I have just listened to Freya Stark's talk about the philosophy of exploration, and am now more sure than ever that I definitely need to read more of her work. 

 

The following is not from the audiobook I picked up at the library (I really wish I could find a transcript) but it gives a good idea of Stark's thinking:

"Travel does what good novelists also do to the life of every day, placing it like a picture in a frame or a gem in its setting, so that the intrinsic qualities are made more clear. Travel does this with the very stuff that everyday life is made of, giving to it the sharp contour and meaning of art: and unless it succeeds in doing this, its effect on the human being is not, I believe, very great .. . . Most people anyway try to avoid having their feelings intensified: for indeed one must be strong to place oneself alone against the impact of the unknown world."

Yep. I definitely want more of that.

Taking writing what you know seriously, many a great Romance Novel features writer heroes and heroines- Travel Writers, Romance Novelist, Horrow Writers, Screenwriters, Poets, Playwrights, and all other kinds of crazy wordsmiths. 

 

Who is your favorite writer lead in Romance? 

 

Here is some writer Eye Candy to make your Friday more literary. 

 

Check out my Pinterest Board for book recs and literary icons of every genre: Scribble: Writer Leads.

 

See who you can name below! 

 

 

 

 

 

Oh, how I could go on... Come and check out the board. 

I am not giving this book five stars because I thought it was exceptional writing. It was good writing, but not great. However, it was a hell of a lot of fun to read. It surprises me to say that because I almost took the book back to the library after the first two chapters. I'm glad I decided to give it another chance and read one more chapter.

The author claims it is all true, though he compressed time, changed names, and took some other minor artistic license. If it is, he lives a life that is far more interesting than mine. He makes me want to be a dope-smoking, pill-popping, drunken, promiscuous travel writer.

Kohnstamm's memoir is not so much about writing his first guidebook for Lonely Planet as it is a self-congratulatory screed lauding substance abuse, poor choices, dubious sexual encounters, and generally unpleasant behavior. Kohnstamm seems to think he's charming and attractive, yet there's little in his self-description to inclines the reader in that direction. I was willing to hold my distaste in abeyance until he sold drugs to supplement his income, at which point I read more from determination to finish than from interest. Kohnstamm seems to need life to be dramatic to be meaningful, and appears to view only drugs and bad behavior as authentic. In his list of categories of travel writers, he omits "unhappy drunk ," though he illustrates it nicely throughout. Two stars for the parts that are interesting, though it's like wiping away someone else's vomit to get to them.

Wow, did I hate this book. What an ass.