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The Literary Traveler Book Club: 8/21 – The Last American Man by Elizabeth Gilbert

August 3, 2012 in Literary Traveler Book Club

Dear Literary Travelers,

Our first Literary Traveler book club on Cheryl Strayed’s memoir was a ‘wild’ success and we cannot wait to do it again! We are pleased to announce that our next book club will take place on Tuesday, August 21^st and we will be discussing Elizabeth Gilbert’s 2002 book, The Last American Man. From the author of Eat, Pray, Love comes a biography about Eustace Conway, a man who, at seventeen, moved into the Appalachian Mountains and has lived off the land there for the last twenty years. We have chosen this book as a follow-up to Strayed’s memoir Wild: From Lost to Found on the Pacific Crest Trail for multiple reasons. On the surface, the commonalities may seem apparent, as both feature true stories of individual experiences of the ‘wild.’ Yet, the two also boast a really nice contrast to one another. Whereas Strayed’s book provides an inspiring tale of womanhood and female independence, Gilbert’s book examines the perception of American masculinity. Outside Magazine calls The Last American Man, “The finest examination of American masculinity and wilderness since Jon Krakauer’s Into The Wild.” For an excerpt of the book, which was a finalist for the National Book Award in 2002, check out the Penguin.com website. We are sure that you will be just as excited as we are to start reading!

For those of you in the Boston area who would be interested in taking part in the Literary Traveler Book Club, please e-mail Amanda@literarytraveler.com to join, or for more information. We hope to see you at our August 21^st Book Club meeting, which will take place in Somerville,MA.

For those of you who cannot attend in body, we would love to have you there in spirit. If you have read Gilbert’s book, or would like to read along with us, we would love to hear what you think and we will be discussing the book on our website, as well as our blog, over the next month. E-mail us, post your comments on Facebook or Tweet us. We look forward to hearing from you!

Thank you!
The LT Team

Tags: Biography, elizabeth gilbert, Eustace Conway, The Last American Man No Comments »

by katykelleher

Eat, Pray, Love Hits Theaters Friday

August 11, 2010 in eat pray love, elizabeth gilbert, julia roberts movies, Travel Writers

As I’m sure everyone ha Image via Amazon s heard, Eat, Pray, Love hits theaters this Friday. In case there is anyone unfamiliar with this cultural phenomenon, Eat, Pray, Love follows the protagonist, played by the always gorgeous Julia Roberts, as she travels around Italy, India, and Bali. She starts a “no carb left behind” project, she consumes copious amounts of delicious pasta, she learns to pray and discover herself in India, and she finally finds love in Bali. But here’s the thing: Julia Roberts isn’t playing some random character – she’s playing a real woman.

The woman in question is author Elizabeth Gilbert, who penned the 2006 memoir/travel narrative/food porn extravaganza that quickly became a best seller. The book has inspired numerous readers to search within themselves for a deeper strength, and to reexamine their lives, looking closely at what makes them truly happy.

Gilbert starts the book – and the movie – unhappy. She has just gone through a messy affair and a subsequent divorce. She’s educated and wealthy, but she is just not satisfied. Something, an elusive something, is missing from her life. This realization prompts her to drop everything and begin traveling. She is lucky enough to have the funds to undertake a project many of us can only dream of, but her story is still relatable. Gilbert is lacking something, and through risking everything, she finds what she needed the most: herself.

In honor of the movie’s release, I’d like to suggest we all take a moment and think about what it is that makes us truly happy. For some people, it’s the thrill of travel, or the calm of mediation. For others, it’s creamy, indulgent pasta or freshly made sausage. For me, it’s fresh basil, old cotton t-shirts, used books, and red wine. What makes you feel blessed?

Tags: eat pray love, elizabeth gilbert, julia roberts, memoirs, movies, movies based on books, travel narratives 1 Comment »

by katykelleher

Friday Links: Book News From Around The Internet

April 30, 2010 in Uncategorized

Every Friday, the staff at Literary Traveler gathers up relevant book new Image via Amazon s from around the web, bringing it together in a handy post for book lovers to peruse. Enjoy!

An interesting piece from the Jewish Review of Books asks the question: Why are there so few Jewish fantasy authors? It’s something I’ve never considered, but considering the Christian allegories in Narnia and the like, it’s certainly worth thinking about. Michael Weingrad argues, “we should begin by acknowledging that the conventional trappings of fantasy, with their feudal atmosphere and rootedness in rural Europe, are not especially welcoming to Jews, who were too often at the wrong end of the medieval sword.” More thoughts on the relationship between religion and the fantasty world at The Second Pass.
Independent publisher Melville House has announced their intention to host an award ceremony for the best and worst book trailers. Book trailers, for those of you who don’t know, are short videos created to promote upcoming books. Categories include “Best Big Budget Book Trailer,” “Best Cameo in a Book Trailer,” and hilariously, “Least Likely to Actually Sell the Book.”
One possible contender for the Melville House awards? Actor Zach Galifianakis, who appeared in the trailer for John Wray’s Lowboy. Galifianakis and Wray humorously switched places in this short video, with the actor portraying the writer and the writer playing a far more chipper Zach.
In 2006, Elizabeth Gilbert’s book Eat, Pray, Love became an instant hit, a bestseller, and a defining entry in the travel writing-cum-memoir canon. As you’ve probably heard, the story of Gilbert’s self discovery is being made into a feature film, starring (who else?) America’s sweetheart Julia Roberts. Roberts talks to the New York Times about the film, which left her “exhausted when it was all done.” But “I loved every second of it,” she added.
And finally, start this weekend off right by listening to a bit of poetry. Singer/songwriter Natalie Merchant has done something interesting with her newest album, Leave Your Sleep. Merchant has taken her favorite poems from childhood and set them to music in such a way that both adults and children can enjoy the resulting lullabies. She chose works by famous poets (like Robert Graves, E.E. Cummings and even one from Mother Goose) mixed in with those of lesser-known writers, including Charles Carryl and Lydia Huntley Sigourney.