Welcome to Litsy!

Finished The Art of Travel by Alain de Botton as we were landing after our trip. I really enjoyed this collection of reflections on various emotional aspects of travel. This is not a how to, more of a “why”. Highlighted a lot of passages and quotes to return to later.

I'm not entirely sure how this book ended up in my collection, but I am familiar with de Botton and it was a national bestseller, so I guess it entered my consciousness somehow. This is not a travelogue nor a list of tips for surviving in exotic locales without the benefit of First World amenities. De Botton is no adventure tourist. Rather, it is about the mindset of travel, the inner-self and the way one's psychology can be affected and... 👇

After a busy weekend, finally time to put my feet up and wander off to another journey! I‘ve had this book in my #TBR forever..(like years) and finally picking this up! It‘s a book you can dip in and out from! He‘s a brilliant author, I loved his work about Proust (fascinating read). What are you reading this evening?

Closest I came to a holiday this year, covering everything from anticipation to return via motives, landscape and art. I like De Botton best when he‘s like this, providing part-travelogue, part-rumination in the company of a wide range of insightful guides from Wordsworth to de Maistre. Much better than his more recent pontifications on God-less religion, that‘s for sure. More original and infinitely more refreshing.

Having explored various aspects of travel, de Botton ends by discovering his #Homeland thro the mindset of a traveller. Following 18th century explorer Xavier de Maistre, he starts with his bedroom, before moving to his wider neighbourhood.

“Of the 4000 things there might be to see and reflect on in the street, we end up actively aware of only a few: the number of humans in our path, the amount of traffic & the likelihood of rain”

#soaringscores

M companion this afternoon #CurentRead. I loved his two previous books (the one about Proust, makes me want to travel to Proust's hometown)

Low tide! On a train to an airport to The North (generally!) and I‘m having a little bit of an airport-related freak-out. I‘ve only flown by myself once before, haven‘t flown anywhere in round about 997 days (don‘t ask!), am totally out of practice and am generally being a muppet. It‘s only an internal flight, ffs. Would someone please tell me to get it together? Ta!

1. Ice cream for dinner on a hot night 2. Beach provided the waves aren‘t too big and the water is crystal clear 3. Watermelon. Strawberries just aren‘t as good as when I was a kid 4. Travel as long as I don‘t have to organise it 5. Print.

This book is an exploration of the role of travel, providing an insight into the reasons why people travel - is it exploration, adventure, personal transformation or all of the above?
#emojimadness #🛄

The view from a #BigJetPlane, and one of those books I may read one day... Αlain de Botton looks at why we travel, witb thd help of artists, writers, philosophers. Lots of pics of airports/from aeroplanes ✈️ etc etc.

#tuneintonovember @Robothugs @Cinfhen

Besides Verne's Around The World In 80 Days, this is the other book that comes to mind.
#aroundtheworld #sizzlinsummerbooks @Tiffy_Reads

A travel-themed #bookpyramid for #photoadaynov16.

"Life is a hospital in which every patient is obsessed with changing beds: this one wants to suffer in front of the radiator, and that one thinks he's get better if he was by the window. It always seems to me that I'll be well where I am not, and this question of moving is one that I'm forever entertaining with my soul" - Charles Baudelaire

Time to take a break for a few days and trying to recall some of de Botton's advice on traveling. Always found him to be a good introduction on a subject providing areas/ subject for further investigation.