I find I like the idea of literary travel books more than I usually like the books themselves. Travel books have a tendency to veer into stories of someone else’s vacation- fascinating and possibly life changing for the traveler, less so for the listener/ reader. In addition, travelogues can lack the themes or narratives that pull a fictional novel along and, likewise, can be short on the cohesive conclusions that a good non-fiction book draws.
Given that they’re not my favourite genre, why did I read a literary travel book? Two reasons: 1) it is a CBR 11 bingo category, and 2) I had one sitting in my TBR pile. Two birds, one stone. [Also, this particular travel book was written by a family friend, so I couldn’t keep burying it in the TBR forever.]
Set entirely within Alberta, my home province, Roadtripping follows Conni and her band of leftist theatre friends on their annual weekend roadtrips to the less touristed parts of the province. The highlights of such adventures are varied: a stuffed gopher museum, a buffalo farm, a Star Trek tourist trap.
How did this travel book measure up to my tepid expectations? Thankfully, it exceeded them. While I still think that travel books aren’t my main jam, I loved Conni’s expanded imagining of what places are ‘worth’ traveling to. In the past I’ve read travel stories about trips I’d love to take (the Inside Passage, Patagonia) or not take (Arctic explorer stories) and this was the first travel book I’ve read that has trips I could make almost any weekend. This was refreshing, and a good reminder that not only are there things to do right where I am, but that the journey to tie those things together is the part I’ll remember.
#Cbr11Bingo- Travel