Books And Travel

How does a book inspire a journey a generation later? How does an adventurer who loves to travel alone reconcile himself to a life more ordinary? In today’s interview, I talk to Alastair Humphreys about his walk across Spain in homage to Laurie Lee. Alastair Humphreys is an adventurer, author, and motivational speaker named as National Geographic adventurer of the year in 2012. He has cycled aroun...

Sometimes we need to get away in order to heal , to take ourselves out of the routine and recognize how short life is, and how precious. In this episode, Dr Karen Wyatt explains how travel helped her face grief and embrace living well in the face of death. Dr Karen Wyatt is a hospice physician and best-selling author of books about death, loss, and grief. She’s the host of the End-of-Life Universi...

Travel is about curiosity, the desire to discover new places and experience the extraordinary . It is often about pushing boundaries , extending our comfort zone to the point of challenge and beyond in the hope of discovering something new about ourselves and the world. In today’s episode, I’m talking about scuba diving and the wonder of traveling beneath the waves and even if you’re not a diver y...

Most of us spend our days on dry land within the walls of offices and our homes, but many of us understand the call of the sea . In this interview, Carrie McAllister talks about her love of sailing on the tall ship Elissa out of Galveston , and how it has given her confidence as well as adventure. I talked about my own tall ship sailing experience from Fiji to Vanuatu in episode 1 , but Carrie fou...

Montreal is more than just music festivals, street art and the St Laurence river. It also has a dark side. Mark Leslie is a Canadian horror writer with a passion for haunted places and, today, we’re talking about his book, Macabre Montreal . Show Notes On the old world feel of Montreal and it’s history The influence of the St. Lawrence river on Montreal’s feel Interesting places to look for histor...

Today I’m talking about The Myth and Reality Of Travel, and focusing on Venice in particular, as well as giving you some tips and book recommendations if you are going to visit. There is a problem inherent in travel, especially in a world of filtered Instagram photos, social media bubbles and glossy travel magazines. There are some places in the world that are so famous it can be difficult to know...

Andalucia brings to mind balmy evenings with the scent of oranges in the air, the sounds of flamenco guitar , and the exotic architecture of the Moorish Alhambra . In this podcast interview, I talk to David Penny, author of The Thomas Berrington Historical Mysteries, which are set in medieval Spain. You can listen above or on iTunes or your favorite podcast app, read the notes and links below. Her...

One of my earliest memories is looking out my window over the fields by night at the back of our house, wishing I could be out there . I cuddled my white fur seal teddy, fingers clutching the white window ledge. I must have been six or seven and my Mum lived in Malawi, Africa after my parent’s divorce. My little brother and I lived with my (wonderful) Dad and I was safe and happy. It wasn’t that I...

Orna Ross is an Irish novelist, a poet, non-fiction writer, and creative coach. Today, we’re talking about how Ireland features in her writing. You can listen above or on iTunes or your favorite podcast app, read the notes and links below. Here are the highlights and full transcript below. Show Notes Writing about a country you’re from vs. writing as an outsider Why Orna writes about Ireland Commo...

Hello Travellers, I’m Jo Frances Penn and this is episode 1 of my new Books and Travel Podcast. So why this show after 10 years of The Creative Penn Podcast? It’s all about reinvention, which is part of what travel means to me. When I think about what I want to do with my life for the next 10 years, I always come back to books and travel. I’m fascinated by the inner and outer journeys that both ca...