New Travel Books

 

As my friend used to say, the way to achieve your goal is to follow KAP routine: Knowledge - Action - Perseverance. I've already started the first stage - Knowledge, and it involves reading plenty of books relating to the countries I want to go to, travel guides, tips on what to pack, how to keep your things secure etc. Today I have found few books in my favourite recycling centre in Chagford, if you ever wander to that area, I strongly recommend it. A browsing heaven, run by a team of new hippies, who love to collect, and people ever so often donate to them unwanted items. I never left empty handed, and they've got separate sheds for books, clothes, kitchenalia, furniture, crafts - you get the idea. But now... I'm drifting away from the topic...

Well then, I have stocked up on some vital literature on the Gap Year subject - I think it will be widely useful, more then the guides targeting tourists, as obviously tourists will be focused on sight-seeing, going to fancy hotels and restaurants, and if they spend a week in a tropical place, saving money is not their priority. So I think this book will be focused on more practical issues, as to how to save money on accommodation, how to look for jobs, what to pack and so on.
Another book is a South American handbook, written for people who want to explore this land and want to get to know it to really enjoy it. It has got over 1600 pages, which are very thin, that's why this book doesn't look bulky, but could be the one to take with me, as it's all in one, but won't take much space. I will leave a decision until last moment, as will probably go through many more books by the time I leave.

The third travel book is a Latin American Spanish phrase book. I know that Spanish that is used in Spain and Spanish in Latin America differ, I suppose like British and American English, maybe even more. I remember when I arrived to UK I used to hang out with some Spanish friends and they used to giggle when we were watching 'Desperado' as it was set in Mexico, so they used Mexican Spanish. Anyway, this phrase book covers all the places you might find yourself when traveling, so obviously the restaurant menus, hotel accommodation, bus tickets, camping, but also phrases relating to sport, post office, health and emergencies. It is pocket friendly, and I will definitely make a room for that.

One more thing I would love to get, is a 'Point It' booklet, where there are various pages with images, like children books, but for people who don't know local language. What you do, is simply point to the image you are interested in, like apple, when shopping, or bus stop when asking for the direction. Could be useful, but I like to think that I'm super-fast learner, and might not need it in the end? I could pick up phrases by talking to people, listening to the local conversations etc. by the end of the day that's how I learned majority of English when I arrived to UK. Should be fine.

Now the last book, is not a travel guide, but a wonderful biography by Nelson Mandela 'Long Walk to Freedom' - I have heard about it many times, and finally found it today, it will be a wonderful read, let's just hope I find sufficient time to go through all these books now! I have currently 10 lying on my side table :)