On Friday, August 14, 2015, Mid-Manhattan Library hosted an intimate Open Book Night chat on the theme of travel. Books and destinations from around the world were discussed without the fuss of reserving airline tickets, hotels, cars, or even cruises. All types of travel were considered, and some new traveling recommendations were picked up along the way.

We began our journey with one bibliophile’s suggestion of Mark Twain’s travelogues, from which many learned that this American author and humorist was quite the globetrotter. Taking readers on train excursions from Marseilles to Paris, France, to pilgrimages of the Holy Land, to boat rides on the muddy waterways of the Mississippi, Twain’s records of his direct experiences include The Innocents Abroad (1869), Roughing It  (1872), A Tramp Abroad (1880), Life on the Mississippi (1883), and Following the Equator (1897).

Invisible Cities (1974) by Italo Calvino might be labeled a travelogue too. Here the author describes places that don’t necessarily exist on any map, but draw new representations in our minds. The story begins with a conversation between the two characters, Kublai Khan and Marco Polo. They are sitting in a garden, where the youthful Venetian explorer is entertaining the aging Mongol ruler with tales of the cities he has seen while journeying to the far reaches of Khan’s vast empire.

After passing these fictional sites, one could escape into the Italian cultural movement of the 14th to the 17th centuries to discuss The Ugly Renaissance: Sex, Greed, Violence and Depravity in an Age of Beauty (2013) by Alexander Lee, fantasizing about what it was like to live in the debaucheries of Italy behind the dazzling artworks of Michelangelo, Raphael, and Botticelli.

So, where does one go from there? 1,000 Places to See Before You Die (2011) by Patricia Schultz, recommended by an enthusiastic library patron who had just come back from India, is the ultimate guidebook for the traveler who wants to get a snippet on cities defined by Schultz as awe-inspiring for one reason or another. Shultz’s list, which has since been turned into a documentary television series, is supposed to win over the most avid traveler at heart. Please be generous in adding to this extensive index to make 1,001 places or more to explore!

This same patron commented on how he admired many people on his travels, because they seemed to be happier than people living in the United States, despite less favorable living situations. NYPL team member Elizabeth suggested reading Geography of Bliss: One Grump’s Search for the Happiest Places in the World (2008) by Eric Weiner. In this book, Weiner travels the globe in an attempt to understand what makes some people and places happier than others. His starting point is the World Database of Happiness.

Hey, you never know, but you might even consider settings comprised of mountains, deserts, or grasslands for your next haven. Elizabeth also suggested The Oregon Trail: A New American Journey (2015) by journalist Rinker Buck, even though it sounds far grittier than any serene space for contemplation. This book reminds me of The Oregon Trail, a computer game I played in elementary school, in which players hit up the general store for supplies before packing up their covered wagons for a demanding journey from Independence, Missouri, to Oregon’s Willamette Valley on the Oregon Trail. In Buck’s memoir, the journalist takes his brother on a carefully plotted 2,000 something mile adventure, just like settlers journeying westward in the Great Migration of 1843.

But if your mule-drawn vehicle has a broken wheel, perhaps A Walk in the Woods: Rediscovering America on the Appalachian Trail (2007) by Bill Bryson, is a better situation. Leaving the wagon on the side of road, readers can put on their backpacks for a hike of all time from the Peach State of Georgia to the mining town of Centralia, Pennsylvania.

Last, but not least, A History of New York in 101 Objects (2014) by Sam Roberts encourages readers from all walks of life to look at the Big Apple a little differently. Similarly, taking a walk around town or feeling inspired about your future excursion can begin with a book and little sense of adventure.

Thank you to all our book lovers who attended this program. Please make a book suggestion related to travel literature if you can in the comments section below, and we hope you won’t miss our next Open Book Night, to share recommendations with other readers at the Mid-Manhattan Library. The complete 2015 schedule is listed below. We meet on the second Friday of the month at 6 p.m. in the Corner Room on the First Floor. We’d love to see you there!     

• September 11, 2015 - New York​
• October 9, 2015 - The Occult
• November 13, 2015  - Thanksgiving​
• December 11, 2015 - Food and Cooking