Globe Corner Blogs

A fresh copy of Junot Diaz’s The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao arrived today, newly emblazoned with a shiny gold sticker identifying it as 2008′s Pulitzer Prize winner for fiction. And, let me tell you, if ever a book deserved a gold sticker, it is this one. Continue Reading »

During the month of April we both took time off from work. It was one of those rare spring days when the weather actually cooperated…that is to say it was warm and sunny. Nice! Continue Reading »

Today was supposed to be my last Sunday working at The Globe Corner Bookstore. But the stars have demonstrated to me yet again that my efforts to escape the clutches of the store are futile, and that I will grow old and wrinkly at the register. Continue Reading »

If you are traveling to a country that requires a visa, I highly recommend using A. Briggs Passport and Visa Expeditors in Washington, D.C. For a $55 fee, A. Briggs will do all the necessary legwork for you (and for $95 they will get your visa as quickly as the consulate will issue it). I have gotten three Russia visas and a Tajik visa through A. Briggs, and every time the service has been courteous and prompt. Continue Reading »

Occasionally we get some small shipments of older used travelogues to sell in the store and it is always a bit like Christmas when we open the boxes and unwrap all our new treasures. Continue Reading »

Last Saturday I had the pleasure of attending my graduation.  Naturally my family came to Boston to visit and celebrate.  One of the festivities of the weekend was going to see the famous Globe Corner Bookstore, which they have only been hearing and dreaming about.  Continue Reading »

Today one of my closest friends left for her home St. Petersburg, Russia. The trip is very short, but that still made me feel happy for her and even slightly jealous. Continue Reading »

Millions of people around the world bow to the Dalai Lama. Me, I worship the author Pico Iyer. Fortunately for all, the two great men have come together in a book published this March.

The Open Road: The Global Journey of the Fourteenth Dalai Lama, Iyer writes the ultimate biography of His Holiness, attaining a level of intimacy that only comes from a lifelong friendship. As a Globe Corner Staff Favorite, The Open Road is on sale for $19.20 (20% off $24.00). As Iyer is this staff member’s favorite, allow me to suggest several of his other travel books gracing our shelves: Video Night in Kathmandu (adventures from the “not-so-far East”); Sun After Dark (thoughts on the art of travel); Falling Off the Map (journeys in some of the world’s hardest-to-get-to places), and my personal favorite, The Lady and the Monk (a year in Kyoto), among many others. Come browse the oeuvre, or just kneel at the shrine.

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So we have good news and bad news for all you Michelin lovers out there.

Good news: The new 2008 Red Guide Paris is officially in and on the shelf.

Bad news: Michelin has chosen to discontinue the Sicily map from their regional Italy series.

Apparently in Hiroshima they sell vegetable ice cream in flavors such as mug wort, chestnut, and sweet potato (so Pico Iyer informs us in Video Night in Kathmandu). It set me thinking about all the, let’s say, “interesting” things I have tasted in my life: Roasted grasshopper in Uganda. Seaweed cake in the Aran Islands. Deep fried pig skin in Puerto Rico. Yak butter tea in Nepal. Lamb’s spine in Morocco. What tummy-turning extravaganza is next in store I wonder?