Globe Corner Blogs

In the summer of 2008, I moved to Manhattan to be an editorial intern at Fortune Magazine. The internship was two months long, and I moved into the spare room of my boyfriend’s brother’s apartment in the lower East Side. The apartment fulfilled all the stereotypes I had about New York City living. My designated living space was also part of the kitchen, and I slept on a lofted bed which overlooked the top of the fridge and beyond that, the stove. Up on that bed I had a stack of books and an alarm clocked wedged in one corner, a small box television perched on the edge of the window sill, and two huge body pillows resting against the guard rails, for added cushioning. It was claustrophobic but had character, and was perfect for my brief stay in the big city.

My New York city bedroom/kitchen

Among that stack of books on my bed was my Not For Tourists Guide to New York City, which became an extension of me during my two months in Manhattan. I had lived in Boston for two years by then, but was immediately a bit wary of New York City life. I was most intimidated by the many subway lines, a mix of colors and letters and numbers all tangled into a large knots on the poster sized subway maps. That was what drew me to the NFT guide in the first place.  The NFT Guide divides a city into sections, with their own rectangular maps. They give you the same map a few times, each map highlighting something different – the area’s transportation, entertainment, essentials and sundries. I could go the neighborhood I was in and orient myself, and then go to transportation page, find the closest subway stop, and flip to the back and see how far that line stretched. The book was handsome, black and pocket-sized, perfectly suited for what I was: not exactly a tourist.

Pulled out my NFT during lunch to give my cousin directions

It’s not a stretch to say that the NFT Guide helped me love New York. I was determined to learn the city while I was there, and that guide gave me the confidence to walk home from work nearly every day. I lived on 19th and 3rd and worked at 50th and 6th, 31 blocks and three avenues away. I took different paths, most often cutting through Murray Hill (affectionately known as “Curry Hill” my NFT guide told me, the place I could find authentic Indian food). When my boyfriend came to visit me, we walked the opposite direction, weaving through Greenwich Village and SoHo, where the grid ends and the confusion begins, all the way down to Battery Park, where we squinted at the Statue of Liberty and napped on the grass before consulting the NFT on the quickest way to get home.

I still have my NFT guide, even though I have no use for it. The cover is creased both at the binding and about halfway down the front from so much folding over. It falls open at a map of the entertainment spots in Flatiron/Lower Manhattan, probably from the times I’d meet up with friends around Penn Station. We’ve moved apartments twice since my time in New York, and yet my NFT Guide is still one of those items that always gets unpacked and shelved.   Travel guides are that way. They become part of us when we use them, and then, when they become outdated, they become a relic from the time where we couldn’t go anywhere without them.

I have always been an avid reader of Jose Saramago’s fiction, so when I recently picked up his travel narrative, Journey to Portugal, I was pleased to discover that the book contains Saramago’s distinguished voice and unique writing style, and that his non-fiction account of his travels through Portugal actually reads very much like a novel. This is probably due to the fact that throughout his journey Saramago refers to himself as “the traveller,” which has the affect of transforming the non-fiction narrator into something of a character.

When referring to himself, Saramago is careful to make the important distinction between traveler and tourist. “The traveller has seen much of the world and of life,” he writes, “and has never felt comfortable in the role of a tourist who goes somewhere, takes a look at it, thinks he understands it, takes photos of it and returns to his own country boasting that he knows [it].”

A recent article published in the New York Times by Ilan Stavans and Joshua Ellison, “Reclaiming Travel,” takes Saramago’s definition of a traveler even further, exploring essential questions about the art of travel such as, “what distinguishes meaningful, fruitful travel from mere tourism?” and “What turns travel into a quest rather than self-serving escapism?”

I am reminded of the distinction between traveler and tourist whenever I flip through one of our DK Eyewitness travel guides, books that are undoubtedly oriented toward the traveler interested not only in what to eat and where to sleep, but in picking up important literary, cultural, and architectural details about their surroundings along the way. Though these guides might contain less practical information, I always find the trade-off worthwhile for their in-depth look at the history and culture of a destination. Each guide is tastefully designed with an aesthetic layout certain to inspire you to new lands.

Eyewitness has supplemented their larger guides with a pocket “Top Ten” series, easy to slip into your pack. If you’re bringing the kids, Eyewitness also has a new Family Guide series to destinations like New York City and Paris.

Michelin Green Guides are the classic touring guides, full of delightful and informative walking tours paired with full colored maps. If you are traveling to France this summer, Michelin has you covered with regional guides to Northern France, Normandy, Brittany, the French Alps, the Chateaux of the Loire, the French Riviera, Provence, the French Atlantic Coast, and more. Michelin’s detailed country and regional road maps to destinations around the world are indispensable to both traveler and tourist,  allowing you to navigate independently in foreign lands.

Tune in to WBUR this week to learn more about the travel resources we have available at our Globe Corner Travel Annex at Brookline Booksmith, and check back next week for Shuchi’s take on guidebooks for travelers who are not tourists.

My co-worker Paul has just returned from his family’s first overnight camping trip, quite the ambitious feat considering Paul’s family includes two children, five and three. The trip, as first tent camping ventures go, was something of a success, not counting the mosquitoes. Before he left I saw Paul in our travel aisle at Booksmith, stocking up on guides and maps. Traveling with kids can be intimidating enough for some parents to opt to stay home. That’s why we’re stocking our aisles with new travel guides specifically aimed not only for parents, but also for kids.

For those of you who, like Paul, want to expose your children to the beauty of nature, Appalachian Mountain Club’s Outdoors with Kids series, available for cities like Boston and NYC, each offer 100 places to explore in and around the city. These guides take you to nearby state parks, on hikes and to beaches, and include safety tips, activity ideas, and the essential Plan B every parent traveler needs.

In our children’s department, we have a Field Guide to Boston for kids with brightly colored photographs and easy-to-read informative descriptions of Boston’s historical sites. For younger children, check out Sheila Cunningham’s new picture book, Willow’s Walkabout, in which an Australian kangaroo escapes from the zoo in order to see the Boston sites she’s heard all the zoo visitors talking about. Willow’s adventures take her on the Swan Boats and even hopping through the Boston marathon. Reading this book with your kids will inevitably inspire them to follow Willow’s hops around the city.

And if you are traveling further afield, Lonely Planet’s new Not for Parents series offers guides aimed at engaging kids in your family’s travel plans, be it to Paris, London, Rome, or New York City. These guides do everything from introducing the Parisian crepe to teaching children about the Impressionists. The books focus on facts sure to grab your kids’ attention, like the fact that Rin Tin Tin is among the famous dead buried in Paris. In a photo of Rodin’s The Kiss, the woman is wondering what’s on TV tonight.

Countless times customers come into the bookstore asking for a book they heard on NPR, only they forgot the author…and the title. I usually enjoy the challenge of tracking down the book based on the strains of story the customer picked up on their morning commute or over lunch break. Sometimes, however, the search is in vain, the sound byte too short.

So if you heard the Globe Corner Travel Annex at Brookline Booksmith mentioned on your local WBUR station over the past few days, but didn’t quite catch the full range of travel resources we now have on hand at Booksmith, we’re here to fill you in and make sure you’re prepared for your next destination.

If that destination happens to be one of our country’s grand national parks, Lonely Planet has several guides to take you through the Grand Canyon, Yellowstone, and Yosemite National Parks. These books have everything you need to explore, from detailed mountain hikes to cycling paths, nature and wildlife to watch for, and information on accommodations, including camping.

Want to leave the country without going overseas? Our neighbors to the north are waiting with open hands. But don’t go with empty hands, pick up one of our Moon Handbooks for Montreal and Quebec, Nova Scotia, and even the Canadian Rockies.

If you’re in the Boston area, we’ve got National Geographic Trail maps for the Boston Harbor Islands and Cape Cod–the perfect place to spend the upcoming holiday.

And for those of you lucky enough to be traveling to Europe this summer, check out Rick Steve’s guides to European countries, including the Rick Steve’s pocket guides to cities such as Paris, Rome, and Athens. These books are full of trip planning and touring advice you do not want to be without.

Looking forward to seeing you at Brookline Booksmith’s Globe Corner Travel Annex. Happy Travels.

Ever since I finished Cheryl Strayed’s new book Wild, about her journey along the Pacific Crest Trail, I have been craving a good long hike. I can get caught up in the routine of urban life, thinking my walk to work is exercise enough, my pause by the Charles River a sufficient enough breath of nature to get me through. I forget what a good hike can do, until a book like Strayed’s or a brilliant summer day reminds me: I’m due for a hike. 

Luckily I have two spectacular mountain ranges within reach: the Green and White Mountains. And luckily, we have a plethora of National Geographic Trail Maps to guide me to my next day hike. Just unfolding one of these maps makes my feet ache to hit the trails.  

If you’re Boston-bound but still craving a hike, take heart, or rather, Take a Hike, Boston, the title of Moon Guide’s latest trail guide for the Boston area. Look to Moon Handbooks to guide you into your next summer destination in North, Central, or South America, be it to a beach in Cancun or the wilds of Glacier National Park. 

Traveling with kids? Check out Lonely Planet’s new travel series geared specifically toward young travelers. The Not For Parents guides, available for London, New York, Rome, and Paris, are filled with brilliant graphics, photos, and illustrations along with information and tips aimed to engage children with their new surroundings. 

You may have heard these guidebooks mentioned on your local NPR station recently. We’re excited to be part of your summer plans, bringing you the latest and best in travel guidebooks and maps at our new Globe Corner Travel Annex at Brookline Booksmith. Happy Travels.

In Madeleine L’Engle’s classic A Wrinkle in Time, characters time travel by way of “tesser.” The shortest distance between two points is a line, Mrs Whatsit explains,  but what if that line could wrinkle? Imagine a length of yarn, and if you folded it in half, the two ends would meet.

This is how I thought of the distance between Seattle and Boston when I chose to move to the East Coast after three years in the Northwest. Fold a map, and the cities kiss. I wouldn’t be that far from the stunning Cascade and Olympic mountain ranges that hemmed me in on either side, Allegro, my favorite hole-in-the-wall cafe, and my closest friends.

On one of my first evenings in Boston–already missing the ship canal that used to flow through my Seattle neighborhood–I took a walk to the Charles River. I approached around sunset, quickening my pace. The sky was turning a lovely pink and I could glimpse the John Hancock and Prudential buildings beginning to reflect the hue. Afraid all the benches along the river would be taken, I hurried on.

The NFT guide to Seattle highlights little known haunts where you can slip away from the fifth dimension.

I should not have worried. Every bench along the bank was free, as everyone within sight was in movement: walking, jogging, sprinting along a path. Even the sailboats in the river were racing in a regatta. I knew then that the pace was different here. I sank down onto a bench, already nostalgic for the cafe culture of Seattle, where one could sit for hours with a good book and cooling cup of coffee without wondering once where else they should be.

So when I noticed a recent slew of Booksmith booksellers taking time off to travel to the Northwest, I understood.  While I’ve come to appreciate the productivity and drive of America’s easternmost cities, sometimes it’s necessary to get away for awhile. If you’re planning a trip to the Pacific Northwest, we’ve got all the guidebooks and maps you need, plus a staff of travelers with recent experiences in Seattle, Portland, even Alaska. We’ll be sharing some of these adventures here at globecorner.com, so tesser back soon.

I went to Vegas for a weekend with my family. My older brother recently moved out there for work, and so after a few months I went to visit him with my mother and my two other brothers. I woke up super early one Friday, worked a full shift, and then went straight to Logan airport. By the time I arrived in Vegas, the sky was pitch black, but the city lights were ablaze. The sight from my little airplane window really was spectacular. (At least, it was when I pushed to the back of my mind thoughts about what all that electricity was doing to the  precarious state of the planet’s environment . . . .)

We landed at about 11pm Vegas time (2am Boston time) with no intention of going to bed anytime soon. Being accustomed to waking at dawn for work, I therefore felt mildly delirious for the entire trip. But that was probably inevitable given the absurd nature of Sin City, USA. The taxi ride to our hotel was an adventure unto itself. Driving along the strip through this somewhat nightmarish fantasyland, I stared wide-eyed at the bright lights, flashing signs, gigantic buildings, colorful cocktails, and some of the highest heels I have ever seen (keep in mind, I studied abroad in Eastern Europe). Continue Reading »

Ulla the Golden Retriever

There comes a time in life when bluffing your way through adulthood actually turns into “Being a Grownup (capital G).” This is an important realization. Nobody ever knows what they’re doing really, but somehow they get there anyway. Which is, as it happens, one of the best perks of being a Grownup: having the freedom to take off and search for parts of yourself in faraway places. MiddleGround blogger, traveller, and Grownup Dylan Fitzgerald had a little help reaching her destination, and we are very proud that a member of the GCB staff gave her the inspiration to get where she needed to go. Obviously, we’re talking about Ulla the Golden Retriever, the Globe Corner Bookstore’s resident travel agent/guidance counselor extraordinaire.

It all started when Dylan read Ernest Hemingway’s The Sun Also Rises in high school and made a promise to herself: One day she would stroll beside San Sebastian’s harbor and take in the sights from one of the nearby cafés, just like the novel’s main character Jake. After college and several dead-end jobs, Dylan wasn’t sure what to do with herself. Thankfully, fate brought her to Ulla during an afternoon walk around Harvard Square. Being the great Hemingway admirer that she is, Ulla encouraged Dylan to fulfill her old promise. After a few belly rubs and some serious conversation with her “new life line,” Dylan booked a trip, hoping to discover France, Spain, and maybe a part of herself too. “Paris. Bordeaux. Provence. Nice. Madrid. Barcelona. San Sebastian . . . I headed to Ulla’s bookstore shortly thereafter and started buying maps.” Continue Reading »

I-Concepts Prints

Yes, it’s that time again folks: Opening Day for the Red Sox!!! Cue wild cheering, followed by mild to moderate hyperventilation, and finally, breathing into a paper bag. Get ready for Ulla the Dog’s prancing around in her seasonal sports collar. Then, Lisa‘s bewilderment at my completely appropriate behavior. (She is a Mariner’s fan and, thus, is not really used to watching a winning and/or actual major league team. Minus the Griffey years.)

I-Concepts Prints

On Friday April 1st begins that long annual descent into the madness that Bostonians call Red Sox Fandom. Let me explain Red Sox Fandom: The Sox will inevitably disappoint at least once this season, causing you to throw things at your television, radio, and/or computer. (I suggest prepositioning something small and soft near you before a game begins to prevent the smashing of important and expensive things. Personally, I use a rolled up ball of dress socks for lightness.) Although Opening Day in Texas is Friday, we do have to wait for April 8th before the Home Opener at Fenway when the Sox will play the satanic Yankees. (Just kidding, I’m sure all the Yankees are wonderful to their mothers and small dogs. Children, not so much . . . .) You can get started on the season by picking up one of our new photo prints of classic Red Sox moments from I-Concepts. Whether it’s Ted Williams posing with Bobby Doerr or Mickey Mantle, the 2nd Fisk-Munson fight, or Luis Tiant at the plate in the ’78 World Series.* All purchases of  Red Sox books and prints in the store will be 10% off from April 1st through the 8th.

*Note to hipsters: El Tiante sports what is known as a MUSTACHE, please try to emulate!

There are not many occasions when following a guide book feels like taking advice from a native, but Fiona Caulfield accomplishes the impossible, creating a compendium of  ”better than a native” suggestions in the Love Guides for India. An Australian native, she has made India her home. Given our ongoing obsession with the Love Guides and my recent trip to India, we decided to pick Fiona Caulfield’s brain for even more tips than her books already provide. Fiona Caulfield is officially our newest author crush.

1. Do you prefer aisle or window? (Please explain.)

Aisle, specifically an aisle in a middle row. I need freedom.

2. The Love Guides are incredibly detailed. How long did you travel in India before you started making them to compile your bank of insider information?

I first travelled to India in 1992, then again in 2001. I became a resident in India late 2004 with the idea for the brand and then published the first book in February 2007. It now takes about a year to research the first edition of a book.

3. The guidebooks themselves and the maps and drawings they contain are so charming. What gives you the inspiration for their design?

The design brief was sensuality and the content brief intimacy. I wanted the content to feel like I had written a letter to a good friend and the drawings to be like a sketch I would include in a letter, if I could draw. Continue Reading »