Have you checked out our various Features pages lately? Julie and I are all about Features posts. (Who doesn’t need an occasional break from reviews?) In this new feature post, we will be discussing What Books Taught Us. And no, we don’t mean cooking, crafting, or organizing. We are talking about serious, useful skills. Like how to road trip. We want to make sure all of our readers are prepared! Gas up the car. Get out the REAL maps. Download some audio books. A get ready to go on a road trip with us!
Pack your sense of humor: If you’ve read any of his books, you know that Bill Bryson is hilarious. In that self-deprecating, sarcastic kind of way that I love. Who else could write an entire novel about hiking the Appalachian Trail and make me almost want to go walk it myself? If it weren’t for the whole camping, bugs, bears, and actual hiking part!
Black bears rarely attack. But here’s the thing. Sometimes they do. All bears are agile, cunning and immensely strong, and they are always hungry. If they want to kill you and eat you, they can, and pretty much whenever they want. That doesn’t happen often, but – and here is the absolutely salient point – once would be enough
Or maybe you prefer the Australian outback? Well, he’s been there, too! Though, in this case, there is driving around. Not all walking. Plus even more dangerous animals!
It has more things that will kill you than anywhere else. Of the world’s ten most poisonous snakes, all are Australian. Five of its creatures – the funnel web spider, box jellyfish, blue-ringed octopus, paralysis tick, and stonefish – are the most lethal of their type in the world. This is a country where even the fluffiest of caterpillars can lay you out with a toxic nip, where seashells will not just sting you but actually sometimes go for you. … If you are not stung or pronged to death in some unexpected manner, you may be fatally chomped by sharks or crocodiles, or carried helplessly out to sea by irresistible currents, or left to stagger to an unhappy death in the baking outback. It’s a tough place.
I really appreciate that Mr. Bryson keeps his sense of humor in the face of adversity. And I would take that to heart on any trip, let alone one stuck in a car for hours!
Planned and Unplanned Pit Stops: While on the quest to find Margo Roth Spiegelman, Quentin and the rest of the gang are on a major road trip. With scheduled and timed pit stops. Personally, I can see the benefit of the scheduled stop. And in Texas, we plan our road trips around Buc-ees’s locations. But sometimes, you need an unscheduled pit stop.
Ben, if you get pee in my brand-new car, I am going to cut your balls off.”
Still peeing, Ben looks over at me smirking. “You´re gonna need a hell of a big knife, bro.
Also, be sure to watch for cows!
Travel with your friends: Frodo and Sam. Merry and Pippin. Legolas and Gimli. All on quests. Together. Would Frodo have ever made it without Sam? The same could easily be said of the other friends in these books. One supports the other when it is most needed. If you are going to travel, let it be with friends. And without Orcs chasing you.
You can trust us to stick to you, through thick and thin – to the bitter end. And you can trust us to keep any secret of yours – closer than you keep it yourself. But you cannot trust us to let you face trouble alone, and go off without a word. We are your friends, Frodo.
Tolkein’s books are some of my most cherished books from childhood. And if I could, I’d take all of the characters with me on any trip. Even into Mordor.
Be open to new experiences: Arthur Dent has loads of new experiences while traveling with Ford. Hitching a ride with the Volgons. Improbability Drives. The destruction of his planet. A manically depressed android. And all without panicking! Well ok, maybe some panicking. But at least he was willing to try new things. Don’t be afraid to try something new. Even if it’s a little scary.
What is the point? We assume that every time we do anything we know what the consequences will be, i.e., more or less what we intend them to be. This is not only not always correct. It is wildly, crazily, stupidly, cross-eyed-blithering-insectly wrong!
You never know what adventures you’ll have if you don’t try!
If you need more road trip books, here’s a list of quotes to check out!
How about you? Any road trip stories you want to share with us?
I’ve never heard of Bill Bryson, but now I want to read his books – those quotes are hilarious. Let’s see, I’ve learned from road trip books that you’d better always have a back-up plan. Plans go awry quite often!
Nicole @ Feed Your Fiction Addiction recently posted…My Foray into Anime and Manga – Let’s Discuss!
I have never been disappointed with a Bill Bryson book! Including the history of homes and 554 pages of science! And yes to the back up plans. I struggle with spontaneity. So plans on top of plans are totally my thing, Nicole!