The Tiger’s Wife: Joni Seymor of Inventive Travelware. Joni won because of good Karma.  A new reader, she not only commented, but she also announced the Ten Best Travel Books post on the Inventive Travelware Facebook page. Congratulations, Jonie. (And check out the interesting luggage tags on her web page.)

Lonely Planet’s Great Journeys: Unfortunately the first person chosen for this prize did not respond to my e-mail within 48 hours. So I drew again. And fortunately for Kristen Gough, who writes about kids and food at My Kids Eat Squid–She won! Kristen is a faithful commenter and Twitterer. Congratulations Kristen.

Railroad Stations.  Connie Cornelius who hails from Phoenix and has a tour company, won America’s Great Railroad Stations. (sorry, I don’t link to commercial sites, but I’m sure you can find her if you google.) More good reader karma here, as Connie has become a subscriber (there’s a trend her–it pays to subscribe), tweeted, commented and has even “liked” the Quincy Tahoma Facebook page. Thanks and Congratulations Connie!

Love In a Nut Shell and A Trick of the Light audio books go to Linda Style, another Arizonan–is there a trend here?  Linda writes romance novels and was recently featured in USA TODAY! We’re proud that she’s become a regular reader and valuable commenter.

Comfort and Joy, that very funny British novel, will be bringing joy to Jeanine Barone, a fellow travel writer who is a loyal supporter. Jeanine won with a Tweet! You can catch her off-beat places and experiences at J, The Travel Authority. I am a big fan of her writing and the little-known places she shares.

Parisian Postcards goes out to Idaho to Richard Mussler-Wright, the most faithful of commenters, and also a subscriber. Yep! being a subscriber gets you an automatic entry every day. You just need to tell me one time that you want to have your subscription count. That’s because some people, believe it or not–don’t like to win things!

Casablanca DVD Set: NO WINNER YET. We did not receive a response from the first winner, and so have sent a notice to a 2nd person. PLEASE respond within 48 hours when you get a notice that you won, or I’ll have to draw again.

Good Graces: Deborah Robinson, who blogs as KoloaDeb at California Dreaming, didn’t respond in time to win the Great Journeys book, but kept on commenting, and tweeting and won this time around.

I-95 Books: Claudine Jalajas says she was planning a trip on I-95 with her family, so the gift is perfect for her.Claudine makes beautiful jewelry and blogs about her crafts and family.

The Perfect Suspect by Margaret Coel. Marcia Mayne, who blogs about travel from her part-time home in Jamaica, won this one. You can read her delightful travel blog, Inside Journeys.

Building a Fire (Cherokee art and life) will be shipped to Alexandra Grabbe, the innkeeper at Chez Sven on Cape Cod, a Green B & B. She blogs about Wellfleet, innkeeping and the environment at Chez Sven Blog.

Culture Smart China and The Song of the Silk Road go to Deborah Ryan, who won the books with a tweet (@FollowMe Travelr). You can read Deborah’s words at her travel/life blog Follow Me Traveler.

The Portuguese, A Modern History, will be enticing  Casey Barber to travel to Portugal. If she books passage, you can bet she’ll come back and tell us about the food at her wonderful food blog Good. Food. Stories. 

Seeking Sicily, will similarly be tempting Meredith Resnick to travel to Sicily. Meredith writes about psychology, adoption issues and she asks deeply intelligent questions in interviews with writers about writing at one of my favorite under-appreciated blogs on the web, The Writer’s Inner Journey. (Disclaimer: she interviewed me once, but I loved her blog even before that!)

Lights, Camera, Travel, goes to writer Mariam Marcutt. You can see the two books she and her co-author have published at their website. I love all my readers, of course, but Mariam is one of those very special readers–a new subscriber!  Thanks for subscribing, Mariam.

Etruscan Places will go, appropriately I think, to the author of European Travelista–Debbie Beardsley. Perhaps it will inspire her to explore Etruscan Italy.

On the Road to Babadag goes to a new reader this year–Davis Keeler. If you happened to miss some of his terrific comments, do a search for his name and see what he has to say.  You can also read more of his writing at his blog, Elsewhere and Elsewhen. Congrats and keep those great comments coming, Davis.

P.O. Box Love (Waiting for reply)

Meanwhile, the GRAND PRIZE WINNERS HAVE BEEN ANNOUNCED.

Thanks to everyone who played, and I hope that you’ll stick around and help us celebrate a bunch of good books and movies that inspire travel during 2012.

The photo used here is from Flickr with a Creative Commons license. Click on the photo for more information.  Disclaimers regarding prizes can be found on the original post about the prize offering.

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©2012 A Traveler's Library. All Rights Reserved.

Well we did it–4 founders up in Seattle, some big donor sponsors, and lots of donors of prizes, including Hotel Monteleone, Interlink Books and MacMillan Audio.  And YOU who bid on prizes.  The bidding closed last night at midnight, but we had hit 100% before that.  THANK YOU EVERYONE.

Now on to SHOPPING….

don’t forget the great discounts offered ONLY to readers of A Traveler’s Library.  All the details are in the post I did called Ten Perfect Gifts for Travelers Who Read, but here’s a short take:

• Lonely Planet  wants to give you 20% off on ANY books you buy at their store.
•  OKA b shoes (the shoes that love you) is offering 15% off on any pair of OKAb s you purchase at their Web Store.
•  Interlink Books matches Lonely Planet and chips in 20% off any books you choose from them.
• Through a Dog’s Ear , will calm your dog with music and when you purchase two particular CDs, they’ll calm your wallet with a g-normous 25% off.

(Be sure to check out the fine print link on the 10 Perfect Gifts page for all these deals from A Traveler’s Library, but trust me,  these are seriously good deals from really fantastic companies!!)

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©2012 A Traveler's Library. All Rights Reserved.

Destination: New York City

Book: Lonely Planet’s Not-For-Parents Series:New York City: Everything You Ever Wanted to Know 

Review by Jennifer Close

Central Park, Broadway shows, and the Museum of Modern Art are just a few reasons that New York City has been on my list of places to visit for as long as I can remember. In all of our travels, somehow The Big Apple was always just out of reach. It was too expensive, too far from where we would be, not enough time, and just about any other reason you can think of. Now that we have children, New York City is still at the top of my travel list but I plan on adding Dylan’s Candy Bar, FAO Schwartz, the Brooklyn Bridge, and a Yankees game to that list.

Sometime this year, we will be making a trip up to visit my sister and it is only another 7 hours or so north to New York City so I have been leaving little hints for my husband. I love a glossy guidebook and have purchased a few about NYC to leave on various tables around the house. I have also blatantly stated that I am currently saving our pennies to add a couple of days in NYC to our itinerary. My husband isn’t necessarily buying it so I decided that I needed to step it up a notch. It is time to enlist the help of my kids.

Enter the Not-For-Parents series by Lonely Planet.

Loving the Book

The Not-For-Parents series includes books about New York City, London, Paris and Rome titled Everything You Ever Wanted to Know. When the book arrived, I left it on the coffee table and my five-year-old daughter found it as soon as she walked in the house. The brightly decorated cover grabbed her attention right away. She asked me to read a few things to her, but for the most part she flipped through the pages for a good thirty minutes on her own. The pages are covered with great illustrations and photographs.

My son is an avid reader so it didn’t surprise me when he spent time flipping through the illustrated pages and reading the interesting facts. He was most interested in What Lurks Beneath where the reader learns more about the sewer system and whether or not alligators really live there! I like that the book covers all different aspects of New York City. Read about Sesame Street, animals that live in the city, the Empire State Building, and the Statue of Liberty. There are pages about Ground Zero and New York’s Finest. Learn some secrets about Grand Central Station and how people checked in at Ellis Island. There is a lot of history thrown in but in a way that makes the reader want more. Even though I have been researching a visit to NYC for years, I learned a few new things myself!

Inside Everything You Wanted to Know About New York

This isn’t your typical guidebook. It doesn’t list locations, cost or hours of operation but that is okay because it is meant for children and your children will be with you on the trip, right? You can navigate and plan out when you should visit while your kids help guide the decisions about which attractions to choose. This book is meant to help get your kids ready and excited for their visit.

After reading Everything You Ever Wanted to Know about New York City, both of my children have quite an opinion of what they want to see if (when?!?) we visit New York City. They are begging dad for a visit.

My plan just might work after all!

Jennifer says: I received a review copy of Everything You Ever Wanted to Know about New York City. As always, my opinions are my own with no outside influences.

Vera says: Lonely Planet is running some holiday specials right now, including buy two books, get the third free; and free shipping for purchases of $40 or more. So although we provide you with links to Amazon,(which earns a few cents for an Amazon affiliate, but costs you no more) you might want to do a little comparison shopping over at Lonely Planet. And while you’re there, look at the book I recommended as part of Ten Perfect Gifts for Travelers Who Read, the new Lonely Planet Great Journeys.

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©2012 A Traveler's Library. All Rights Reserved.

1. Showoffs Travel Bags $14.99 (for package of two small,two large, 3 plastic bottles) up to $35.99 for larger pack.

I have to admit that when I first saw these decorated plastic bags, (sent to me by the company) I thought “Who needs that? I have Ziplock™.  However, when you’ve had a grueling airplane flight, you’re adjusting to a new time zone in a blah hotel, it is awfully nice to have something pretty that makes you smile.

They come in many lovely designs, from feminine to tailored. And, worry not, I breezed through security with the smaller bags stuffed with liquids or creams with nary a frown from the uniforms.

Interlink Books

$$ 2. Interlink Books (Varied prices)

20% off your order if you’re a reader of A Traveler’s Library. When you order, tell them A Traveler’s Library sent you, and you want your 20% off.

I could not improve on the description of Interlink Books on their web site:

Using travel as a way to build cultural bridges has been part of Interlink’s fabric since its birth 24 years ago…(Our books) give you the background information to enrich your journey; they encourage you to connect with people; they nudge you to leave your comfort zone, and help you to discover the unfamiliar. If you would like to get to the heart and soul of a city, go there with an open mind—independently; read about the city’s history and indulge in its genuine cuisine culture; and most importantly sample the literature of its leading novelists.

And if you need one more reason to shop at Interlink Books–they are a contributor to the Passports With Purpose fund raiser.

 $$ 3. OKA b shoes

15% discount on all the “shoes that love you” to readers of A Traveler’s Library. Go to Oka b’s web site and use the code: OKA15C4P in the box “Promotion Code”. Please read the  fine print here.

 I first came upon Oka b sandals at a resort spa at the Resort at Squaw Creek in Squaw Valley at Lake Tahoe. It was an impulse purchase that I have never regretted. That first pair of sandals became my house-shoes, my travel slippers, my emergency dressier-than-Keds shoes. They are soft and flexible, have a ridged surface that massages your foot as you walk, and they even fit my impossible-to-fit feet.  People with less difficult feet can select from a wide variety of slip-on shoes from Oka  b, but meanwhile, I’m accumulating a pair of my favorite, Jasmine,  in every color. Definitely a PERFECT gift for the male OR female traveler on your list.

Envirosax

4. Enviro Sax (Under $25)

This is the travel set of EnviroSax–one bag each with Paris, New York and Sidney on the side. The company sent me this set several months ago. I reviewed it here, and have used it constantly. How convenient to put that tiny little rolled-up bag in your luggage, and then be able to expand when you need to. Here’s one fully packed for a picnic.

The many designs are sophisticated and fun.

And here’s another idea–use a bag to wrap a present. No throw away mess.

5. Liberty Bottleworks: Water Bottles made in the USA. ($16-18)

I really mean to stop using plastic disposable water bottles. Honest, I do.  But I’ve had a hard time finding an affordable option that holds enough water for a thirsty Arizonan and doesn’t contain nasty BPAs.  Liberty Bottleworks to the rescue.  They sent me two of their travel-themed bottles–one  with a topo map of the Grand Canyon and one with a BART map (metro) for San Francisco. You can choose from many gorgeous-er designs (EG:See those by Audrey Kranz), but I thought you, as a traveler, would appreciate the map theme. Agree?

Feel good about this choice–100% recycled aluminum. 1% of their profits goes to charity. Think of all the money you can save by not buying $3 bottles of water at airports. And you can buy either 16 oz or 32 oz. The cap stays on tight. And the price is right.

$$ 6. Lonely Planet Book: Great Journeys. $39.99 a the Lonely Planet Site

20% off your order at lonelyplanet.com/shop when you enter the code “Travlib” at checkout. Good through January 15, 2012. Please read the fine print here.

Every holiday gift list must contain at least one block-buster book, and this is it. Great Journeys suggests routes by train, on foot, road trips by car or bus, and any other conveyance you can think of. In this exhaustive book, you’ll track famous trips (Marco Polo); scenic  wonders; cultural introductions; adventurous trips and easy ones. In typical Lonely Planet style the photos are luscious and the narrative practical. What time of year should you go? How long will it take? What are the don’t-miss components? Because the book is crammed with so many trips, some of the descriptions are a bit superficial (“Don’t forget to get a Visa for Iran” as though that is simple). However, think of this as a book of temptations rather than a guidebook.  If you actually decide to follow one of these treks, you’ll need to buy one or more LP Guide Books to help with the details.  Readers who travel (or travelers who read) will be particularly interested in the suggestions for books and movies at each stop.

$$ 7. Through a Dog’s Ear , C.D.s for your pet. Prices vary from $14.98 through $99.98 for one CD through a set of eight.

Discounts for readers of A Traveler’s Library  AND  Will My Dog Hate Me. Buy these TWO CDs: Driving Edition and Music to Calm your Canine Companion Vol. 3 and get 25% off until December 31, 2011. Use coupon code TravelWithCalmDog. Please see FINE PRINT here.

Not all dogs love to ride in cars. Many of them are stressed by the noise and movement — or by the idea that they’re heading for the vet. Our pet travel expert, Edie Jarolim, who writes Will My Dog Hate Me and reviews pet travel books for her Pet Travel Book Club here at A Traveler’s Library, offers a remedy.

The Through a Dog’s Ear CD series, created by a scientist, a veterinarian and a Juilliard-trained pianist, helps calm your dog with classical music in a variety of stressful situations (including too many strangers in the house for the holidays). Edie elicited a testimonial of the CDs’ effectiveness from Wrigley the dog, who was surprised to discover a famous composer shared a name with a movie dog: see Roll Over Beethoven.

8. Travelon Bag $39.98 at the Travelon Site, less expensive elsewhere on the Internet.

Jane Boursaw, who writes about film at Reel Life With Jane and here on Wednesday Matinee,  has a three-compartment, expandable Travelon shoulder bag.  ”I have very specific requirements, mostly having to do with how much I can pack into an organized space, whether there’s room to sneak snacks into theaters, and how easily I can get to stuff inside the bag while sitting ina dark theater. ”  Travelon has many styles of luggage and handbags in sturdy microfiber fabric, but this one might be the perfect one for your travel gift.

9.Music for the Holidays: Winter’s Eve: Acoustic Music (blues and jazz) or Song of Solstice
(Celtic) $12.00 and $20.00.

Kerry Dexter, who writes about music at Music Road (where you will find more gift suggestons) and here on Music Mondays, suggests two albums to celebrate the holidays. You can match the musical taste of your gift recipient. (We have linked these two to Amazon for your convenience because you can listen to the tracks there, and the prices quoted are at Amazon, but you may want to buy at your local music or bookstore.) Kerry explains the music:

On Winter’s Eve, there’s a jazz bluegrass fusion banjo led take on a familiar melody in Carol of the Kings, a study of  grief and repentance in Absalom,  and a celebration of joyous renewal in New Night Dawning. Variety and diversity enough to reach across a range of faiths and musical tastes, and make them worth  the listening at the holidays and through the year.

On Song of Solstice, you may hear about the lively Celtic winter spirit of The Green Man, reflect on how Buddha, Christ, and the light each of us brings to the world are connected, and enjoy the meditative carol In the Bleak Midwinter.

10. Stray Boots Tours  (Per person price $12-for one tour zone, $30 for three)

Not really an organized tour kind of person, but you’d like to learn a bit more about the city you’re visiting? Stray Boots provides a cell-phone activated, do-it-yourself tour and scavanger hunt rolled into one.  This puts the fun back in discovering a city, and I can imagine that it would be super fun played with two teams or with a family.  Families with teens who think travel is “Bor-r-r-ring” might particularly benefit from the lively Stray Boots Tours.

The company sent me codes so I could sample a D.C. tour and a San Francisco tour.  I ran through some of the questions and challenges on my smart phone.  My small sampling of the game intrigued me enough that I’d definitely want to try this out the next time I’m planning a city jaunt.  Love finding those obscure places and bits of information as I travel.

Disclaimers, per the regular policy of A Traveler’s Library: I have mentioned above when companies sent me trial products. I frequently review books sent to me by Interlink books. however, when people send me no-good products or no-good books, I don’t recommend them to you. Photos were supplied by the companies, with the exception of the loaded Envirosax, which is my photo, and the CD covers which are Amazon links. If you shop by clicking on an Amazon link in this post,Music Road, as an Amazon affiliate, will make a few cents, but your price does not increase. 

And there you have it– a variety of gifts for the variety of people you are buying gifts for; a variety of prices for all pocketbooks, and best of all–DISCOUNTS!  I have some more ideas, so I will be back soon with some different kinds of suggestions.  So, which of these gifts would you be most likely to buy?? And why?

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©2012 A Traveler's Library. All Rights Reserved.

TV Series: Wallander with Kenneth Branagh  ( BBC and PBS)

Guest Post by Melanie McMinn

Melanie McMinn

Melanie McMinn, an American ex-pat writer and artist living in New Zealand, actually takes time off from raising bees, creating creatures of felted wool, cooking, remodeling, and making all sorts of other things including a blog called Frugal Kiwi–which was named one of the five best blogs of Australia/New Zealand in last year’s Bloggies–(pant! pant! she’s wearing me out)– to watch television.  When I mentioned that I was doing a series of mysteries here at A Traveler’s Library, she jumped at the opportunity to talk about her favorite. She watches Wallander on BBC, but Americans have seen two series of the show on PBS’ Masterpiece Mystery Theater (2009 and 2010), and are hoping the next three will appear soon.

Kurt Wallander inhabits  the eerie liminal space of Sweden’s long summer twilight and sunrise hours. Kenneth Branagh plays him as obliquely as the lighting for the BBC’s take on the internationally best-selling detective novel by Henning Mankell set in the town of Ystad.

Wallander doesn’t brood. He exists with the same low level of anxiety that many of us know so well. His wife has left him. His grown daughter disapproves of his profession and worries for his “inner life”. His artist father who is spiraling into dementia disapproves of Wallander as well, it seems, but for years has painted the same landscape again and again as his only work-varying only occasionally to add a grouse in the foreground. Wallander wakes up repeatedly through the series, but never in a bed.

The filming of the series isn’t the gritty cop drama grey we are used to seeing. One word you want is cinematography. Two others are super-saturated. The colours are heightened and you feel you are watching an art film. You know if you pay enough attention, all of this stunning camera work is bound to have a deeper meaning.

From the very first episode, you are steeped in the landscape of Sweden. Blazing yellow fields of rape blow in the wind. That scene, along with the fiery one that follows burns itself into your memory. In other episodes, characters are swallowed by the rolling hills and the crashing waves of the sea.

The set design transports you to Sweden as well. The Scandinavian aesthetic surrounds our characters and defines them. You never feel you are in an anonymous British or American setting. You have the feeling of 60s Scandinavian design, but tending now, 50 years later, to decay and disillusionment-the hopes for Utopia ground down by reality.

The Wallander feature-length episodes generally address societal issues with themes include sex trade rings and near slavery conditions of immigrant workers. If you enjoy incredibly high production values, acting from Academy Award winners, plots from best-selling novels all set in the Southern Swedish landscape, Wallander is probably for you. Two seasons have been released with the third due in 2012.

I also found the theme song of the series so haunting, I bought the album. See what you think from the soundtrack video below.

(Vera Here) I admit that I missed the two that were previously aired, but I’m gonna have to get those DVDs and see some of that “eerie liminal space.” Not to mention Kenneth Branagh, who can always be counted upon to charm and chill in equal measure. Thanks so much for sharing this with us, Melanie McMinn.

Videos are downloaded with permission of You Tube.  I provided a link to Amazon in case you would like to purchase a DVD of Wallander. Remember that anything you buy within 24 hours of using a link from this site benefits A Traveler’s Library, but does not cost you any extra. Magic, isn’t it?

Do you watch Masterpiece Mystery Theater if you are in the U.S.? Or BBC mysteries if you live elsewhere? Which detective that they feature is your favorite?

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©2012 A Traveler's Library. All Rights Reserved.

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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©2012 A Traveler's Library. All Rights Reserved.

AND, this is embarrassing, but the most perfect gift for travelers who read somehow got left off the list. So here it is:

Book Lust to Go: Recommended Reading for Travelers, Vagabonds, and Dreamers
by Nancy Pearl

In case you are not one of those glued to NPR when Nancy Pearl talks about books…in case you don’t yet own your own Nancy Pearl action figure…read my review of Book Lust To Go. And then put it on the gift list for every traveler who reads.

A Moveable Feast

1. A MOVEABLE FEAST:Life-Changing Food Adventures Around the World, edited by Don George, published by Lonely Planet (2010)

SPECIAL DEAL:  Readers of A Traveler’s Library: Enter the code TRAVLIB  in the on-line order form, Lonely Planet will give a 20% discount on any book. Through 1/15/11.

Lonely Planet publishes lots more than guidebooks.  I make a bee-line for the  travel literature section of Lonely Planet pictorials and gifts. That’s where you’ll find Moveable Feast, jam-packed ( pun intended) with beautifully written food/travel essays from top travel writers like Jan Morris, Simon Winchester or Anthony Bourdain. What could be better for the travel reader in your life? (And no, I have no idea why they are using Ernest Hemingway’s title.) $14.99 before your A Traveler’s Library discount.

Atlantic Luggage from CSN

2. ATLANTIC  LUGGAGE

Until I discovered CSN, I didn’t realize I could shop in a virtual department store. You can furnish your home, clothe your kids and pick up your travel needs at CSN, which includes 200 stores. At the luggage store , I selected this Atlantic 22″ roll-aboard Ultra Light suitcase. The purchase process was painless, and carrying the 6-pound-suitcase is painless, too. Because it is an economy version of TravelPro, I knew the quality would be good. I particularly like the big pockets on the outside. Somebody you know needs this. $73.99 at CSN.

Scottish Travel Wrap

3. SCOTTISH CASHMERE TRAVEL WRAP

From The Travel Wrap Company

I can SO see myself curled up with a travel literature book, wrapped in my wrap, aptly named “Plain Gorgeous.” This gift, I will admit is a big splurge. But there are times when we just want to splurge on a gift for somebody your traveling mom or  girlfriend. It subs for that missing airline pillow and blanket, and so does much more.

Price: £194 adult/£140 children. In the U.S., subtract £17.50 per item VAT.  I figured a woman’s wrap, with shipping, would cost about $292.00 for U.S. buyers.  To see the price on an item, you have to click on the specific item/color you are interested in.

4. MUSEYON GUIDES provides guidebooks for travelers for the literate. Or as they say, “A curated guide to your obsessions.”  That means music, cities, movies, art, for instance. Follow their link for a classy blog about cultural travel.

SPECIAL DEAL: For  A Traveler’s Library readers only: A SECRET STORE.  When you follow the link to the secret store at Museyon Guides, you will get a 20% discount on EVERY book they sell. And get this–even if it has already been discounted, you’ll get another 20% off!!

I took Museyon’s Film + Travel guides for a test drive.  The books come in  travel-handy, 5 x 8 soft cover editions–one each for ; North and South America; Europe; and one for  (big breath) Asia, Oceania and Africa.  The guides are written by experts or as one editor says “by pedants for dilettantes.” (LOVE IT!) My only complaint is that they don’t cover a lot of territory. One hopes that there will be future editions.  But if tracking down movie scenes (a la Movie Walks in Paris) is not your thing, Museyon guides offers other books. The Movie +Travel Guides are currently on sale at Museyon for $11.95 (BEFORE your 20% discount).

Jotter SS Satin Black BallPoint Pen

5. JOTTER “MAD MEN” PEN

The man in your life can create million dollar advertising campaigns, write heartbreaking brush-off letters, and make a list of the liquor  needed for the office bar, with the OFFICIAL Mad Men Pen, The Jotter SS Ball Point. Mad Men, the T.V. show, deftly recreates the early 1960′s.  The traveler you are shopping for needs a pen to make notes in her or his travel journal, write postcards, and fill in the custom forms.

Great stocking stuffer. I found them on line for as little as $9.99.

6. VINNI BAG

This product is a real find! Although I don’t generally haul wine around in my suitcase, I do have a dog-loving friend who once wrote about wrapping her wine in her bras. I have another friend who has been known to travel with an extra suitcase full of only bubblewrap for safely packing African crafts. I will fill the Vinni Bag with Christmas ornaments the next time I travel, or olive oil from Greece. The video explains everything to you. A Green Note: If you send it back, they will recycle the material into garden hoses! Now can’t you think of several travelers who would love this gift?

$28.00 for one, $25 each for more than one at the Vinni Bag website.

Diaper Buds

7. DIAPER BUDS

Know a mother who is juggling baby and travel? As anybody who has ever carted an infant over the river and through the woods knows, diapers can be a problem. Problem solved with diaper buds. A tiny little package gives you two full sized diapers. Tuck it away and you’re ready to go.

(Unless you follow the diaper-free baby philosophy of a friend of mine, that is.)

They have a special trial deal on their website offering  a trial “bud” for $1.00. Regular prices are $5.99 for a small pack (8 or 9 in pack depending on diaper size) or $17.99 for a large pack of 24 to30.(Diaper sizes 1-5)

Interlink Books

8. INTERLINK PUBLISHING

SPECIAL DEAL: Interlink Publishing is offering a discount coupon code to A Traveler’s Library readers. 20% off any book you order from their web site.

This may be my favorite place for literary travel books. The beautiful books they publish are carefully selected for smart, discerning readers. Their tag line says it all “Changing the Way People Think About the World.”  I have reviewed  Italian Art for Travelers and A Traveler’s History of Italy.  Check Interlink’s Gift Suggestion Page. And go here for CHILDREN’S Books, including young adult that span the world. Prices vary, and you get a discount of 20% just for reading A Traveler’s Library.

Yak Pak Psychedelia

9. YAK PAK

Special Deal for readers of A Traveler’s Library. YakPak has offered to give one of you a student backpacks–and you get to choose a pattern (from those available).*See rules below.

Specially for pre-teens and teens.

Last January, a lucky reader here won a Yak Pak tote bag.  I was so impressed, that when they offered to let me test one of their backpacks, I jumped at the chance.  They chose the pattern (they have just short of a jillion stylish patterns) and I got one called “Black Psychedelia.” It’s a genuine back-to-the-sixties purple and yellow and orange and green and red tie-dye. The teenagers in the family think it is tres cool, and I got comments when I carried it through the airport.

The material of Yak Paks–in small purses up to carry-on suitcases–is the most amazing stuff.  It is so strong that I can’t imagine it ever tearing, and it doesn’t even scuff. This student backpack has a big interior and one small exterior pocket, and it holds a lot of stuff– including my netbook–with ease. But check the variety of choices at their website. This one costs $25 at the YakPak site.

10. WRAPPING – NOT PAPER

Let’s have an eco-friendly Christmas. Can we do without the mounds of throw-away paper and ribbon and all that frou-frou? In the US alone, an additional 5 million (an equivalent to 25% more garbage) tons of waste is generated during the winter holidays.

Bobo Everyday Wrap

No-paper wrapping , the Bobo Wrap. Wrap in a scarf that is a 2nd present. The one shown is $9.95 but they have much more expensive ones, too.

Lyzi Wrap Rip-Stop Nylon

Lyzi Wrap–stretchy fabric, bags made from old plastic banners, all kinds of fun stuff and all containers will be reusable. $6-$9 for Lyzi Wraps.

Disclaimer: Although I selected all of these products BEFORE the companies provided samples, in addition to offering my readers a discount, Publishers Lonely Planet and Museyon gave me review copies of their books. CSN stores gave me a gift certificate to purchase anything I wished in their store. Vinni Bags sent me a sample bag so I could see how it works. YakPak sent me a student backpack to review.

*For the Yak Pak Giveaway

• I’ll pick a comment at random, from those comments that tell me which gift on the list you are most likely to buy.For extra chances, tweet about this post (using @pen4hire in the tweet) or Subscribe by e-mail.
• Starting now.
• Ending December 15. (Must have U.S. mailing address)

Also see

• 2009 Gifts for Travelers
• Passports With Purpose
• Gifts Under $20 (2009)

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©2012 A Traveler's Library. All Rights Reserved.

NASA's View of the World

I’m a World Travel Blogger.

First you read about the world.
Then you plan a trip.
You have become a world traveler.

At A Traveler’s Library, we define travel books as those that define a place or a culture and make us want to go there. And we define world travel as ANYWHERE in the world–from a few blocks away from home (36 Hours in Tucson), to a  South Pacific Island.

If a road trip around America does not sound like world travel to you, keep in mind that Europeans and Asians and South Americans come to the U.S. for road trips all the time. And a Greek writer set a thriller on America’s roads. That’s world travel too.

All of the above explains why I am so proud that A Traveler’s Library was chosen as one of the Lonely Planet Blog Sherpas, and why I am so pleased to meet so many other bloggers talking about travel. You can find my posts scattered among the pages of the Lonely Planet web site.

Once Lonely Planet put these bloggers all in the same room, so to speak, by creating a list serve, a strange and wonderful thing happened–they became a world-wide family. Little by little, like a baby exploring its fingers and toes, they realized that they could increase their reach by banding together.

Lots of ideas are rolling around on that list serve of LP Sherpas, but one of the best was the creation of this world travel Squidoo page. Any time your travel lust needs a little tickle, take a look at this list of bloggers talking travel.

Note: You will not find all of these bloggers on my favorites page for various technical reason.  Just bookmark that Squidoo page and you will have your own window into world travel, with links to their latest posts.

Please tell me: Where do you go when you need to get information on travel? When you just want to learn about a place you didn’t know about before? What are your best Internet resources for travel? Let’s pool our resources.

And remember, if you subscribe by e-mail you DOUBLE your chances of winning in the May Travel Book Giveaway. Not to mention that you double your reading fun by getting these posts in your mail box when they are fresh out of the oven.

This content is a post from: A Traveler's Library To comment on this post or search for related information, click on the link to A Traveler's Library. We'll leave a light on for you.

©2012 A Traveler's Library. All Rights Reserved.

Grand Prize #3 AND

The Great American Road Trip

USA Book

Destination: The American Road

Book: The USA Book: A Journey Through America (2009) from Lonely Planet.

This book weighs a ton.  Well not QUITE a ton, but you know what I mean. It is a nice big coffee table book printed on fine, heavy paper to show off the hundreds of photographs.

But after all, it is portraying a great big country. The USA Book: A Journey Through America, published in 2009 by Lonely Planet briefly talks about some categories of interest, and sketches out the country by regions and then it gets down to business. Each state gets four big colorful pages.

For instance, take Ohio. The capsule description reads, “Pay Ohio some respect.  It’s the nation’s seventh-most populous state–stocked with roller coasters, rock and roll, Appalachian parks and party islands–and Ohio decides the nation’s fate with its political votes.” Take that, you snoothy northeasterners.

Pictures include the historic Union Terminal in Cincinnati. It is spectacular, by the way. I’ve wandered around gazing at the wonderful art-deco design and paintings. Other pictures show the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland, an unidentified roller coaster. When my husband and I honeymooned in a cabin in one of Ohio’s state parks, we ventured out to go down to Cincinnati to write on their roller coaster. And of course there is a corn field.

Did you know that Ohio is home to eight Presidents? And here’s a myth from the book–Ohio births Presidents, but also kills them. “Tecumseh’s Curse” Tecumseh cursed William Henry Harrison who defeated the Indians at the Battle of Tippecanoe (surely you remember Tippecanoe and Tyler, too–the most memorable Presidential slogan until “It’s the economy, stupid”). The curse said Harrison would be elected but not serve. And if you remember your history, he caught pneumonia at his inaugural and died shortly afterward.  But Tecumseh’s curse went on to apply to every Great White Father elected in a year ending in “0″. And the curse claimed many victims, including Lincoln and Kennedy until Reagan broke the curse.

I think you can see from this tidbit that The USA book, besides being beautiful, will inform you and entertain you as you plan your Great American Road Trip. (But, where, Ken is asking, is the Buckeye tree and THE Ohio State University?)

This post is a triple whammy–my daily post about a book that inspires travel, the Wednesday Great American Road Trip post AND

The USA Book is the Third Giveaway Grand Prize.  By the way, that picture looks like the soft cover edition, but I’ll be sending you the HARD COVER edition. When I thought about how much the shipping costs would be, I almost pulled it out of the contest, but all of you who have faithfully posted and tweeted and signed up for subscriptions, deserve a chance at this book.  So go ahead, add another comment, tweet another tweet, and if you have not yet subscribed, go do it for 3 more chances. The Grand Prize Drawings will be after midnight MST Friday January 29  and the prizes will be announced next week. Good Luck. Oh, and if you don’t win, you can always click on that square in the sidebar that says Lonely Planet and go right to their site to buy a copy.

This content is a post from: A Traveler's Library To comment on this post or search for related information, click on the link to A Traveler's Library. We'll leave a light on for you.

©2012 A Traveler's Library. All Rights Reserved.

And the winners are...

I am stealing borrowing this idea from Kathryn and Daniel at Two Go Rtw. (See how honest I am). Just made a couple of small changes, but I want to express my gratitude to all the people who are helping this blog grow.

I want to  share with you the Best of November at A Traveler’s Library.  That includes the five posts that drew the most traffic, the readers who left more than five comments during the month, and the sites that referred readers most frequently.

Most Popular Posts

1. Not surprisingly, people are looking for gift suggestions and I tried to oblige with: 10 Perfect Gifts for Travelers Who Read

Great-Grandfather's resting place

2. I thought I was going to write about books, but also wrote about family in : Veteran’s Day

3. A guest post by the owner of a B & B who promotes literature and indie booksellers wrote: Travel to A Cape Cod Town in This Novel

4. I had fun interviewing the author of the book that unravels :The Lost Symbol

5. And one of my favorites–a guest author finds a surprise in Boston for my France on Friday series: Travel Book Author Finds France in Boston

Readers Who Comment (lots)

Letter Writing

Six lovely and astute readers who come back often and contributed to our conversations 5 or more times:

Kerry Dexter. Don’t know how she does it, but she commented eleven times, and if I created an award for most helpful comments, Kerry would win that, too.

Jessie Voigts. Month in and month out, this busy lady drops by and says “Hi” and comments on a post. Ten times in November!

Brett, Jennifer , Stephanie, and Alexandra also came by at least five times each and contributed greatly to the conversation.

Thanks to all who leave comments, and bloggers, don’t forget that Comment Luv puts a little teaser from your latest blog after your comment, to draw traffic back to you. Want to see Your name in lights next month? Never too late to start commenting.

Those Who Sent Traffic Our Way

In case you have ever wondered about the usefulness of blog rolls, read on…

The Whole World

Where I’ve Been, the Blog that goes with the traveler participation web site, Where I’ve Been. You are invited to make a map of your travels and share your stories.

Passports With Purpose, the exciting project that is building a school in Cambodia. (not to late to win fabulous prizes–click on their link).

My Itchy Travel Feet, the travel blog with gorgeous photos aimed at boomers with soft adventure in mind.

Lonely Planet, as a member of the Blog Sherpa program, my blog appears on the Lonely Planet web site.

Wasabimon, the charming cooking blog that stresses gluten-free recipes without losing any of the taste and allure.

So there you have it. The people who make this blog keep on going-and going-and going. In November, the month of Thanksgiving, I find I have a lot to be thankful for.

This content is a post from: A Traveler's Library To comment on this post or search for related information, click on the link to A Traveler's Library. We'll leave a light on for you.

©2012 A Traveler's Library. All Rights Reserved.