Here's a book I contributed to earlier this year, Make the Most of Your Time on Earth, from Rough Guides.
It's another in a slew of books along this same theme. I think this one is really nice compared to the others, though I have to admit I haven't picked up many of these. There's something about collections of ultimate experiences that disturbs me. Maybe because you can read it and either feel depressed and inadequate because you can never hope to measure up, or else you read it and feel smug because you've already done so many of the things listed. (Guilty as charged.)
Or maybe it's because so many of the titles gauge what you've done against the measure of dying. "Things to Do Before You Die." And that's just depressing. I haven't seen the polar bears yet! My life is a failure!
Anyway, this Rough Guides book is packaged nicely and edited tightly. So tightly in fact that it seems that when I ate Ethiopian food, my eyes "blew out." Must be a British term that the editor uses.
My pieces are #379 (Camping with Hippos in Uganda), #388 (Ethiopian food), and #495 (Robot Camel-back Racing in Kuwait).
Blowing-out eyes aside, I'm really pleased with my pieces in this book and with the book overall.
5 comments:
Huh--I contributed to that book too! I didn't know it was already out. Haven't seen a copy of it yet--glad to hear it looks good. I'll have to cruise the bookstore.
Zora, it's way cheaper on Amazon, if you're going to buy one. I saw your name!
I've never heard the 'eyes blowing out' expression.
A 'blow-out' can either mean a puncture on a car tyre, or an extravagant meal or outing of some sort. But I've never heard it being used in connection with occular distress.
And I'm at least half-British...
I requested a copy from the library and it came in today. (I think they bought it because I requested it.) It looks really good, although having to turn to the back to find an author's name is a nuisance.
Anyway, congratulations on getting in this book and the National Geographic one.
I'm reading over this book now. It's VASTLY superior to the National Geo one.
Post a Comment