The Travel Bookshop

Hemingway’s “The Sun Also Rises” is not only regarded as the man’s best work of literature but also his most important. It also happens to be a great piece of literature for anyone with a drive to see new places or even expatriate to a country that seems different but not to the point that it would be impossible to make a living. It also happens to be broken up into three books as Hemingway was never fond of traditional chapters.  Hemingway published this particular tale just one year after his own experiences visiting Europe. There, he witnessed the running of the bulls in Pamplona, Spain with several expatriate friends. While he had initially intended to write a book about bullfighting, something that was a great passion of his, he succumbed to his creative urges and wrote this piece of literature known as a “roman à clef.” This French term means “novel with a key” and is used to describe fiction that basically files off the serial numbers of people and places that actually existed and participated.  The protagonist of the book is Jake Barnes, an American and former soldier who is unable to engage in sex. Barnes is an expat living…

“Tales of a Female Nomad, Living at Large in the World” is the memoir of Rita Golden Gelman. Gelman is an accomplished writer who has published over 70 children’s books and a pair of adult books. The urge to write this particular book struck Gelman during the process of a painfful divorce. Wanting to seek out the best in life, she chose to flee her Los Angeles residence and sell off all of her material possessions in order to become a global wanderer in 1986, beginning with a trip south of the border to Mexico City. To this day, Gelman “maintains” no set residence and has few possessions to her name.  This book is filled with Gelman’s stories of mendicant meandering in pursuit of connecting with the world’s many peoples and cultures. Some of these anecdotes include the following.  A stint residing within an indigenous Mexican community of Zapotec.  Encountering the curious and clever orangutans of Borneo’s verdant rainforest.  Sleeping on the Galapagos Islands with only the sounds of sea lions and the gentle crashing of waves against the coast as her lullaby.  Multiple brushes with mysticism and the occult, from meditative healers to Santeria.  Communing with dozens with women as they cooked,…

Almost everybody we know loves to travel and is looking for inspiration for their next trip. In a lot of ways, it’s almost addict-like. But instead of seeking out the next thrill, we’re seeking out the next destination. This day-and-age of digital marketing and e-commerce leads many of us to search for travel books online—or just search online for the top beach vacations, safari trips, romantic getaways, best European cities, top South American destinations, etc. Still, the local brick-and-mortar book shop can be a great way to find a more deeply personal, if a somewhat random and spontaneous, inspiration for your next trip. As a group of former booksellers, here is what we recommend….   How Local Booksellers Local booksellers use planograms with “anchor” book titles that create a visual focal point for that section of bookshelf, while also helping shoppers find the most popular selections and, thus, in theory, increase sales. When we reached out to some of our friends who are still in the business, they confirm that some of the best visual merchandising software on the market can make a difference to the bottom-line. You might turn around and say, “I thought that kind of planogram software…