Tuesday, June 18     Week 8     Assignment 4

Here is a sample booktalk for Bill Bryson's The Lost Continent

If you enjoy nonfiction travel books with a familiar setting and wacky and earthy humor like National Lampoon's Vacation, you would want to read almost anything by Bill Bryson, who writes honestly and unselfconsciously about his observations about traveling throughout the US.  In this one, he sashays through 38 states in two months in his fruitless search for the perfect small town, trashing everything he sees as he tries to explain what being a typical American means to a Brit.  Is this even possible?

Move over, Mark Twain.  Your Innocents Abroad have nothing on this guy.  Recommended for armchair travelers looking for a strong setting and a sardonic tone who are positive their small town is quintessential.

Here is one for Caroline Alexander's The Endurance: Shackleton's legendary Antarctic Expedition.

How hard is too hard?  How cold is too cold?  How long could you go on in an impossible situation, trapped in ice with no hope of rescue, with only your wits and the strong leadership of Ernest Shackleton?  When Shackleton and his crew of 27 set sail for the South Atlantic in the days leading up to WWI, they were after the last unclaimed prize in the history of exploration, crossing by foot over the Antarctic.  When their ship, The Endurance, got stuck in ice and was shattered into splinters, forcing the men out onto the floes, they were only 85 miles from their destination.  This is their story, one of courage, determination, and survival.

During the next record blizzard to hit Baltimore, instead of jumping in your car and heading out to the supermarket, settle down in a cozy armchair with your brandy and blanket and read this, and be sure to enjoy the remarkably produced photos, captured from the original glass plate negatives.  Recommended for lovers of inspiring survival stories and managers seeking effective leadership tips, this one is strong on characterization and setting.