Showing posts with label reads. Show all posts
Showing posts with label reads. Show all posts

Thursday, July 16, 2009

Enchanting Beach Read: Audrey's Bio


Who doesn't love Audrey Hepburn? Her style and grace has captivated audiences for decades. But did you know that, as a young girl, Hepburn endured incredible hardships, seeing family members murdered and nearly starving to death while living in Nazi-occupied Holland? As a teenager, Hepburn even acted as an operative for the resistance, collecting money and delivering secret messages for the Dutch Underground.


In Enchantment: The Life of Audrey Hepburn, author Donald Spoto explores the deeper side of the glamorous legend, offering wonderful insights into Hepburn's personal life and her illustrious career. The book is star-studded -- Gregory Peck, Fred Astaire, Gary Cooper and Cary Grant are just a few celebrities that get a mention -- and you can't help but come away loving and respecting Hepburn even more.

Wednesday, July 1, 2009

Travelers' Tales

On the hunt for an appropriate father's day gift (obviously, this was a few weeks ago, but, of course, I couldn't post this till after the big day), I came across A Sense of Place: Great Travel Writers Talk About Their Craft, Lives, and Inspiration (Travelers' Tales).


In A Sense of Place, author Michael Shapiro sits down with some of the best travel writers in the business -- Bill Bryson, Peter Matthiessen and Arthur Frommer, to name a few -- and finds out what makes them tick. The result, according to reviews, is a highly enjoyable and uplifting read for anyone who appreciates the life-changing power of travel. I can't wait till Dad's done with it so I can borrow and read it myself!

Tuesday, March 24, 2009

How the World Makes Love

Talk about making the most out of a bad situation! After being dumped at the alter, Franz Wisner didn't want to miss out on his planned 2-week honeymoon in Costa Rica. So, in the absence of a new Mrs. Wisner, he took his brother. Turns out, they had so much fun that 2 weeks turned into a 2-year round-the-world trip and a New York Times bestseller called Honeymoon With my Brother.


Kurt and Franz Wisner [Photo by Stephen Brown]

Now, Wisner has just come out with his second travel-related book, How the World Makes Love (wonder what researching this one entailed). In all seriousness, though, word is this is a fantastically entertaining book that chronicles not only love rituals in Egypt, Brazil, New Zealand and Nicaragua (to name a few countries), but Wisner's own rocky love life back home in L.A.



I can't imagine a more appropriate springtime read! You can get a copy at Amazon

Friday, February 27, 2009

Shotgun Wedding in Iran

I can't wait to get my hands on this book: Honeymoon in Tehran by Azadeh Moaveni.



Azadeh, an American journalist, was working as a foreign correspondent in Tehran in 2005 when she fell in love with a local guy and ended up pregnant. This is a sticky situation in Iran, where Islamic authorities serve up some pretty harsh punishment for evidence of premarital sex. So, Azadeh was forced to arrange a rushed muslim wedding (she's of Iranian descent) while trying to find ways to disguise her bump until the marrige was legit.



From her new home in London, where she lives now with her husband and son, Azadeh wrote Honeymoon in Tehran to chronicle the ordeal. Wanna read it with me? You can pick up a copy at Amazon.