Traditional vacation season is behind us for another year. Oh, there will be travel for Thanksgiving, and for winter break, and some of you lucky folks will go somewhere beachy for cold February or dreary March, but by and large vacations are over until spring. Time to work five-day weeks, wear closed-toe shoes, watch your freckles fade.
But we can still talk about vacation books, right?
I asked recently whether it was true (as reported in Smithsonian) that Minnesotans travel with books of nonfiction more than any other genre. You had, as always, a ton of fervent opinions. Mostly, the opinion was: yes!
Chris Larson of Eagan takes along Bill Bryson. "He makes history, geography, biology and botany interesting," Larson wrote. "I read 'In a Sunburned Country' on a trip to New Zealand and Australia. I learned so much about Australia while I tried to keep from laughing out loud on the plane. I'll go back, just to see the cities we missed that he describes so perfectly."
Luann E. Rice of Baxter, Minn., likes political books, "such as 'Giant of the Senate' by Al Franken," she wrote. "It usually gets me a smile or a frown from people." But it always provokes discussion.
Judith Trolander of Duluth also prefers nonfiction, especially if it relates to her trip. "In late July, I visited the San Juan Islands," she wrote. "Our tour director recommended a memoir by a woman whose father was the lighthouse keeper early in the 20th century. I found the book, 'The Light on the Island,' by Helene Glidden, and read it on the return flight to Minneapolis. It was a wonderful way to extend my vacation by reading."
Mary Hanvik of Minneapolis brings Sarah Vowell, Bill Bryson or Mary Roach with her on trips. "They can take history or science and make them informative and funny."
And Patty Schmidt of Northfield brings travel stories with her on her travels — specifically, the anthologies "Better Than Fiction: True Travel Tales From Great Fiction Writers" and "Better Than Fiction 2."
