DO NOT BUY THIS BOOK >D
This book is so popular that there is sure to be a copy at your local library.
However, it is such a great read that you may have to join a long waitlist to read it .
If your Library has no copy then I suggest you mail them, phone them or stand outside with a placard until they do.
Otherwise you are just going to have to part with a few hard-earned dollars for your own copy to read, for read it you must.
(Is that Ok Lyn? . . . . the author found out that I am stingier than her and read a library copy and as penance I agreed to write something here) :D
Re: DO NOT BUY THIS BOOK
What are you on about Dave? I thought 'yakety yak: bombay to beijing by bicycle' was a rollicking good read. It was hilarious! Much better than a load of those other boring travel books out there. Sounds like you're trying to bolster up your writer friend's ego at her expense of trashing other books.
Cheers
Lyn
Re: DO NOT BUY THIS BOOK
Dave actually sent along a very long and detailed opinion, reproduced below. And yes, he is even stingier than I - I bought a book last week.
Just a suggested title for your next book. . . you will have to do your own research. . . and its reasonably bike-friendly down here.
I did enjoy the book. I even added a few words in the review section to encourage others to read it, maybe you noticed? Using reverse psychology. . . lol. . . maybe I should be a copywriter instead of an IT consultant?. . . then again perhaps not.
If you would like some more serious comments then:
Yes! do write a second book. But be careful, sometimes the soufflé does not rise so easily the second time. Brian Thacker's "Rule 5 No Sex on the Bus" was a classic, but the follow-ups, although "OK", do not have the same edge. But then again I think Tony Hawk's (NOT the skateboarder) "playing the Moldovans at Tennis" was possibly better than "Round Ireland with a Fridge". All recommended although I suspect you know these quite well.
And Yes you are up there with that company and well above "Yakety Yak: Bombay to Beijing by Bicycle by Russell McGilton " which I though was very ordinary. So all credit to ya. . .
I know its difficult to bring a travel story to a thrilling climax, but I thought it tailed off a bit towards the end. No suggestions for resolution, but a few threads throughout the tale that all culminate towards the end, with possibly the unexpected twist in one or more of them seems to be the usual style. Although literary review is hardly my life's work. The last document I wrote was a business model for the Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery, no unexpected twists there. . .
SOH: The aforementioned books. . that's not a very nice phrase. . how about. . Brian and Tony's books probably aim at the "Humour/Travel" category, now there are many amusing anecdotes in yours, but not the chuckle out loud embarrassing types, and adding jokes is not the answer as you know, I think I felt it was possibly taking itself a little seriously at times and lacking more of that self-deprecating humour beloved by and of the Australian psyche. Personal taste here Lyn, after yours I have lined up Ben Elton, Past Mortem, from the library of course, although I do read other genres, recently "Marching Powder", by Rusty Young, take care if you are in Bolivia. . .
Your writing style is immensely candid and the reader learns as much about you as they do about Cuba. Keep it up, be yourself, it is what distinguishes you from other writers. I think there was the odd section that seemed a little condescending at times, but don't change who you are, just be careful how you word it. . .
So its a great book. . well done. . . hope your head still fits inside your helmet. . .
And if you are ever in Tasmania there will always be room for your microlite on my lawn.
Good luck and best wishes,
Dave. . .
I haven't yet got an airline blanket, but often been tempted and its bound to happen sooner or later.
Also toying with a Llama, but the price is an issue, is there any duty when shipping to Oz ?