Travel Travails Told with Humor and Not Just for Women

books:


	• Sand in My Bra and Other Misadventures: Funny Women Write from the Road (Travelers' Tales) Travelers' Tales, 2003 - 232 pages average customer review:based on 17 reviews view larger image
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As the title says, Gritty!

This book's concept was fun and the writing was funny. The title was titillating, so to speak, but never having had sand in my bra, I imagine the experience to be more uncomfortable than humorous. So I'm a little puzzled by the title selection.

All that nonsense aside, the ladies featured in this prize-winning travel anthology have humorous things to say about their travel experiences, things that stoke a traveler's memory bank (we've all had similar experiences and it's amazing how many are centered around toilets, insects, annoying people, and underwear). Some of the stories are on the (ahem) naughty side, but that makes them more interesting, and the writers are clever at being able to retell the stories in ways that makes us laugh through our shock.

And laugh I did. Jessica Maxwell's introduction was a hilarious sendoff to essays that were witty, lively, and humorous. Unlike many anthologies that we have read, I didn't find a single one that was a cull. The editor was astute in her selections and didn't include the usual "why is that here?" story. Kudos for that.

Try it, you'll like it (the stories, not the sandy underwear).

Schuyler T. Wallace

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Travel Travails Told with Humor and Not Just for Women

I would be hard pressed to call this a collection of short stories, as this is really a series of humorous anecdotes from an array of accomplished women, some quite funny and even a few who even provide insight into the human condition. Editor Jennifer Leo has gathered twenty-nine pieces, none more than ten pages, and to her credit, this is not an overtly feminist tract. Rather, they all share a uniquely feminine perspective on the quirks and misadventures that could happen to any of us on the road.

My favorites seem to carry similar themes of personal humiliation - Christine Eckardt's ribald story of how her loose-fitting panties were shimmying down her legs on the streets of Abu Dhabi, Sarah Vowell's singular obsession with "The Godfather" as she traversed through Italy rediscovering locales within the film, Kate Crawford getting locked out of her boyfriend's apartment in Paris, Annalisa Valentine's urinary-related disaster on the way back from Everest base camp, and Leo's own exposure to Bangkok's extravagant peep show scene.

Unsurprisingly, the highest profile writer here, Ellen Degeneres, tells of her travails with air travel, a funny routine familiar to anyone who has seen her stand-up routine on HBO. Not all the stories are gems, but Adair Lara contributes an acutely insightful essay on the person we pretend to be when we pack. he title of the collection actually comes from Christine Nielsen's colorful account of her experiences at the Burning Man festival in Nevada. This is shallow-end commuter reading but truly enjoyable for what it's worth.

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A Laugh Out Loud Collection

This collection of funny stories is not just for women! It's a fun book to take on vacation and to read aloud to your traveling companion. I particularly enjoyed "The Aunties," by Anne Lamott, as she describes the inner voice battling thoughts on her middle-aged body while standing next to a group of teenagers at a beach side bus stop.

A quick, fun read that will keep you laughing and appreciating the fine batch of women writers presented in this anthology.

From the author of "A Line Between Friends," McKenna Publishing Group

reviews: page 1, 2, 3, 4

Travel doesn?t always live up to one?s expectations ? it sometimes exceeds them. For the 25 women contributors to Sand in My Bra and Other Misadventures, hitting the road inspires tales that their friends and families, as well as the readers of this book, will never forget. Readers laugh, cry, and commiserate with these women and their comical, bizarre, and unforgettable adventures including being chased by a herd of 50 African elephants, getting bitten by a goddess-possessed healer in Kathmandu, nightclubbing with a prude in Bangkok?s infamous Patpong sex district, and observing the shenanigans of a delirious new son-in-law in the Himalayas. Contributors include Anne Lamott, Ellen Degeneres, Sandra Tsing Loh, Sarah Vowell, and Cynthia Kaplan.

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