A Traveler’s Library is now three years old. Should you feel inclined to give presents, I will just mention that the 2012 Bloggies nominations are now open, but only until January 15.

So what happened in year three?

1. Kerry Dexter and I finished our Great American Road Trip–words here at A Traveler’s Library, and travelin’ music at Music Road.  I posted a roundup of 54 Books and Movies for the road, and Kerry posted the most popular suggested music for the road.

2. Middle East/Muslim countries were in the news, and during the unrest in that area of the world ATL focused on that region. I thought perhaps you felt as “at sea” as I did in trying to understand those countries.  Although there are still conflicts (particularly in Syria) I feel much better informed having read books and watched movies about Egypt, Libya, Syria, Iran, Jordan, and Afghanistan.

3. Despite good intentions to do the same for Africa,  I did not get as far into Africa as I had hoped. On the positive side, we did discuss more books and movies  about Africa and set in Africa than we have in previous years.

4. A new series debuted (and will continue) reviewing past posts on a particular place (alliteration allowed). It is called “What I Learned.” So far I have done What I Learned about France and What I Learned about Italy.  There will be more, but honestly, the flow of new wonderful books tends to take first priority.

5. Thanks to Budget Travelers Sandbox, photos from deep in my files are being exposed on Thursdays as part of Travel Photo Thursday. Although most days, like today, I depend on Flickr to keep me supplied with the perfect picture to fit the content of the post. The next picture is a good example: New contributors writing from the rooftops, as it were.

6. We welcomed SIX regular contributors to A Traveler’s Library, to talk about travel from new angles–music, culture, movies, pets, family travel and food. If you somehow missed the 18 posts the contributors have done so far, they will be here next week, and the following Tuesday, and you can meet them here, on the contributors’ page.  They will bring you fresh approaches to travel at least once a month. HURRAY!

7. I reported on my personal trips to Nova Scotia , New Mexico and  Mansfield, Ohio, but no European or Asian trips this year.

8. Finally–my attention has definitely been divided this year, since in April the book I co-authored with Charnell Havens, Quincy Tahoma: The Life and Legacy of a Navajo Artist was published after a decade of research and writing.  I’ve been traveling in Arizona and New Mexico for book talks and signings. And in October we learned that judges chose our book as a Top Pick among the Southwest Books of the Year. You can get your own copy by clicking on that “buy now” button in the right hand column at A Traveler’s Library. Or learn more about the inspiring  life of Quincy Tahoma at the Tahoma blog.

AN IMPORTANT P.S.  I forgot to mention A Traveler’s Library participation in Passports With Purpose. This year we sponsored THREE prizes, and PwP raised $89,000 to build libraries in Zambia. The winners have been chosen and you can read all about it at Winners and winners.

The stats:

• ATL topped 725 posts in December.
• Other folks did a lot of the work, but I read and wrote about 71 books and watched and discussed 13 movies. AND I wrote 18 guest posts related to travel and a dozen or more related to Quincy Tahoma.
• We love guest posts, and 10 terrific writers honored us with their work this year, Jessie Voigts doing several and Kerry Dexter and Jane Boursaw each contributing one even before they joined the contributors’ team.
• In addition, we were given permission to reprint a post on Lisbon from the great travel book site, Packabook.com

Did you know that the patron saint of writers, journalists and editors is St. Francis de Sales?  (Okay no lame  jokes about Sales of your writing!)

St. Francis de Sales

Here are all the scribes with links to their own sites, so you can thank them by visiting their “home ground,” and ask St. Francis de Sales to bless them.

Alisa Bowman, relationship writer, told us  about her personal Un-Travel Book Reading Tour

Jessie Voigts, cultural travel, (5 interviews with authors)

Traveler’s Bro, film lecturer, (who does not have a website, blog, nor, apparently, a name) wrote about old movies set in Egypt

Kerry Dexter, music, wrote about Northern Ireland

Kris Bordessa, sustainability,wrote our last road trip stop about her home state of Hawaii

Mara Gorman, family travel, shared the Horrible Books in London.

Jane Boursaw, movies, told us about the Jordanian movie, Captain Abu Raed

Casey Barber,food,  salivated over the cookbook of the year, Blood, Bones and Butter

Melanie McMinn, crafts and sustainability, shared her love of the Swedish detective Wallander on the BBC TV series.

Thank you so much for sharing your talents. Come back any time!

And thank you, readers.  Come back every day. The library is always open. Better yet, subscribe by e-mail or RSS feed so you never miss a thing in A Traveler’s Library‘s fourth year, AND so that you can win a prize during this month’s Giveaway.

As usual, to celebrate a birthday, there are presents. YOU get the present if your name is drawn from the comments, tweets, Google + or subscribers.  See all the contest rules  about four ways to enter here. Today’s prize to one person who comments, subscribes, tweets or mentions us on Google+ is a copy of  Lonely Planet’s fantastic book, Great Journeys, which was one of my recommended 10 Perfect Gifts for Travelers Who Read. (You can comment on this post or on an earlier post. Just do it before Thursday 1:00 a.m. MST. If you already subscribe by e-mail and want an extra entry as a subscriber, be sure to tell me that in the comments.) Disclaimer: The book Great Journeys was provided by Lonely Planet for review, without any expectations on their part. Photos here are linked to the Flickr page they came from so that you can learn more about the photographers who graciously allow their work to be used via Creative Commons license.

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So why is it I FEEL like a winner?

I think when you travel to another country (or even another region within your own) you develop a special relationship with that place, don’t you? PwP has done that for me.

1. Because when I get appeals from Heifer International, I remember the modest beginnings of Passports With Purpose, when I was not yet an official travel blogger, so I could only contribute personally, not participate. But I was happy to contribute because Heifer is such a terrific organization, and I was blown away by what the community of travel bloggers had undertaken. How mind boggling that they could raise $7,500.

2. Because every time I think of Cambodia, a place I fell in love with when I visited,  I see in my minds’ eye a school that I helped to build (if you don’t want to get a lump in your throat, don’t click that link, from Michelle’s blog). That year the effort DOUBLED its goal of $14,000 to raise $30,000.

3.Although I’ve never been to India, I was part of an effort that enabled people to live in solid houses because Passports with Purpose, in its third year busted right through its goal of $50,000  and raised $64,000 to build a whole village. (Beth wrote about her trip to watch the building) A part of India will always be a part of me.

4. Because now I know that kids in  villages somewhere in Zambia will have access to books in TWO new libraries, because once again, bloggers from around the world and YOU, the readers of travel blogs, were so generous that instead of raising $80,000, PwP raised nearly $90,000.  I’ve never been to Africa, but I am now connected to Zambia.

5. Because each year, Passport with Purpose has introduced me to

• new-to-me charitable organizations, like this year’s Room to Read;
• enabled me to form closer ties with sponsors I love;
• made me part of a team of incredible writers with interests similar to mine.

Yep! I’m definitely a winner.

But some people contributed their $10 and walked off with some sensational prizes.  They are winners AND Winners with a capitol W.

I don’t know who all the winners are, but I do have the names of those who won the prizes I sponsored.

I do not yet have permission to use the name of the people who won the New Orleans 3-night stay at Hotel Monteleone. (They possibly are around the world in another time zone and we just have not connected yet).

But I will put them into this post as soon as I get them.  Meanwhile, if you’re checking to see if YOU won a prize from another blogger, check your e-mail messages–and be sure to check the spam filter, too. Not there? That’s okay–trust me, you’re still a winner.

Hotel Monteleone

Justin Lindblad of Willing Foot will travel to New Orleans for a three-night stay at the Hotel Monteleone in the French Quarter of New Orleans. Congratulations to Justin and thanks again to the wonderful Hotel Monteleone.

Interlink Books

Winner: Caitlin Fitzsimmons,  writes a wide-ranging travel blog at Roaming Tales (“Travels on Planet Earth” –see! I said it was wide-ranging).  Caitlin’s $300 book library from Interlink Books should fuel her future travels. Congratulations, Caitlin and thanks again to wonderful Interlink.

MacMillan Audio Books

Winner: Monique Rubin, a runner, ex-pat and mother, Mo  writes about her travel at Mo Travels.  She’ll surely enjoy listening to some audio books as she travels, thanks to the generous prize offered by MacMillan Audio Books. Congratulations Mo and thanks again to MacMillan, who have provided me with some great travel-inspiring novels.

You’re probably glad that I’m going to shut up about Passports With Purpose (until next year) and stop nagging you to donate. But I do have one more favor to ask.

Please, when you have a chance, utilize the products and services of our sponsors. And tell them thanks while you’re on line some time.

Sponsors from A Traveler’s Library:

• Hotel Monteleone
• Interlink Books
• MacMillan Audiobooks

The Heavy Hitters Who Underwrote the Whole Shebang this year:

•  RTW with Us (Platinum Sponsor)
•  Traveller’s Point (Silver Sponsor)
• HomeAway (Bronze Sponsor)

I can’t begin to express my awe and admiration at what Pam, Beth, Debbie, and Michelle have accomplished over the past four years. You go girls! What’s next? buy a small country??

Whatever it is, A Traveler’s Library is IN.

So, tell us–are you a winner, or a Winner? And if you’re a Winner–what goodies did you take home?

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Clockwise from top left: Jessie Voigts, Edie Jarolim, Kerry Dexter, Jennifer Close, Jane Boursaw and Brette Sember

NEW COLLEAGUES AT THE LIBRARY

I hope you are enjoying the new contributors to A Traveler’s Library as much as I am.

You have now met five of the current six contributors who are bringing you new reasons to travel and new resources. Kerry talked about Nova Scotia Music on Monday; Jessie talked about Scottish Cultural Travel on Tuesday; I interviewed Jane (Wednesday Matinee) and interviewed Edie (Pet Travel) on Thursday; and Jennifer brought you various aquariums and a children’s book on Family Friday. The will be back the first full week in November.

But wait! There’s more! Brette Sember, prolific author and blogger about both legal matters and food, will be bringing us Tasty Travel on Tuesday in the middle of each month. Next week on Tuesday, I’ll interview Brette, but you can get a sneak preview at her life and work on the Contributor’s Page.

PRIZE WINNERS

Nobody e-mailed me a protest, so either you didn’t notice or you didn’t care–but I did not announce any new winners here last week, after Casey Freedland chose The Tapestry Shop, a story in the time of Robin Hood.

But since we had a new post EVERY DAY last week, I thought I’d just wait a few days and announce all the winners at once.

Remaining books are:

On the Road to Babadag: Travels in the Other Europe (non fiction, the Balkans)

The Bread of Angels: A Journey to Love and Faith (non fiction memoir, Syria)

Culture Smart! China. And just to spice things up, I’ll throw in today’s novel, Silk Road

The Floor of Heaven: a historical novel (real people) in Alaska’s early days

A Trick of the Light :mystery novel (Audio book, Montreal)

Contact Creede : a historical novel set in Creede, Colorado.

Our Daily Bread: dark novel based on real events in Nova Scotia

The Civilized World: Short stories about Africa

Chronicles in Stone: historical novel about wartime in Albania

At least two of these will wind up in my best travel-inspiring books of 2011 list, so leave a comment, subscribe to the blog, or tweet a message with @pen4hire in it. And I should be ready to announce the complete list of winners by October 20.

COMMENT LUV REWARDS YOUR COMMENTS

I also hope you will enjoy the new, improved Comment Luv below, which allows you to do even more than the old version. You can still post your latest blog post or a favorite site, but after you have visited and commented three times, retweeted, or posted the url of the blog post on Facebook or hit the Google Plus button, you can choose between many possible links to add to your comment. Don’t forget to add your twitter handle as well. If you are a blogger and want to get the new premium Comment Luv for your own blog, here’s a clickable link:

RANDOM POSTS

Now this is really fun! Look over to the right hand column–at the top, just below the Search by Category box. A random post displays. Click on the title and one of 434 Destination posts will pop up and a the title of a post on a new destination will be suggested. Discover new travel books. Plan trips. I can see where this could be addictive. What can you find? Where will you go?

COMING ATTRACTIONS

Please leave a comment  and then come back later to enjoy this week’s posts that visit China and India. The next two weeks will focus on Scary books (travel mysteries set in Ireland, Sweden, Spain, Denmark, Colorado for your travel library),  and Scary places (In Arizona, Louisiana and Ohio) in honor of Halloween.

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A Traveler’s Library: What got you started writing about movies and TV?

Courtesy of Jane Boursaw, From Picasa Collages

Jane Boursaw: I’ve always just loved movies and TV, dating back to watching Charlie the Lonesome Cougar on The Wonderful World of Disney with my family every Sunday night. I was raised on a cherry farm in Michigan, so we worked hard but loved to relax at night watching TV–The Dick Van Dyke Show, My Favorite Martian, Star Trek, The Andy Griffith Show and many others. We also loved seeing movies at our downtown State Theatre here in Traverse City– everything from The Love Bug to Jaws. What a thrill that the theatre was recently restored and used as a home base for the Traverse City Film Festival. It’s like stepping back in time every time I see a movie there now.

I grew up to be a writer and decided about ten years ago to switch from general interest stories to entertainment stories. I’m so glad I did. Now I get paid to watch TV and go to the movies.

ATL: Have you formally studied movies?

JB: No, but I read a lot about the film and TV industries, and love reading biographies and autobiographies of entertainment folks. Right now, my to-read shelf includes books about Paul Newman, Robert Redford, Jerry Weintraub, Dick Van Dyke, Carol Burnett and Grace Kelly.

ATL: Your emphasis is on more wholesome entertainment appropriate for families. Did this come about because of your own family, or did you see a need out there that no one seemed to be filling. And how hard is it to find family appropriate films and TV these days?

JB: As mentioned, I have a long history of watching TV and movies dating back to when I was a kid — when “family” shows and movies actually WERE appropriate for kids. That line has gotten blurry over the years, as PG-13, PG and even G ratings include content that isn’t appropriate for the intended audience. I saw a need for comprehensive reviews with specific details on profanity, violence, innuendoes and more, written from a mom’s point of view (I have two kids, now teenagers). I know parents don’t have a lot of time to research these things before turning on the TV or taking their kids to the theater. I’m here to fill that void with my syndicated family movie and TV reviews, based at Reel Life With Jane and read by more than 20 million readers monthly.

ATL: What movie have you seen that seemed the most like your own life?

JB: Flipped (read my review here) is a great movie that reminds me a lot of my childhood growing up in the 1960s. As mentioned, I grew up on a farm in a small rural community, so my life was an idyllic mix of Mayberry and Walton’s Mountain.

Road Home to Traverse City

ATL: You say you’re not a traveler. What’s the farthest trip you’ve taken from home?

JB: My husband whisked me off to the Virgin Islands some 30 years ago, and I still have fond memories of shopping at Charlotte Amalie on St. Thomas, exploring the ruins on St. John, and camping at Brewer’s Bay on Tortola. We hope to return sometime soon or maybe even spend winters  there.

ATL: When you were a kid, did your family go on road trips, campouts, summer cabin stays?

JB: My mom was raised in the south (she and my dad met when they both attended Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois in the 1940s), so our family trips usually consisted of visiting her relatives in Virginia, Washington D.C., North Carolina and Florida. It was very different from our farm life in Michigan, and I’m so glad we had the opportunity to see a lot of the sites, especially around Washington, D.C., like the Smithsonian, Washington Monument, Jefferson Memorial, and the Lincoln Memorial. The Tomb of the Unknown Soldier at Arlington Cemetery is still hauntingly beautiful to me, and I loved Colonial Williamsburg. My grandparents lived in Florida during the 1960s, so we visited Disney World and Busch Gardens down there.

The Boardman River, Downtown Traverse City

ATL: What do you show visitors who travel to your town of Traverse City, Michigan?

JB: Oh gosh, there’s so much to love here, it’s a challenge when friends are passing through and only have a few hours. I love our quaint downtown Traverse City and, of course, our lovely Old Mission Peninsula, where I grew up. We have everything here – beautiful vistas, bays on both sides of us, vineyards and orchards, gorgeous trails, a historic lighthouse and 1880s log cabin, which my dad helped restore and move to its current location by the lighthouse. We also have a great drive-in theater in the next county over (The Cherry Bowl Drive-In) that we try to get out to at least once a summer. We took my 87-year-old mom there to see the final Harry Potter film this summer.

I’m just darn lucky that I was born in this place and am able to raise my own kids here. Folks who come here say it’s like stepping back in time.

The photos in this post all belong to Jane Boursaw. Please do not reuse without asking permision. Thanks, Jane, for helping the readers of A Traveler’s Library get better acquainted with you.  Readers, feel free to chime in and ask Jane questions in the comment section. And by the way, could you identify all those classic TV shows in the collage at the top?

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Is this how traveling makes you feel? Is this the way you want to act when you discover a wonderful travel book or movie that takes you away?

We travelers who read are endlessly curious.  We want to know about all the things that might make us want to travel. And when we plan our trips we want to know all about the cultures we are visiting. Most of the time we get inspired and informed by travel literature or movies–anything with a strong sense of place.

But there are other things that inspire us to wander the world, too. Music,  museums, festivals,  food, wine,  art, shopping,  challenge, photography–there is no end to the inspirations. And there are many styles of travel, from jet setting to five-star resorts to backpacking on a shoestring; from traveling solo to traveling en famille–even if someone in the family has four legs instead of two.

And because one person cannot adequately bring you tidbits about so many different ideas, I have invited some inspiring people to partner with A Traveler’s Library.  Some of these people you are already familiar with. Some of them may be new to you. But all of them are specialists and fine writers. I’m jumping for joy about the fresh breeze that is wafting through the library and all the new ideas that these partners will bring in their periodic posts.

And expect surprises. We may shake up the way things have been here. And there may be new partners waiting in the wings with even more new ideas. Enough suspense?? Here’s the list of (at least) once-a-month contributors that you can look forward to reading during the first full week of each month.

Music Monday by Kerry Dexter

Culture Travel Tuesday by Dr. Jessie Voigts

Wednesday Matinee by Jane Boursaw

Pet Travel Thursday by Edie Jarolim

Family Travel Friday by Jennifer Close

To learn more about each of these new contributors, each experienced in her field (heck, we even have at least two PhDs among our partners!), click over to the Contributors’ Page. Go visit their blogs and support them on their home turf. And come back next week when they will start bringing you shiny new travel ideas.

What inspires YOUR travel?

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Interlink Books reminds us that we are in the midst of Banned Books Week.

Their recommendations for reading this week  include The Calligrapher’s Secret, which was reviewed here a few months ago. Although the book is widely acclaimed, it is banned in the author’s native Syria. Needless to say, he does not live in Syria any more. Connie Ong won the book, but you can still get it at Interlink or other book purveyors.

Of course In The Country of Men was an unwelcome book in Libya. Perhaps in a new, freer Libya, its author Hisham Matar can return to his country and even learn what happened to his father.

I am intrigued by some of the books on Interlink’s suggested reading list, like

The Novel by Nawal El Saadawi; translated by Omnia Amin & Rick London. El Saadawi is called the most prominent feminist in Egypt today. This book was banned throughout the Arab world.

Zigzag through the Bitter-Orange Trees by Ersi Sotiropoulos; translated by Peter Green. Although this author at first received many awards, her work was banned by a conservative Greek government. Since restored, it serves an example of the shifting winds of public opinion.

Did you think that banning of books only happened in the old days or in restrictive Mid-Eastern regimes? Think again.  Here’s a map of libraries and schools in the United States where books have been banned recently.

We know that in our own country the books of our greatest writer, Mark Twain, still meet resistance. Arguments over Huckleberry Finn, it seems, will never end. But Huckleberry didn’t make it to the ten most challenged books list this year.

Although it seems slightly quaint today, perhaps the most notorious of the banned books is Lady Chatterly’s Lover, that I mentioned in my review of Lawrence’s Etruscan Places.

So what banned books have you read lately?

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Libya Flag

A timely announcement given the happenings in Libya recently.

BBC World Book Club used one of the questions I submitted in their interview of Hisham Matar. You can get the link to the broadcast and a download by going back to the review of In the Country of Men. Be patient, mine is the last question.

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Cleaning

I’ve been sprucing up some of the things you may not notice at A Traveler’s Library.(If you receive this via e-mail, click through to A Traveler’s Library to see the additions and make a comment.)

Google + The newest new thing on the Internet, and I love it.  You can link to me and learn about my travels that I don’t cover on the blog. If you need an invitation to join Google +, just let me know at vmb@atravelerslibrary.com

And on the subject of + , you now have the opportunity to plus A Traveler’s Library–up there in the right hand column.  That helps us show up in search results, and tells your friends that you approve of ATL.  You can also rate posts and comments that you find particularly helpful. It’s all about YOU and what you like.

SPONSORS.  You probably have noticed that Amazon ad that sprawls across the middle of the front page. It lists some of my very favorite books of those I have reviewed, and I update it as new favorites arrive. In the sidebar, you can find my favorite American Indian biographies, including, of course my own Quincy Tahoma: The Life and Legacy of a Navajo Artist, written with Charnell Havens. If you order here, you’ll get an autographed copy.  I hope that since we are all about books and movies here, that you will sometimes be tempted to purchase a book or a DVD of a book or movie I’ve discussed. I am a big supporter of independent book shops and web sites, but just in case you DO go to Amazon, I put links to Amazon on the site for your convenience.

Just a reminder that every time you click and buy ANYTHING–not just the object named in the link or ad–A Traveler’s Library gets a small benefit. And those small benefits mean I can spend time reading and reporting for you rather than spending my time finding income in other places.

Fly.Com: An efficient search site for airline flights, is now a sponsor of A Traveler’s Library.

Viking River Cruises: This company has always fascinated me, and you can see their link over on the right hand side.

Marriott Hotels:  I’m happy to have this good hotel company continuing to sponsor A Traveler’s Library.

A Freebie: The ad for Lonely Planet Bloggers’ Photo Book is the best deal going. You’ll get travel photos from the top bloggers on the Web, and its free! Click on the ad in the sidebar to download.

PARIS IN YOUR POCKET. One of the most viewed posts on A Traveler’s Library is called Ten Places to Eat Cheap(er)  in Paris. Now you can get it in e-book format to carry with you on your smartphone, I-Pad, computer, or e-reader. Go to Barnes and Noble Nook store or Amazon for Kindle today. For only $1.99, you can save lots of Euros on food in expensive Paris.

 A MYSTERY. Just in time for Hallowe’en last year, we had a spooky occurrence at A Traveler’s Library. In January 2010, Anil Polat of the great blog, Fox Nomad, wrote a blog post on the book and DVD, Long Way Round. I would give you a link to it, but it DISAPPEARED!  A few days later, I was looking for a post I wrote in April about movies in D.C., and it, too had gone missing.  I have a lot of work to do before I can figure out what is going on with the Purloined Posts, but please tell me if you go looking for something you thought you read here and can’t find it. (Cue spooky sounds…..)

My Disorganized Library

BOOKS TO BE READ I have, at least temporarily, abandoned the attempt to keep you informed about what is on my TBR pile, and what I am currently reading, and what I have read.  If you think the information is valuable or interesting, let me know, and I may resuscitate that page. For now, suffice it to say that I have 13 books waiting in my TBR pile, and all want to appear on A Traveler’s Library before the end of October.  Puh-leeze. Ain’t gonna happen.

The tiger photo and the spooky scene are compliments of Creative Commons and comes from Flickr, the bookcase is by Vera Marie Badertscher, all rights reserved.

Your feedback is welcome on any or all of this insider blogging stuff.

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Don’t miss this essay by Hilary Bradt of Bradt guides.

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St. Peter's Basilica, Rome

I have Longitude books to thank for this discovery, and you can browse the whole collection of these mysteries at their site. If you don’t already get their newsletter, I highly recommend it for outstanding travel books.

Aurelio Zen mysteries by Michael Dibdin  air on PBS, Sunday evenings July 17-31.

• Tour Sardinia with Vendetta.
• Tour Rome with Cabal.
• Tour Venice  (correction) Perugia with Ratking.

The brooding Middelmarch (BBC) actor, Rufus Sewell, plays the detective. (You may have seen him in the TV version of Pillars of the Earth.)

Rialto Bridge, Venice

These pictures are my property. If you wish to use them, please inquire at vmb@atravelerslibrary.com

Before we went to Italy I read nearly all of the Donna Leon mysteries set in Venice, and I read a couple of a series about an art appraiser by Ian Pears,  which I did not like as much, but you may like those, too. Have you read any of the Aurelio Zen mysteries? I have not, but am really looking forward to this series on Public Broadcasting.

A reader has corrected the erroneous destination I listed  for Ratking. Which calls into question my use of the Venice picture. Dibdin, did however, write a book set in Venice–Dead Lagoon,and . My apologies to everyone for getting that wrong. It was incorrect in some promotional materials and I did not check it. Shame on me.

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