On the Road Again

Cold? Bundled up? Tired of the insides of your house? It might be time to armchair travel and plan next year's traveling adventure. 

Want to do a Road Trip?  Foodies Jane and Michael Stern take to the American byways and back roads to discover American cuisine at its finest in their memoir of their early (and humorous) adventures, Two for the Road: Our Love Affair with American Food. They wrote the book Road Food and started the Road Food blog for those travelers who want eat at other local establishments other than a chain fast food joint on the side of the intersection. In a world before Yelp and the Internet, the Sterns were the people to go to when you wanted to find out about good road food.

On a bit of a different kind of road, there is the book On the Noodle Road: From Beijing to Rome with Love and Pasta by Jen Lin-Liu. The title of this delightful book is a play on the legendary Silk Road, the major trade route between Asia and Europe. Chef and cooking school founder Lin-Liu (Serve the People: A Stir-Fried Journey Through China ) wanted to settle a burning question: Who really invented the noodle? To do this, she embarked on a cooking and eating journey through China, Central Asia, Iran, Turkey, and Italy. She was occasionally joined by her husband, Craig, who adds charm and a personal feel to her culinary adventure.

Want to get away with the girlfriends? Are they your book group buddies too? Take a look at this title, Off the Beaten Page: the Best Trips for Lit Lovers, Book Clubs, and Girls on Getaways by Terri Peterson Smith.  

It has some great ideas for simple literary field trips close to home, and thoughtful essays describing each destination's literary heritage and attractions. From New York to Chicago, Memphis, Miami, Santa Fe and more there are various three-day itineraries that include such lit inspired excursions such as Santa Monica through the eyes of noir crime master Raymond Chandler; a Devil in the White City view of Chicago in the Gilded Age; an exploration of Edith Wharton's elite Newport, Rhode Island, while talking about other side trips in the area. There are location specific reading lists for each destination and along with a profile of an author who current lives and works there. It also covers various book festivals around the country.

Get ready to read about your next trip now.