Hot New Travel Trend: Reading Books
Introducing "Books by Place" for Travel and Reading Enthusiasts
In the short lifetime of this newsletter, the power of reading was mentioned quite a few times already. It’s becoming a theme. See here and here and here, for examples.
Again today I make it known that I enjoy reading, especially books. There is little doubt in my mind that reading contributes a non-trivial amount toward your well-being, knowledge, and success in life.
It matters what you read, too. There are many great books that are worthy of your attention. There also are many books that are unworthy. Knowing when to quit a book that is not serving you is a skill that develops with experience.
“Life is too short to read a bad book.”
— James Joyce
The genesis of today’s newsletter was a story in The Wall Street Journal. “The Do’s and Don’ts of Combining Work and Play When Traveling”, written by Alexandra Samuel, explores the evolving trend of hybrid work and its impact on vacation travel.
Among the list of do’s and don’ts is advice about reading while traveling:
Don’t read business books on vacation
If you keep your work brain turned on all the way through vacation, you make it far less likely that your vacation will be relaxing, let alone inspire fresh thinking. Put away the management guides and the how-to podcasts, and let yourself unwind by delving into new subjects or interests—ideally unconnected to your 9-to-5 job.
Anyone who’s ever been on a long-haul flight knows that good books go a long way toward maintaining your sanity during such an experience. It is always a good idea to bring a book or two along on a trip.
Skip the business books while traveling, according to Samuel, and pick up a place-related read instead. As a geography nerd, great place-related books are a favorite genre of mine. These are a great way to integrate your reading practice with your travel experience. I started doing this before big trips, like our recent trips to Finland and Hawaii, and find that place-related reads elevate the travel experience.
To that end, Books by Place is a new project designed to curate great books about all the great places in the world. In addition to being a living reference for readers, the public repository is a great place to practice Markdown, data organization, and collaborating with others within the GitHub ecosystem.
If you are a fellow GitHub user or an aspiring one, check out Books by Place and fork your favorite place-related reads.
Otherwise, please feel free to respond to this email or drop a line in the comments with your favorite books about your favorite places.