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This was a cute travelogue, chronicling comedian Audrey Murray's trip through part of the former USSR, with a focus on both the people she meets and her experiences. I knew next to nothing about the countries visited (except Russia) so hearing about the vast differences in the "Stans" was very interesting. Two grating things about the book: how unprepared Audrey seemed and how, at 29, she was still a bit like an entitled American traveler taking⬇️

I listened to this book last week but haven't reviewed it yet is today's #CuriousCovers featuring #stars.

@eggs @Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks
#littenlisten @aperfectmjk

Murray is obsessed with Russia and this is her nine month long solo trip through the former Soviet Republics. It‘s a fun mix of anecdotes, some interesting observations of the everyday life, bits of history facts and, on more personal level - her thoughts about home, love, family ... Enjoyable and fun. #doublespin #Nonfiction2021 - inspires you #ReadingAsia2021 #Turkmenistan

I don‘t usually like travelogues where the protagonist is ditsy (oh I didn‘t realise I needed a visa!) but Audrey was so charming I didn‘t really mind that she had done zero research before setting off across the former Soviet Union.

Even Audrey claimed halfway through the journey that she had no stories to tell, but really this was all about the people that she met, which I really *do* like in a travelogue!

#readingeurope2020 #kazakhstan

Thanks for the tag @MoonWitch94 !

1. 🎤 🤣 ✈️ 🇰🇿 🐎 🇺🇿 🚕 🇹🇯 🇹🇲 🚗 🇷🇺 🇧🇾
2. Hmmm interesting question! Yes, if it‘s one that has more to it than *just* recipes - history, family, travel etc

Want to play? @rockpools @JennyM @erzascarletbookgasm

-Our full spring opera and dance season at work. No American Ballet Theatre, no Pagliacci, among others. Was also supposed to have trips to NYC and Seattle.

-Sense & Sensibility, Jane Austen: Secret Radical, Shopaholic to the Rescue, and the tagged book.

-Bought myself flowers; spent an entire night reading.

If you want to play, consider yourself tagged! Thanks for creating this, @MoonWitch94

1. Loved the tagged book, but I‘m not about to go to Turkmenistan. Yikes!
2. Elevators. I used to be scared to use them, but I can now if I have to!
3. I enjoy various kinds of coloring and I do some gf cooking, but it‘s not anything super amazing on either count! 😂😂
4. Dear Mama by 2Pac

#friyayintro @4thhouseontheleft @howjessreads

I love travelling and books about travelling. Especially now that I spend most of my time at home and am uncertain when we‘ll be able to travel again, I have enjoyed this book enormously. I especially loved travelling with Audrey Murray through Central Asia, those mysterious countries! I learned so much and envy her a lot for being there (though not for being ‘taken in Turkmenistan).

#Booked2020 #MakesYouLOL
#ReadingEurope2020 Kazakhstan 🇰🇿

Thanks for the rec @Cinfhen & you‘ll enjoy this @BarbaraBB

I loved Audrey‘s crazy travel adventures through the former Soviet republics! She isn‘t a planner and managed to wing her way through a lot of the trip, which partly horrified my deep need for control. She had a scary near-kidnapping in Turkmenistan but otherwise had a lot of amazing adventures! Probably my favorite #armchairtravel book so far.

#booked2020⬇️ #readingeurope2020 #belarus

As I worried about traveling alone from Tel Aviv to London, Audrey Murray, at 28, decides to solo travel through the former U.S.S.R. Without a set itinerary, proper visas or adequate protection,Audrey begins her 7 month trek across the Soviet terrain.
When Audrey isn‘t trying to be funny, she‘s actually hilarious. I really loved this travelogue. Super charming & entertaining as well as extremely informative.
#ArmchairTravel
#ReadingEurope2020

#LiveAndLearn #ReadingEurope2020 not sure which country yet....lots of options 😉Author just mentioned “Mountain Jews” which of course lead me to Wikipedia. Fascinating 💕 👇🏽

#til Today I learned many different things about the countries of the former Soviet Union. Two of the things are quoted above. I never would have guessed that many Koreans immigrated to these countries. And I had no idea that kremlin was a term used for fortified complexes anywhere other than the Kremlin in Moscow. #nfnov @rsteve388 @Clwojick

My panel event went well and now I‘m curled up in my hotel room (no Bourbon St. shenanigans for this introvert) with this book. #nfnov @rsteve388 @Clwojick

So-so rounded to 🤘🏻. I was a little miffed back when I got the galley - this is NOT about a stand-up comedy tour through Russia, like I thought it would be. Instead, it is a hodgepodge tour through former Soviet republics arranged on the fly in Murray‘s quest to understand Russian-ish men. It has hits of Eat, Pray, Love but the sleep-in-a-yurt, AirBnB, Couchsurfing, meet the locals and the fixers, and figure yourself out as you go version.