Categoria / Category Books & Travels

Bicycle Diaries – David Byrne

In 2011, I experienced two “encounters” with David Byrne, ex-Talking Heads and multi-artist, who is currently known for his lifestyle on two wheels. In the 1980s, David rescued a bicycle from his teenage years and started cycling through New York. The option for the bicycle was not restricted only to his daily life, but became an integral part of his luggage on the various tours and work trips he made around the world. Bicycle tours have become more than an option for commuting, but have become part of a philosophy of life, a state of mind and an option for the future. From the height of his “celim”, David Byrne’s view became anthropological, positioning himself as an observer of cities and their culture, but always through the practical experience of his non-obvious, non-tourist and unconventional routes. All this rich and reflective experience is in his book “Bicycle Diaries”, launched in 2010, in Brazil, by the publisher Amarilys...

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Conejo de Viaje – Liniers

The book “Conejo de Viaje” (Travel Rabbit) is a graphic novel from several trips made by the artist Ricardo Liniers (the rabbit). It has maps, sketch and the comic strip of the rabbit that circulates in different places in Europe, America and Antarctica. The vast majority of trips were business trips to book fairs and lectures. They are a little simple: go out, have dinner with a guy, have lunch with someone else and sign autographs… They don’t tell much about the place or culture. The most interesting ones that tells a little about the place are from Canada and Antarctica.

In Antarctica, Linier traveled on a Norwegian ship to the icy contingent. He talks about the amount of special clothes he had to bring, of the descents of the boat, of the encounter with Penguins, of the first iceberg sighted, of the time spent in the cabin and of the conversations with other passengers...

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(Português) Endurance de Caroline Alexander

Sorry, this entry is only available in Portuguese.

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Book: Epic Bike Rides of the World

Book: Epic Bike Rides of the World. The Planets Most Thrilling Cycling Routes
Author: Lonely Planet
Year: 2016
Publisher: Lonely Planet Global Limited

From the same collection of the book Epic Drives of the World this edition shows us options of bicycle trips. The book is beautiful. It is more than 300 pages of photos, maps, drawings and texts of cycling trips in all continents. Unfortunately, in Brazil does not appear, in Africa there is only two options and in Latin America only has options of cycling in Argentina, Ecuador and Cuba. The vast majority of proposed bicycle trips are in the North America, Europe and Oceania sections. Even so, the book is amazing, well organized and makes you want to grab you bike and go on an adventure out the way.

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Book: Epic Drives of the World

Book: Epic Drives of the World: The Planets Most Thrilling Road Trips
Author: Lonely Planet
Year: 2017
Publisher: Lonely Planet Global Limited

Epic Drives is a beautiful book edited by Lonely Planet. It has short and long road trip tips from all around  the world. The book is divided by continents and regions. It has a selection of 50 best trips with photos and information like mileage, best season to go, how to get there, etc. The book is a great catalog to browse through before a trip, see what kind of road trips you have near where you’re going. We used it for the first time for the trip through Ireland and Scotland, and the book we took several tips from tours we did there. I recommend.

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Book: Tracks: A Woman’s Solo Trek across 1700 Miles of Australian Outback


Livro: Tracks: A Woman’s Solo Trek across 1700 Miles of Australian Outback
By Robyn Davidson

(Translation Celina C. Falck-Cook)

I read Robyn Davidson‘s book the days before I started my track on Pati. Reading made my adventure seem so easy and simple. I had seen the movie (Tracks) and read a review of the film saying that the book was much better. So, I decided to buy the book. I opted for the Portuguese version so I could borrow the book later. When I like a book, I always lend. Pass on to others this joy of reading.

It is amazing the story of this woman who – in the 90s – decides to cross the desert of Australia walking for almost 3 thousand kilometers in the company of 4 camels and a dog. I’ve been to Uluru, near Alice Spring, and we only hiked from 5am to 11am. After that, the sun was so strong and the weather so dry that the park advised against trekking.

The writing is easy but not monotonous. A good part of the book is about the time of preparation of the trip – about the decis...

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Um Lugar na Janela (A place by the window) – Martha Medeiros

When I read about “Um Lugar na Janela” in an airline magazine, I wished to buy it. I had read another book by Martha, and liked. So, the expectations were good.

The book promises to be a selection of travel stories, not a guide. It is a personal and introspective report of moments lived in different places, among them Rio, Fernando de Noronha, Japão, Nova Iorque, Marrocos…

In the first chapter, the author states her reasons to travel, something that I share with her. But after that, the book disappoints. Created initially to be a blog, I believe it had to continue that way. It is different the way we read a blog and a book, at leat it is what I think. In a book I want a more elaborated text, mor interesting in terms of content and form. I don’t know how to write, I’m awful on that, so I photograph. However, when I read (and love reading), I want text that I could say: “I’d love to have written that”. But this did not occour in any moment of “Um Lugar na Janela”.

Mar...

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Los autonautas de la cosmopista – Julio Cortázar and Carol Dunlop

Los autonautas de la cosmopista. O Un viaje atemporal Paris-Marsella – Julio Cortázar and Carol Dunlop

The idea of the book by itself it is interesting, to take a trip from Paris to Marsella only stopping on the highway stops. Together, the couple decided the rules for the trip, as if they determined the rules for a game, and they prepared to the action. I think the first chapters, the prior to the expedition, are the best. Maybe, due to my enthusiasm for challenges, for previous planning and by my passion for awkward travels.

Another point interesting of Los autonautas de la cosmopista is that two people wrote it. Cortazar and his partner, the photographer Carol Dunlop, wrote together. Sometimes, while reading, we don’t know who is writing, we can only realize that when one of them refers to the other as Lobo (wolf) or Osita (Litle bear).

The book is an excellent travel report, it is a statement on the search for poetry, for enjoying life even on the worst places...

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Atlas – Jorge Luís Borges with María Kodama

This book by Borges with photos by his partner María Kodama is a quilt of places, travels, experiences and impressions. The Brazilian edition is beautiful, hard cover, colored pages, well designed. By reading these short stories, we travel to Alexandria, Venice, Athens, Reikjavik, Genev, Istanbul… We travel in the imagination of this places created or experienced and, at the same time, we get an intimacy with the author by seeing his photos as in a family album. It is an atlas of personal souvenirs of moments out of the routine, glimpses of his “errant” life.

Portuguese version: AtlasJorge Luís Borges com María Kodama (Companhia das Letras: São Paulo, 2010)

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Unpacked: Travel disaster stories

The book, edited by the famous travel guide brand, is a collection of short stories (comic and tragic) about trips that “went wrong”. When I read the book, I wondered the difficult moments I had traveling. Yes, I had some very complicated, they would be good stories for the book, especially the ones involving army, airport and border security and being sick alone in a foreign country.

Unpacked doesn’t talk about disasters as the title suggests. It presents some awkward situations we all pass in a trip or another. The book takes us to a rafting in Alaska, trekking in Madagascar, trains trip in India and New Year’s in Boneo. I believe it is this king of adventures, things we did not plan on a travel, the inconveniences and surprises that test us and identify us as travelers and not only tourists.

“Every traveler has a horror story to tell: lost luggage, bad weather, illness or worse...

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