Reading and traveling go together very well, don't they? Whether it is reading of places and then planning a trip there, or the reverse - planning a trip and then finding cultural references to read about, it is critical that we inform our travel with reading. This provides a sense of place, a deep cultural reference that we can't find anywhere else. And, reading of place inspires travel.  I've recently found an incredible site that links the two, and does it beautifully! ATravelerslibrary.com, published by Vera Marie Badertscher, is a gem. Recent posts include Book recommendations for Sweden, Australia, Scotland, and the Caribbean. Each post makes you scribble titles down - I have an enormous pile of titles to read from my last prolonged read at this site!

Lady in Castelfidaro, Italy. Proud of her flowers.

Clear waters in bay in Siphnos, Greece

Vera is also our Traveler's Library Editor here at Wandering Educators, and will be sharing books and travel with our readers in a monthly column. I am so excited! We were lucky enough to sit down and chat with Vera, about her blog, reading, favorite destinations, and more. Here's what she had to say...

One of the pieces of sculpture from the pediment of the Parthenon in Athens, now in the British Museum.

Temple of Hephaestus, Athens, Greece

WE: Please tell us about your site, A Traveler’s Library...

VB: My blog, A Traveler’s Library, allows me to discuss with others two of my favorite subjects—travel and the books that inspire and inform the traveler.  And because I have been known to sit in the theater after the end of the movie so see what location was used for filming—because I want to go there—I occasionally talk about movies as well.

Le Marche countryside in Italy.

WE: What was the genesis of the site?

VB: I have been a travel writer for fourteen years. When I decided it was time to catch up with the Web 2.0 environment and start a blog, I landed on the idea of travel literature largely because on travel discussion sites, when someone asks for a recommendation for something to read on a trip, the answers spin out the longest threads in the forum.Although some bloggers do occasional posts on the topic, I found no blogs identical to the one I had in mind.

The Coliseum, Rome

WE: Books about place are so very important to our education (and our travel education). Can we ever read enough to get to know a place? Even if we’ve been there?

VB: Getting to know a place is rather like getting to know a person. As one who has been married for a very long time, I can testify that even with daily study, you never thoroughly know a person.

When you read a book about a place, or set in a place, you are seeing only the writer’s view and it may look quite different to you. I definitely do not see the world the way that V.S. Naipaul or Paul Thoreaux see it, for instance. That does not mean I do not appreciate their writing. I just have a different view of the world.

So while armchair traveling fills in gaps, you can’t say “I don’t need to go there. I read about it.”  On the the other hand, the author of any book will no doubt point out things that you may have missed. I would never have known to look for Chinatown if I ever go to Havana, Cuba, had I not read Monkey Hunting by Cristina Garcia. And I learned numerous things about Pakistan and Afghanistan from Three Cups of Tea by Greg Mortenson and David Oliver Relin.

Books have directly influenced my travel plans, like when we took the night time tour of the Alhambra because of reading Washington Irving’s book.

Books can also teach about intercultural differences...what are your favorite books about different cultures.

Of recent reads, I just mentioned Three Cups of Tea and Monkey Hunting. I also recently read Junot Diaz’  The Brief Wondrous life of Oscar Wao. That book immersed me in a particular culture of the Dominican Republic.

Since my favorite destination is Greece, I have read most anything I could get my hands on about that country.  I blogged about two books about contemporary Athens, Dinner with Persephone and Eurydice Street. The two have slightly different slants, but do a good job of preparing one for the contemporary culture of Greece. I also have read many books about ancient Greece, because the history of a place shapes the landscape and the culture of today.

My husband and I listened to an audio book on the life of Peter the Great before we went to St. Petersburg, and after the trip, I realized that we understood the city more profoundly because of reading about its founder and founding.

I read the life of Maria Theresa, the Hapsburg ruler of Austria-Hungary before my visit there, and it was a thrill to follow some of the paths of her progressions across her empire. Before reading about her, I did not fully understand the relationship of the (now separate) two countries.

The youngsters on path to Ring Fort on Aran Island Inishmore in Ireland

Adare cottage shop, Ireland

WE: The community on your site must be fascinating—all readers!  What have you learned from them?

VB: The main thing that I get from my readers is thoughtful suggestions for other books to read.  That is why my TBR (To Be Read--Books Coming and Reading) page keeps growing faster than I can digest the books. One reader even sent me a link to a guide to Oscar Wao that she had worked on, since it uses Spanish, comic books and adventure gaming as source for vocabulary.

I encourage your readers to join the discussion. I always welcome new ideas.

Dingle Peninsula

WE: Is there anything else you would like to share with us?

VB:  I wrote about audio books and discovered how important they are to the traveling reader. And although I generally do not write about travel guides, per se, I did post about road trip guides and that post has drawn a lot of attention, so I may broaden my view to include them along with literature.

Puxley Manor - now Dunboy Castle Hotel

Greek sea View, Siphnos

WE: Thanks so very much, Vera. Your site is wonderful - I always come away with a great list of reads - and places to travel!
 

All photos courtesy and copyright of Vera Marie Badertscher. All rights reserved.