First Book Blog

Alright, so given my blog title is all about me being a book worm in New York City, and given that I'm not actually in New York City right now, I figure its about time I write about the book worm part--otherwise, my blog may be seen as a complete sham, which it is not.

I recently finished a remarkable book called The Lost Girls.  It is a non-fiction travel narrative written by three women who quit their hip, New York media jobs and travel the world together for a year.  In other words, it is my dream come true.  The book is written in turns by all three women (Jennifer, Holly and Amanda), with each chapter written by one woman, instead of all three collaborating on every word.  I felt a real connection with Jennifer.  We were, like, eerily similar.  We both hail from Maryland, she lives in NYC (I just want to), both have a lust for travel, and numerous other little idiosyncrasies that left me constantly wondering if, somehow, Michael J. Fox seriously screwed up the space time continuum and Jennifer is actually me writing about the future from the past.  I feel as though, even though she's almost ten years older than me, we would be great friends.

Well, back to the book.  The ladies start in South America, where they hang out in Lima, hike the Inca Trail and see the ruins of Machu Picchu.  Then, they move on to Kenya, where they volunteer for a month at a girls' boarding school. Next comes South East Asia, where they explore Thailand, Laos, Vietnam, etc.  Then finally, Indonesia, New Zealand and Australia.  Along the way they forge lasting bonds and discover things about each other and themselves.  You know, basic women's lit stuff.  And though they don't find the answers they were searching for--what should I do next in my career?  Is this relationship going anywhere?  and so on, they do make all kinds of wonderful discoveries.

I seriously loved this book.  I think it may have changed my life.  I realized that I should be taking this downtime (aka, searching for a job, working in a restaurant) and seriously reconsider my plan.  It also awoke in me the dormant wanderlust, and ever since I closed the book, my mind has been racing with ideas of how I can get out of America and see the world without any money. 

I have always been a world-traveler wannabe, and my time in Australia reaffirmed that notion.  My dream job has always been to become a travel writer (a dream I probably share with 20 million other Americans).  So, the Lost Girls have inspired me to work towards that dream.  I bought the latest issue of National Geographic Traveler (I majored in Journalism, so I'm all about research) and wrote a list of travel articles I would love to write.  Of course, that will be difficult, because I don't have the money to go anywhere, but it was a good exercise to get my brain juices flowing.  So stay tuned for some practice travel posts!

In summary, The Lost Girls is a must read, for anyone who loves traveling, or feels stuck in their job, is looking for a change, or anyone who possesses two X chromosomes.  If you like me, then you will like this book!  And who doesn't like me? ; )