Reviewed by Mamta Madhavan for Readers' Favorite

Author Laurie McAndish King weaves adventure, humor, and wisdom in her engaging collection of travel stories titled Your Crocodile Has Arrived: More True Stories from a Curious Traveler. The book chronicles her exciting and fascinating travel trips including details of religious relics, gypsies and immigrants, and almost-forgotten histories. The author’s fascination for remarkable destinations, enthralling experiences, magical places, wonders of nature, and the people who work hard to preserve them fill the pages of this book. The world is a kaleidoscope and King's adventures while traveling to new destinations will encourage many readers to put on their traveling shoes, pack their bags, and explore foreign lands.

I like the author’s approach to the topic. Instead of speaking about places in the usual way, she makes it unique with her unconventional manner of perceiving her surroundings and lacing her stories with humor and wit while relating her experiences. The food, the pictures, the animals, places, and her adventures will grab the attention of readers and make them want to travel, explore, and discover places they have never been to before. The book is honest and brave and whether it is a chocolate massage, eating sheep offal in Scotland, or sky walking in New Zealand, the author's adventures in this book will make readers long to wander. It is a good book for all those who like to travel and read about new places, and learn about the sights and experiences there that make each place worth visiting. The discussion questions at the end of the book are interactive and they will help readers relive their favorite travel moments.

Reviewed by Cecil Brewer for Readers' Favorite

Jen Ruiz's passionate love of travel on the cheap and her air travel experiences incorporated into The Affordable Flight Guide have many rewards for the travel oriented reader. Who knew the best way to search for flights was to use the "private window" on your browser to avoid all the nefarious trackers built into the search systems? A simple tip, but very useful, and one of many. Her details like this one in each section are eye-opening and always practical. Travel tips, like downloading language files into a translation app, and other short quick suggestions confirm her expert knowledge. Ruiz advocates traveling as light as possible and avoiding checked bags. Her tip on what kind of carry-on to avoid buying explains the problems you can have at the gate.

When I was a "road-warrior" in a different time, I never bothered to look for the best price, or best connections. The Affordable Flight Guide: How to Find Cheap Airline Tickets and See the World on a Budget has impacted my planning viewpoint about booking habits and traveling on my own dime. Using budget airlines to get from point A to B and even on to C was a revelation to me. Ruiz chronicles her flight experiences on several budget airlines and made a compelling case for considering them. Her critiques of them are helpful if you are considering using any of the ones she includes. Besides her advice and tips on air travel, she includes payment methods and choices to consider. I think her writing style documenting, commenting, and explaining her air travel experiences is nicely done. I enjoyed the conversational style of Jen Ruiz's prose; it makes this book easy to read.

Reviewed by Gisela Dixon for Readers' Favorite

A Random Buzzard In Kathmandu by Suzanne Link is a memoir written by Suzanne about her journey battling with cancer and her subsequent travel to the Himalayas. The narrative begins with her initial diagnosis of breast cancer and the chemotherapy and radiation she went through with its side effects such as nausea, hair loss, etc. Her health improves and around the same time she hears of a trip to the Himalayas comprised of cancer survivors, and it sounds like a great way to rejuvenate and get a new perspective. What follows is Suzanne’s journey through Nepal on a trekking expedition that includes summiting mountains and experiencing the majesty and sublimity of the Himalayas, descriptions of the group that she travels with, and the friendships she forms both with her teammates as well as Sherpas, the acclimatization and health challenges, and the lessons she learns from all of this.

I enjoyed reading A Random Buzzard In Kathmandu and, having been to the Himalayas myself, although not in the same areas as Suzanne, I could certainly relate to the travel experience of high altitude, etc. This story is two-fold and runs in parallel: Suzanne’s fight with cancer and her travel experience with her group in the Himalayas. It is exciting to get right into the middle of the Himalayan range, so to speak, and to glimpse mighty peaks such as Everest. The local travel in Kathmandu and villages along the route is also interesting. I very much enjoyed reading this memoir.

Reviewed by Mamta Madhavan for Readers' Favorite

My Love Affair With Italy by Debbie Mancuso is an engaging memoir that takes readers along with the author on her travels in Italy. She speaks about her passion for Italy where she has stayed in farm houses, monasteries, a 1000-year-old converted wine cellar in a medieval village, riding academies, a converted barn, Roman apartments, and converted vineyards. The book reinforces her love for Italy, its art, glorious history, warm and inviting waters, beautiful weather, and amazing food. So what are you waiting for? Let us join the author on her journey through Italy and discover the land through our own eyes, ears, and spirit.

This book will strike a chord with anyone who loves traveling and who is keen to travel to Italy or learn more about the country and its culture. The book encapsulates that period of her life spanning 45 years, from when she was a teenager till retirement, and her beautiful romance with the country. Her descriptions of the places in Italy and her travel experiences will make readers add Italy to their bucket list. Her passion for traveling and exploring and Italy is evident in her writing and I love the storytelling streak in her. Italy is a beautiful country and the author captures the landscapes, culture, custom, food, and lifestyle of the people there, captivating readers. The book is honest and straightforward and Debbie Mancuso makes us realize that there is no age limit on traveling and exploring other countries and new lands.

Reviewed by Mamta Madhavan for Readers' Favorite

African Memories: Travels to the Interior of Africa by Ndeye Labadens is an exciting journey where readers are taken into the heart of Africa. The author captures the beauty, sights, and sounds of Africa in a way that readers will want to pack their bags and discover all the places there - whether it is Senegal, the author’s home country, or Ghana, The Gambia, Mauritania, Ivory Coast, Morocco, Cameroon, Nigeria, Egypt, Kenya, Libya, Benin, Cabo Verde, Mali, or the other places covered. The beauty of each country is displayed through stunning pictures that will make readers see the diversity of each place.

Traveling is an education by itself and it exposes the traveler to life, people, and different cultures and surroundings with a different perspective. The author captures the nuances, the ambiance, and every small detail with enthusiasm, and gives readers the opportunity to experience the adventures of traveling to Africa. The vivid descriptions and detailed narration bring the places alive for readers and the pictures help them connect well with the author’s words.

It’s a must-read for all those who love traveling to new destinations, seeking adventures and excitement. The book will make readers dream; the roads, the culture, food, people, and society are enticing and will give readers a sense of adventure and excitement that comes with traveling and exploring new places. The author makes Africa a dream destination through her photographs and narration!

Reviewed by Romuald Dzemo for Readers' Favorite

Australian Memories: Discover Aussie Land and the Mysterious Red Center by Ndeye Labadens is the first installment in a series featuring the author’s adventures through Australia. From the natural beauty of its lovely locales to fun activities like outdoor concerts, from the exquisite and gorgeous cafés of laid back cities to the glitz of high rise establishments, from the song of birds to the buzz of busy cities, the author reserves surprises for readers, unveiling hidden and somewhat not-so-noticeable gems of Australia. Here is a book that allows readers to get a feel of the culture, a glimpse of social interaction, and a good idea of Australian hospitality.

Told in an exciting and ebullient voice, this book combines elements of a great memoir with adventure to inform and entertain readers, opening their eyes to the wonders of Australia. Although the prose isn’t exceptional, it is friendly and the reader can feel the excitement as the author leads them on her adventures from Sydney to Tasmania, to Alice Springs, to Kakadu, to Darwin and to Melbourne. The narrative is punctuated with breathtaking images of touristic moments, fascinating sites, and landscapes. The author offers a feel of the Australian culture that tourists and visitors to Australia will find interesting and helpful. Australian Memories: Discover Aussie Land and the Mysterious Red Center by Ndeye Labadens can be read as an adventure of a tourist or an outsider’s view of the country. I found it engaging and surprisingly entertaining. This is one of the books to read if you are looking for fun ideas and information about Australia.

Reviewed by Geree McDermott for Readers' Favorite

If you love reading and visiting book stores, you’ll love Bob Eckstein’s Footnotes from the World’s Greatest Bookstores - True Tales and Lost Moments from Book Buyers, Booksellers, and Book Lovers. It is a delightful description of many distinctive bookstores worldwide, complete with anecdotes from and about famous visitors as well as from the bookstores’ owners and employees. We, the readers, join Mr. Eckstein on his global book tour for a brief yet intriguing and insightful glimpse of some of the world’s most interesting, most unusual, oldest, and fabulous bookstores. We discover bookstores that have been in the same location for centuries, others that are on wheels, and one that floats, one that serves food and drink and gives away free books, while still others allow patrons to sleep in the aisles.

Footnotes from the World’s Greatest Bookstores has exceptional watercolors of each bookstore, painted by Mr. Eckstein. The anecdotes about each bookstore are fun to read, surprising, and memorable. Although Mr. Eckstein chose not to include the many ‘bookstore cat stories’ he heard, as a cat lover as well as a book lover I would have enjoyed reading at least one cat story. But I choose not to hold that against Mr. Eckstein and Footnotes from the World’s Greatest Bookstores because I absolutely love the concise artistic tour of bookstores around the world. The unique perspective offered by Mr. Eckstein motivates me to plan a lengthy around the world sojourn so I can experience Footnotes from the World’s Greatest Bookstores myself.

Reviewed by Josephine Strano D'Urso for Readers' Favorite

Stef Smulders' Living in Italy: The Real Deal is a thoroughly entertaining read and a unique introduction to ‘the Italian way’! While attending a university course, Stef and husband, Nico, decide almost on a whim to buy a property in the wine region of Pavia and set up a B&B. Once they find what they are looking for, Stef drops out of university to oversee the remodeling of the house. He and Nico tie up a few loose ends in Holland and, together with their dog Saar, move into their new home while the restructuring work is going on. The book is a comical, often downright hilarious account of the setbacks and unforeseen obstacles Stef and Nico encounter while they navigate through the endless red tape of the stressful Italian bureaucracy and become acquainted with the Italian lifestyle.

Living in Italy: The Real Deal is by no means a travel guide, but for those who plan to relocate there, it provides an interesting insight into Italy’s public services’ notorious sluggishness and disorganization, as well as the Italian way of life. Being Italian-born, I found it to reflect the true essence of the Italian people without falling into the usual stereotypes. I also appreciated Stef Smulders' good-natured, tongue-in-cheek account of his experiences and interactions with the different characters in his book, all endearing even though sometimes maddening. Stef writes in a style all his own that keeps you riveted and thoroughly entertained. I could easily see this book as the first of a series dedicated to Italian living, written with a good dose of the same humor.

Reviewed by Jack Magnus for Readers' Favorite

A Camino of the Soul: Learning to Listen When the Universe Whispers is a non-fiction inspirational memoir written by Katharine Elliott. The author and her husband were successful hotel executives who seemed to have the perfect life. Their home overlooked the Puget Sound, they could travel and enjoy the finer things in life, and three loving dogs graced their lives. Things started to change when they learned that his mother's cancer had progressed to the point that she could no longer live on her own. Rather than see her move to an assisting living facility in Germany, they traveled there for a visit with her, but also with the hope that she would agree to move in with them. She did, and the two women, who had once been ill at ease with each other, became the best of friends. Sis, as she was known to her family and friends, would become one of Elliott's angels after she passed on, a warm and guiding presence who would look out for Elliott, supporting her throughout the moves and crises, and eventually the breakup of her twenty-year marriage. Several years before that break, Elliott had begun seeking a more spiritual connection to life, and she accepted that she was meant to walk the Camino. She didn’t know the reason why or how that ambition came to grab hold of her, nor did she question it, and that historic spiritual walk would change her life.

Katharine Elliott's non-fiction spiritual memoir, A Camino of the Soul: Learning to Listen When the Universe Whispers, is a beautifully written and joyful account that held me in rapt attention as I was reading. Elliott's writing is smooth and compellingly honest, and one can't help but feel that she is speaking directly to her readers. I loved reading about how she and Sis went from being wary and unwilling in-laws to becoming dear friends who reveled in their time together, and I found her descriptions of the process of her and her husband's move to Europe to be fascinating. But I'm an avid hiker; so I would have to admit that my primary interest in reading this memoir was to hear about the author's experiences on her Camino, and she came through with flying colors. I had wondered about her taking the trek on her own and loved the serendipity that surrounded her with hale and hearty companions. And yes, I'm glad she listened to her sister's advice to write. She does a grand job of it, and I'm looking forward to more memoirs of her other walking experiences. A Camino of the Soul: Learning to Listen When the Universe Whispers is most highly recommended.

Reviewed by Gisela Dixon for Readers' Favorite

Lost, Kidnapped, Eaten Alive! True Stories from a Curious Traveler by Laurie McAndish King is a non-fiction travel memoir about Laurie’s adventures in various countries around the world. Laurie’s travels take her across continents as we hear about her adventures in Africa, Europe, North America, and more. The stories are depicted as short anecdotes, and each city or country has a short chapter dedicated to it. In a sense, it is not a sequential re-telling of a travel itinerary, but instead snippets of memories and experiences that were formed in a particular place. Some of these tend to be humorous such as lion watching on foot in Botswana while others are downright dangerous, such as the time she was almost kidnapped or worse in Tunisia. At the end of the book, Laurie provides a recap of why she travels and her inspiration, along with questions that can be discussed in a reading group.

Lost, Kidnapped, Eaten Alive! True Stories from a Curious Traveler is an adventurous read and has a fun, light-hearted feel to it. Despite the author being in some apparently dangerous situations, the vibe that I got from this book was one of a carefree attitude and freedom. Born in rural America, Laurie discusses her own journey a bit and her love of travel. The writing is crisp and fun, but the only criticism I had was it seemed almost a bit frivolous at times. It left me wondering if there was anything deeper in these travels than fun. I would have liked to see attention drawn to some serious things such as human trafficking, gender bias against women in many countries, the unique challenges one faces as a woman solo traveler, and such things in some depth as well. Still, I found it an entertaining book, overall.