When the days begin to get shorter and colder, the armchair traveler in all of us begins to dream of new adventures. This month, Lonely Planet will publish two new books that can help you get through what may be more sedentary winter months—one that will take you along on real-life travels and another to help you plan a meaningful trek of your own.
Better Than Fiction: True Travel Tales from Great Fiction Writers includes 32 of the world’s best fiction writers sharing their travel adventures. The writers include Joyce Carol Oats, Tea Obreht, Isabel Allende, and Kurt Andersen, among many other notables. Editor Don George has edited five previous anthologies for Lonely Planet, including Lights, Camera…Travel!, The Kindness of Strangers, and Tales from Nowhere. George also is a seasoned travel writer himself, and has worked as a travel editor at both the San Francisco Chronicle and San Francisco Examiner. He is the author of Lonely Planet Guide to Travel Writing. In Better Than Fiction, George includes a brief introduction of each writer, outlining his or her literary credentials. The writers share their experiences on the open road, taking the reader along on their travels to such fascinating places as Mexico, the Solomon Islands, and Rome, as well as a host of others.
This month, Lonely Planet also is publishing Best in Travel 2013: The Best Trends, Destinations, Journeys & Experiences for the Upcoming Year, the 40th edition of the book. As the title implies, this book is packed with big travel suggestions that draw on the knowledge and experience of the Lonely Planet’s staff and authors. Packed with photos, tips, and charts full of basic travel data for each destination, this guidebook provides everything you need to know to make your trip memorable, including lists of festivals and events, a “most bizarre sight,” as well as a suggested “life-changing experience.” Best in Travel 2013 also includes a list of the top 10 countries, regions, and cities to visit in 2013. By the way, the top city is here in the United States. For a sneak peek at this list and others, check our their website. Of course, when making your travel plans, don’t forget to include Minnesota in your itinerary. The weather outside may be cooling down, but that doesn’t mean you have to stop thinking about your travel plans for the coming year.
