Janet

Removed from Manhattan against her will at an early age, Janet spent far too much time in Alaska where books were scarce and clothes were ugly. Moving to Seattle was a step in the right direction—at least there were books. Moving then to Bangkok provided her with great clothes and many books, most of which had to do with ESL. She's now back in the Northwest reading voraciously, and going to Bangkok on annual shopping expeditions. Janet's favorite books are usually travel literature, history and biography. She idolizes the two Vikrams (Seth & Chandra.)

Mister Pip
by Lloyd Jones
When Mr. Watts begins to read Great Expectations aloud to the children of Matilda's strife-torn village, Pip becomes a living, breathing presence to all who hear the story—with catastrophic results. History meets classic literature in Papua New Guinea and Dickens would be delighted with the combination.

The Reindeer People
by Piers Vitebsky
An anthropologist with the voice of a poet, the eye of a scientist, and the heart of an adventurer makes the world of nomad Siberian reindeer herders one that the reader longs to enter—an "interplay of ice and fire."

Trawler
by Redmond O'Hanlon
Trawler is Fear and Loathing on the North Sea through the crazed eyes and mind of everyone's favorite academic/adventurer Redmond O'Hanlon.

Lost Japan
by Alex Kerr
Lost Japan is one of the few books written in Japanese by a gaijin and the only one to have won Japan's Shincho Gakugei Literature Prize. Alex Kerr lived in Japan for decades and cronicles its changes well.

Quick Food
by Glen Laurel
Summer is upon us (when nobody wants to cook but everyone wants to eat). Here's the perfect solution, with food that's fast, fresh and delicious. Jazz up your picnics and cookouts with Quick Food.

One Last Look
by Susanna Moore
It may look like a romance, but the author of In The Cut takes that form and twists it hard. The days of the Raj and the Great Game are vividly and scathingly recreated in this novel/journal.

The House on Dream Street
by Dana Sachs
When articulate, intelligent Dana Sachs went to live in Hanoi, she turned into a driveling idiot, barely able to speak her new language and clueless about the most basic aspects of daily living. How she became a functioning (Vietnamese) adult and became a part of the family who guided her, is a wonderful story for anyone who's lived in another culture--or has wanted to.

Wanderlust
by Troy M. Litten
If one picture is worth 1000 words, then this wordless travel essay is an entire Encyclopedia Britannica. Troy Litten has got it all--the good, the bad and the ugly.

The Houseboat Book
by Barbara Flanagan
This is the only kind of house I've ever wanted to own. I blame it all on The Wind in the Willows. How about you? Why? Where?

Sun After Dark
by Pico Iyer
Exploring the virtues of jetlag, the exile of the Dalai Lama, the complexities of W.G. Sebald and Kazuo Ishiguro, Angkor Wat, Easter Island, Haiti--these are only a few of the subjects of Pico Iyer's conversations with his readers. Pick up this book and have a chat with him.

The Gate
by Francois Bizot
Francois Bizot has written an amazing account of Cambodia and the Khmer Rouge. His knowledge of the country, his command of the Khmer language, his astoundingly good luck, and the perspective afforded by his French passport, all aided him in surviving a lethal era.

The Book of Salt
by Monique Truong
It comes from sweat, from the sea, from tears--and Binh, cook for Alice B. Toklas and Gertrude Stein, knows all too well the ways that salt is made and how to use it. His story is one of loss, betrayal and idffernt kinds of love.

The Art of Travel
by Alain de Botton
This splendid little book should be dipped into, cogitated over, savored and fondled. Like an 18th century travel guide, it incorporates literature and painting with the journey.

Red Dust
by Ma Jian
Ma Jian has camera eyes, a rebel's voice, and the spirit of Kerouac. His three-year walk through China reveals legends, history, and modern secrets in a book that reads like a novel.

The Darts of Cupid
by Edith Templeton
Edith Templeton's fiction/memoirs are as crisp, impeccable and evil as a well-made martini. Her oblique plots, precise descriptions, and wicked anecdotes preserve a vanished period while making it as contemporary as tomorrow.

Dancing with the Witch Doctor
by Kelly James
Kelly James is an adventurer of the highest order, following in the tracks of her childhood idol, Richard Burton. Her stories are thrilling, magical, and compellingly irresistible--leaving you with a greed for MORE.

Reading Lolita in Tehran
by Azar Nafisi
Reading Lolita in Tehran is a wonderful blend of memoir, contemporary history, and book talk. Azir Nafisi is a writer who illuminates problems with fairness and great tenderness.

Ciao America
by Beppe Severgnini
Americans live in Italy and become lyrical. Beppe Severgnini lived in America and became the funniest observer of this country since Bill Bryson returned to write Lost Continent. If Ciao America doesn't make you laugh, check your pulse--you may be dead.

Travels with Myself and Another
by Martha Gellhorn
Martha Gellhorn was the funniest, most articulate Bad Sport that the world of journalism (or Ernest Hemingway) had ever known. "Into Africa" (chapter four) is hysterical.

True Account
by Howard Frank Mosher
This is my favorite kind of book--it's not just funny, it's jolly and completely engaging. It's also meticulously researched, and left me wanting to know more about the Native American tribes that take main stage in this wonderful novel.

Coastal Retreats
by Linda Leigh Paul
It's the Northwest dream--to live the life embodied by Architectural Digest, on a pristine bit of forest, overlooking a deserted beach. Until we win the lottery, Coastal Retreats is as close as we're going to get, keeping the dream alive.