epic journey across Siberia back in the late 1970s. All along the way, Newby peers into the habitations of USSR locals with curiosity and humor. His words could be lyrical in addition to being sarcastic and humorous.
It is interesting to read Fear by Anatoli Ryabakov at the same time as The Big Red Train Ride. Reading about Stalin from the fictional and historical perspectives, especially during 1936 – 1938 and the rein of Great Terror. Both books report the arrest of seven million people (not including the criminals) and the death toll during Stalin’s time to be somewhere around twenty million souls. When talking about the Siberian exiles Newby did not mention the Russians who were perceived to have made fun of Stalin and were banished or murdered simply as a result of his paranoia.
It goes without saying that Big Red Train Ride is a bit dated. Written in 1977, there is a great deal of “this will be done” statements. For example, he used the future tense when talking about a railway to be finished in 1980. When Newby was trying to take photographs of certain stations I thought of my sister and her smart phone. She takes stealthy pictures of people all the time. Her subjects are none the wiser. Meanwhile Newby was getting yelled at left and right.
As an aside, I appreciated the humor in Big Red Train Ride. Newby was not a fan of knobbly knees.

Lines I liked, “It was certainly Saturday, unless sit was Sunday” (p 72). I get that way, too. Especially on Monhegan. Here’s another that reminded me of the island, “…a grey stretch of water on a rocky, fog-bound coast” (p 260).

As an aside, my papa loved trains. He died earlier this month so I cannot help but think of him and how he would have loved this journey.

Author fact: I have four books by Eric Newby on my list. Round Ireland in Slow Gear and Love and War in the Apennines are left to read. I am looking forward to Love and War because my friend has always wanted me to see the Apennines. I am planning a trip this spring.

Book trivia: there are some interesting black and white photographs included in The Big Red Train Ride.

Music: “Auld Lang Syne”, “One Day Over the Urals”, Judy Garland, and “Lord Dismiss Us with Your Blessing”.

BookLust Twist: from Book Lust To Go in the chapter called “Making Tracks By Train” (p 138).

Two Years Before the Mast

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Dana, Jr., Richard Henry. Two Years Before the Mast: a Personal Narrative of Life at Sea. Fearon Publishers, 1971.

Reason read: June is Celebrate Oceans Month. Maybe that is a made up reason to read about the ocean, but I’m going with it because it is a good time to sail.

Two Years Before the Mast is the true story of Richard Henry Dana’s two years spent at sea first, on the brig “Pilgrim,” bound for California via coastal South America. Using his journal to write Two Years Before the Mast, one has to remember this is August 14th, 1834. Time before canals and motorized vessels. California was not part of the United States. In 1934, California was part of Mexico. As a Harvard student, bound for a career in law, Dana had to take a hiatus from his studies when an illness affected his eyesight. Doctors recommended some time away from the books to allow his eyes to rest. The brig “Pilgrim” is in the business of transporting animal hides and furs. Once on the “Pilgrim,” Dana quickly learned about life on the ocean on the fly: getting over seasickness, learning to push through fatigue, finding his sea legs. Once settled into a life at sea, Dana then had to desensitize himself to a tyrannical captain who flogged sailors ruthlessly and without provocation, long days of continuous work, and making the most of shore leave.
This is a great account of life at sea as well as in ports. As an aside, I had to laugh when Dana’s vessel could not get over a sandbar at low tide due to the unusually heavy load they were carrying. They had to wait until low tide in order to be released from the channel.

Lines I liked: said of San Francisco – “If California ever becomes a prosperous country, this bay will be the centre of its prosperity” (p 194).

Confessional: I have spent most of my life on the ocean so when Dana described dolphins swimming just a few feet below the surface of the water I could picture every color.

Author fact: Dana was born in Cambridge, Massachusetts.

Book trivia: Two Years Before the Mast was illustrated by Dennis Dierks and my copy provided a biographical sketch by Dana’s grandson, H.W.L. Dana.

Playlist: “O Pescator”, “Onda”, “All in the Downs”, “Poor Tom Bowline”, “The Bay of Biscay”, “List, Ye Landsmen”, “Heave, to the Girls”, “Nancy O!”, “Jack Crosstree”, “Cheerily Men”, “All in the Downs”, “Poor Tom Bowline”, “The Bay of Biscay”, and “List, Ye Landsmen”.

BookLust Twist: from Book Lust To Go in the chapter called “See the Sea” (p 201).

Black as Hell, Strong as Death, and as Sweet as Love

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Unger, Steven. Black as Hell, Strong as Death, and as Sweet as Love: a Coffee Travel Book. Robert D. Reed Publishers, 2025.

Reason read: I am a member of the Early Review Program for LibraryThing and this is one of the coolest books I have had the pleasure of reviewing. I wish I knew someone who loved coffee enough to deserve this book as a gift.

First impression: for all that Unger promises in the introduction, the rest of the book seems way too brief. After all the introductions and foreword, it takes sixteen pages just to get to the first chapter and the entire book is only 166 pages long. Unger spent three years traveling specifically for this book; traveling to locations which traditionally (and obviously) have a strong relationship to coffee. He spent five years conducting additional research and probably drank countless cups of coffee in the process. Together, with the talented Ruth St. Steven as photographer, Unger has produced a stellar multi-genre (mostly travel and historical) book about one of the world’s most popular and symbolic drinks.
Beyond describing the best places to enjoy the brew, Unger outlines the correct customs for drinking coffee. The Arabic way is always with your right hand, for example. (As an aside, I am left handed like the author.) I appreciated his description of the way coffee is prepared in Ethiopia and the various ceremonies surrounding coffee. Unger also shared his opinion of where to get the best falafel in Paris, where to witness “relentless citrus-based combat” known as the Battle of the Oranges, how to swim with spinner dolphins, when to attend a voodoo festival in New Orleans, and how to hang out in the same places as Allen Ginsberg and Jack Kerouac. Unger delves into the importance of the traditional café as a place to socialize, argue, and create.
After finishing Black as Hell… readers might want to follow Unger on his coffee trail from Ethiopia to San Francisco, California (as a beer trail adjacent adventure?). Or. At the very least, make the recipes for dishes and drinks he generously supplies. All in all, Black as Hell… is one of the best books I’ve read all year.

Confessional: I was nervous about Unger’s web-related recommendations and contact information. I wondered if a year from now if the information would still be accurate. It was smart of him to say check the internet. I also appreciated the recommended reading if one wants to learn more. Hopefully, books will still be a thing in the future.
As you all know, I am not a fan of repeating information more than once. There is a little repetition to Black as Hell…: the roasting of green coffee beans with frankincense and served with sugared popcorn came up more than a couple of times.

Second confession: there was a time when I was addicted to a show called Castle. The description of adding spices to a brewing pot of coffee reminded me of a scene when Castle’s ex-wife prepared Castle’s coffee just the way he liked it, with a touch of nutmeg.

As an aside, I know someone who cannot stand even the smell of coffee. He will walk out of a room if someone has brewed a fresh pot or poured a cup of coffee. Interestingly enough, even though I have been drinking coffee since I was a teenager, my sister didn’t start enjoying the beverage until just a few years ago. It took her almost 50 years to try it… and like it.

As another aside: I know there is such a thing as a coffee snob. This person cannot stand coffee that is brewed at the wrong temperature, served out of the incorrect vessel, or brewed with stale beans…but is there such a thing as a coffee whore? Someone who will drink coffee reheated five times in a microwave? Someone who doesn’t mind Folgers from a can (especially if they have flavor crystals)? Someone who actually likes a cup of coffee gone cold?

Book trivia: there are a bunch of photographs included in Black as Hell… They are stunning.

Music: “Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds” by the Beatles, “Bohemian Rhapsody” by Queen. Jim Morrison, Lenny Kravitz, Gloria Estafan, “Hey there” by Rosemary Clooney, “O Sole Mio”, John Lennon,

Beyond Belief

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Naipaul, N. S. Beyond Belief: Islamic Excursions Among the Converted Peoples. Random House, 1999.

Reason read: Beyond Belief is the sequel to Among the Believers. Read to finish the series.

In Beyond Belief Naipaul picks up the story of faith nineteen years after Among the Believers. He follows his own footsteps and traces over the memories with new and different observations. His connections to people are less interviews and more conversations, however just as probing. Naipaul meets with poets, publishers, lecturers, researchers, criminals, religious and political leaders, laborers, and Muslim intellectuals. The most common theme was in times of various regimes you had two choices – be revolutionary or reactionary. Naipaul met them both. My favorite part was when he addresses the sacredness of place; how the idea of what constitutes “sacred” can be different for each of us, depending on the connection we have to that place. Or think we have. I think of Monhegan and realize that there are only certain sections of the island I consider sacred even though I speak of the entire island in generalized terms. Those sacred spots are ones that I hardly visit, never talk about, and secretly dream about the most.
Afterthought: It must be difficult to appease something as intangible as a guardian spirit.

As an aside, I enjoyed meeting Imaduddin. Lecturer, electrical engineer, Islamic teacher, Indonesian, political prisoner (for fourteen months), once wealthy and famous. What a fascinating man.

Book trivia: there are no photographs at all in Beyond Belief. I would have liked to see the Indonesian landscapes, even if it was just pictures of the rice fields or Javanese puppetry.

Music: Beethoven

BookLust Twist: from Book Lust To Go in the chapter called “Indicative of Indonesia” (p 103).

Among the Believers

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Naipaul, V.S. Among the Believers. Alfred A. Knopf, 1981.

Reason read: Indonesia has a day of silence. It is always following the new moon of March. Read in recognition of this fascinating 24 hours.

Naipaul takes a six month journey across Asia just after the Iranian revolution. During his travels through Iran, Pakistan, Malaysia, and Indonesia he encounters Muslims who have returned to the founding scriptures of Islam. His conversations and interviews with them are thought-provoking and insightful. These people are the believers. In a nutshell, Among the Believers is in-depth and descriptive travel book that takes a look at exploring the Muslim faith.
As an aside, I have so any questions! Did the hanging judge ever find out that Naipaul called him a clown? Is Naipaul’s favorite descriptive color ochre? because he used the word a lot in Among the Believers. It is true I am an armchair traveler. It is too complicated to think about the rules and customs of a middle eastern country. The rules of the mosque, for example. Which foot enters the holy space first? How do worshippers wash their hands? Do they remove their shoes and if so, when and where?

As another aside, I never thought about Islamic urban planning. Think about it. Toilet fixtures that had to be arranged so that a backside would not be directed towards the City of Mecca. Indeed.

Author fact: Naipaul was born in Trinidad.

Book trivia: Among the Believers is followed by Beyond Belief: Islamic Excursions Among the Converted People. I will be reading it next month. Other books by Naipaul on my list: Mystic Masseur and Loss of El Dorado.

Music: the Carpenters, Handel’s Messiah, and Bach.

BookLust Twist: from Book Lust To Go in the chapter called “Indicative of Indonesia” (p 103).