I could so use a real 'bon voyage' about now. I am sincerely trying to content myself with armchair travel this month with my August prompt. I've decided I would try not to be so very literal with the theme, though I have some very straightforward travel narratives in my pile as well. Why not traveling through time and/or space? Traveling as a journey or escape? So here is my pile of reading opportunities and I am quite excited about choosing a few (hopefully more than one of these this month).
Stowaway to Mars by John Wyndham -- This is at the top of the pile as I have been very keen on reading more of Wyndham's work (I loved both Chocky and The Midwich Cuckoos). "For British pilot Dale Curtance the Keuntz Prize - to be awarded to the first person to take a spaceship to another planet and back - is the ultimate challenge. Not only has he to build a ship to survive the journey, assemble a top-notch crew and choose a destination, he's also got to beat the Russians and Americans. Soon the GLORIA MUNDI blasts off from Salisbury Plain, bound for Mars. There's only one problem - a stowaway called Joan. Not only does her presence wreck calculations and threaten the mission, but her tale suggests that Mars may be a more dangerous destination than they ever expected."
My Vacations by Sylvia Smith -- I am not sure where I came across this author, but it sounded quite fun and an easy read (so I am starting with this since it is very 'dippable'). "n My Holidays, Sylvia Smith remembers in precise and amusing detail the various trips she has taken, from Shanklin, Isle of Wight in 1962, right up to her catastrophic holiday to New York in 2001. Jinxed traveller that she is, Sylvia good-humouredly conjures up the difficulties that beset a nice East End girl on holiday: whether it be a fight in a Paris strip club, struggling to change out of her swimsuit with an audience of two fascinated German men, or learning to ski. The result is one of the most refreshing and amusing travel books of our time, and another Sylvia Smith classic. 'Sylvia Smith's done it again."
French Milk by Lucy Knisley -- And what about a travel story as a graphic novel? I am all for visuals. "Through delightful drawings, photographs, and musings, twenty-three-year-old Lucy Knisley documents a six-week trip she and her mother took to Paris when each was facing a milestone birthday."
Logan's Run by William F. Nolan and George Clayton Johnson -- I have seen the movie adaptation of this story many times and have had a copy of the book for ages. I like the idea of this story as a 'journey' of sorts. " In 2116, it is against the law to live beyond the age of twenty-one years. When the crystal flower in the palm of your hand turns from red to black, you have reached your Lastday and you must report to a Sleepshop for processing. But the human will to survive is strong—stronger than any mere law. Logan 3 is a Sandman, an enforcer who hunts down those Runners who refuse to accept Deep Sleep. The day before Logan’s palmflower shifts to black, a Runner accidentally reveals that he was racing toward a goal: Sanctuary. With this information driving him forward, Logan 3 assumes the role of the hunted and becomes a Runner.
Blackout by Connie Willis -- What about traveling through time. Would you, if you could? And what year would you like to go back to (or maybe forward to?). In this case it is back to WWII England. "Oxford in 2060 is a chaotic place, with scores of time-traveling historians being sent into the past. Michael Davies is prepping to go to Pearl Harbor. Merope Ward is coping with a bunch of bratty 1940 evacuees and trying to talk her thesis adviser into letting her go to VE-Day. Polly Churchill’s next assignment will be as a shopgirl in the middle of London’s Blitz. But now the time-travel lab is suddenly canceling assignments and switching around everyone’s schedules. And when Michael, Merope, and Polly finally get to World War II, things just get worse."
Hornblower and the Hotspur by C. S. Forester -- I started reading this series of books about the time I discovered the wonderful TV adaptation of the story and quite literally fell for Horatio Hornblwoer (both the character in the book and the TV version . . .). I didn't get as far as I should have, but I like the idea of a journey by boat and really need to revisit the young naval officer. "April 1803. The Peace of Amiens is breaking down. Napoleon is building ships and amassing an army just across the Channel. Horatio Hornblower-who, at age twenty-seven, has already distinguished himself as one of the most daring and resourceful officers in the Royal Navy-commands the three-masted Hotspur on a dangerous reconnaissance mission that evolves, as war breaks out, into a series of spectacular confrontations."
Down the Nile: Alone in a Fisherman's Skiff by Rosemary Mahoney -- I have to have at least one proper travel narrative in the bunch (I have loads of them on my shelves) and this sounds quite exotic and adventurous. "When Rosemary Mahoney, in 1998, took a solo trip down the Nile in a seven-foot rowboat, she discovered modern Egypt for herself. As a rower, she faced crocodiles and testy river currents; as a female, she confronted deeply-held beliefs about foreign women while cautiously remaining open to genuine friendship; and, as a traveler, she experienced events that ranged from the humorous to the hair-raising--including an encounter that began as one of the most frightening of her life and ended as an edifying and chastening lesson in human nature and cultural misunderstanding."
The Woman in Cabin 10 by Ruth Ware -- And yes, I have to have at least one mystery/thriller in the pile, too. " In this tightly wound, enthralling story reminiscent of Agatha Christie’s works, Lo Blacklock, a journalist who writes for a travel magazine, has just been given the assignment of a lifetime: a week on a luxury cruise with only a handful of cabins. The sky is clear, the waters calm, and the veneered, select guests jovial as the exclusive cruise ship, the Aurora, begins her voyage in the picturesque North Sea. At first, Lo’s stay is nothing but pleasant: the cabins are plush, the dinner parties are sparkling, and the guests are elegant. But as the week wears on, frigid winds whip the deck, gray skies fall, and Lo witnesses what she can only describe as a dark and terrifying nightmare: a woman being thrown overboard. The problem? All passengers remain accounted for—and so, the ship sails on as if nothing has happened, despite Lo’s desperate attempts to convey that something (or someone) has gone terribly, terribly wrong…"
I think I have a pretty solid stack of choices this month, and of course I want to read all of them. If I can manage a few I will be very happy and I think I deserve a few journeys since I am stuck at home this summer. I don't think I need any other temptations, but I still have to throw the question out (because I am happy to add titles to my wishlist), but do you have a good travel narrative (and I use the term loosely as you can see by my own pile) you might recommend?