My daughter and I have a love affair with travel. It's not just visiting places as tourists but as travelers, aiming to understand the lives and cultures of different people. We have learned that not everyone approaches travel like we do, and we strive to grasp this. Our adventures have taken us to 88 countries, 50 states, and seven continents. Now, at 90, I’ve visited 88 countries, and my goal is to reach 100 before I turn 100. That’s a passion of mine. The five books I’ve included help us understand our inner drive to travel, enhancing our overall love for it and providing an exhilarating experience.
I wrote...
Have a Love Affair with Travel: Your Ticket to an Exhilarating Life
Before traveling to Vietnam, I read this historical novel that profoundly shaped my experience. Trekking through jungle paths, I felt the emotional horror the author described. I empathized with her isolation upon returning home, rejected as a pariah.
Today’s Vietnam is vastly different, leaving me with complex emotions—understanding both the veterans who served there and the resilient people I met. The book deepened my appreciation for Vietnam’s modern philosophy: always looking forward, never backward- a good philosophy for everyone.
From master storyteller Kristin Hannah, #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Nightingale and The Four Winds, comes the story of a turbulent, transformative era in America: the 1960s. The Women is that rarest of novels—at once an intimate portrait of a woman coming of age in a dangerous time and an epic tale of a nation divided by war and broken by politics, of a generation both fueled by dreams and lost on the battlefield.
“Women can be heroes, too.”
When twenty-year-old nursing student Frances “Frankie” McGrath hears these unexpected…
I enjoyed this memoir, lived by a solo female traveler exploring the former Soviet states. Her journey, driven by a search for meaning after profound loss, was inspiring. Many people are unfamiliar with the "Five Stans," better known as the Silk Road.
This book brought the region to life, highlighting its rich history and culture while detailing the challenges of securing visas and navigating remote areas. Her perseverance and vivid storytelling kept me turning the pages, and I now plan to visit the region next year.
Finding Katya is the inspiring and compelling story of one woman who ditches everything to embark on an unconventional adventure through the former Soviet Union.
On her 35th birthday, Katie Aune was at a crossroads. Still reeling from a difficult breakup and longing to find more meaning in her life, she hopped on a one-way flight to start a year-long journey of discovery. Once a Russian and East European Studies major in college, Aune plotted a course that would take her through all 15 states of the former Soviet Union.
In a book that is part memoir, part travelogue, Aune…
Magnolia Merryweather, a horse breeder, is eager to celebrate Christmas for the first time after the Civil War ended even as she grows her business. She envisions a calm, prosperous life ahead after the terror of the past four years. Only, all of her plans are thrown into disarray when…
I have always wondered how children in war-torn countries coped—what they thought, how they lived, and what their days were like. I found my answer here, a remarkable book about a rebellious child growing up in Nazi Germany, forced to outwardly conform while feeling something entirely different inside.
I met the author, Tammy, online when she first published this story about her mother. I deeply admire her courage and her commitment to preserving personal histories. Waltraub became a friend I never knew, making this book an unforgettable read.
A remarkable true story of love, loss, strength, and resistance told through the eyes of a German girl turned courageous young woman named Waltraud.
The Nazis tried to break her. But her very name means strength.
Germany 1937. Waltraud isn't like the other German girls. She got her feisty, independent spirit from her father. When he's forced into Hitler's army, she's thrust from the innocence of youth into a war-torn world of bombings, forced allegiance, and zealous Nazis who seek to extinguish any hint of dissent.
Amid the horrors of war, Waltraud fights to survive and remain firm in her…
I was fascinated by a book that skillfully weaves two eras together: the Gilded Age of the early 20th century and today’s elite social circles.
Despite the century between them, the characters' interactions and ambitions felt strikingly similar. Having explored Georgetown many times during visits to Washington, D.C., I’ve come to appreciate its unique blend of history and human intrigue. The author captures this beautifully, adding a compelling murder mystery to the mix.
Georgetown: a historic gem in Washington, D.C., where cobblestone streets and colonial facades whisper stories of its past. Now, it is a playground for the powerful—lawyers, legislators, and media moguls—alongside a tapestry of quirky boutiques. But beneath its polished surface lies a web of secrets, waiting to entangle one of its residents.For Annie Gillette, Georgetown is home and becomes a lifeline as she struggles with the weight of personal loss. She hopes its history will inspire her own reinvention. But when one of Georgetown's buried secrets is uncovered, Annie is thrust into a dangerous game of lies and betrayal.When an…
It's 1943, and World War II has gripped the nation, including the Stilwell family in Jacksonville, Alabama. Rationing, bomb drills, patriotism, and a changing South barrage their way of life. Neighboring Fort McClellan has brought the world to their doorstep in the form of young soldiers from all over the…
While teaching a class on China, a student highly recommended this book by a Chinese author living in St. Louis. The novel, the first in a Shanghai-based detective series, immediately captivated me, leading me to read the entire collection.
Though I had studied the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), this book provided a rare insight into the daily lives and private thoughts of those living under its rule. It offered a deeper understanding of a philosophy so different from our own, making it an invaluable read.
Qiu Xiaolong's Anthony Award-winning debut introduces Inspector Chen of the Shanghai Police.
A young “national model worker,” renowned for her adherence to the principles of the Communist Party, turns up dead in a Shanghai canal. As Inspector Chen Cao of the Shanghai Special Cases Bureau struggles to trace the hidden threads of her past, he finds himself challenging the very political forces that have guided his life since birth. Chen must tiptoe around his superiors if he wants to get to the bottom of this crime, and risk his career—perhaps even his life—to see justice done.
This book, written by a mother and daughter team, is a celebration of the transformative power of travel. The book, structured into seven parts, offers 79 short stories that explore personal adventures across seven continents, 88 countries, and 50 states. Each section shows various dimensions of travel, from thrilling escapades to quiet moments of introspection, from awe-inspiring natural wonders to enriching cultural experiences. The last section gives tips for planning and organizing for seamless travel.
The book is designed to ignite wanderlust and inspire readers—whether on-the-go adventurers or armchair travelers. It is about forming a deep connection with the world around us, broadening our perspectives, and allowing travel to teach us.
