travel writing

My First Guidebook Credit

Well, I’d forgotten all about that. But in yesterday’s mail, I got two copies of Travellers Vancouver & British Columbia. The cover credit still goes to the original writer but whaddaya know? That’s my name on the flyleaf. And somehow, it’s even more fun to flip through the images and say, “Hey, I took that …


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Book Review: The Man Who Ate the World

Disclaimer: The folks at Holt send me review copies. I don’t always love the books, but I love getting them.

I don’t know what millefeuille is. Or veloute. Or charcroute. This tells you how much I know about fancy cooking. I wouldn’t go out of my way to eat that weird food that’s made by chemistry – foams and dry ice and vacuum sealing and the like don’t interest me, not enough to pay for them, that’s for sure. But I love to cook and, as the scale will confirm, I also love to eat. So it was with a hefty portion of envy that I digested Jay Rayner’s new book The Man Who Ate the World: In Search of the Perfect Dinner

I think I’d like Jay Rayner. Like Anthony Bourdain, he’s acutely aware of the good fortune he has in his line of work. He eats dinner and gets paid to do so. But he’s got none of Bourdain’s macho edge. There’s a funny scene in the book where Rayner and Bourdain are both at  Tokyo’s infamous fish market, and Rayner makes Bourdain’s crew out for something closely resembling a motorcycle gang. But that’s not what the book is about.


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Micro Travel Writer’s Workshop II

A quick review, in case you’re just in: Angela Nickerson as part of her virutal book tour, agreed to do a “micro workshop” on Nerd’s Eye View. She provided the prompt, you provided the work. Here’s here take on what you’ve done – and many, many thanks for your participation! I’ve linked to the posts below, but I’ve left the pictures on the “home” sites. Click through to see the original posts, with photos, and to meet some interesting travel bloggers.

I’ll hand it over to Angela, now.

First, many, many thanks to those of you who participated in today’s travel writing workshop. What a delight to read such good writing and to visit such interesting — and diverse — places. Your submissions are a testament to the richness that comes from diverging from the beaten path. Thank you!

Ok, to the task at hand…


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Micro Travel Writing Workshop with Angela Nickerson

Angela Nickerson, author of A Journey into Michelangelo’s Rome , is on a virtual book tour. One of her stops is right here at Nerd’s Eye View. Rather than your usual book review (that will come when I’ve finished the book), Angela’s agreed to do a “Micro Travel Writing Workshop” with us.

Here’s the deal. You write a 200 word (or less) post following the prompt below. Include a photo as per the guidelines. When you’re done, drop a link to your post in the comments. I’ll compile them and Angela will do a short critique of each participant’s post. Once that’s done, I’ll post the entire workshop back here on Nerd’s Eye View.

Here’s the writing prompt:


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Why Your Guidebook is Wrong

In December, I wrote my first guidebook, a sunbreak travelers guide to Hawaii. At the end of March, while the proofs were in production, Aloha Airlines went bankrupt. A few days later, Molokai Ranch announced their closure at the end of April. Both Aloha Air and Molokai Ranch are listed in my guidebook. I emailed …


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The Thin Edge of the Tourism Wedge

It’s fashionable to whine about how the place that once was super cool and undiscovered is now discovered and you are wrecking it for everyone, already, by walking all over it. I’ve noticed – since our return from Southeast Asia- a weekly diatribe against the horrors of tourism. Typically it’s written by some holier than …


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