Historic Route 66: A Journey Through History

When popular novelist Julia Alvarez, author of How the García Girls Lost Their Accents and owner of a coffee plantation in her native Dominican Republic, became close with a young Haitian boy working at a neighboring farm, she told him she'd attend his wedding. Years later, though it's inconvenient, she keeps her promise and chronicles the eye-opening trip. With her American husband and a few others, Alvarez crosses Hispaniola to reach the young man's Haitian home; despite poor roads, red tape, and disagreements, they reach the happy wedding party. In this "warm, funny, and compassionate" (Kirkus Reviews) book, Alvarez also documents her return visit after Haiti's devastating earthquake. 

Bestselling romance author Eloisa James (aka Mary Bly, Shakespeare professor) does what so many dream of: she moves to Paris! But the big move comes after big changes: her beloved mother (award-winning author Carol Bly) dies of cancer and, less than a month later, James receives her own cancer diagnosis. After successful treatment, James and her family of four spend an extraordinary year exploring and enjoying the City of Light. James' familial anecdotes together with memories of her mother and worries about her aging father (award-winning poet Robert Bly) make this charming look at Paris also a loving look at family. Readers interested in a young male author's view of this famed city might want to check out Rosecrans Baldwin's recently published Paris, I Love You but You're Bringing Me Down.

Are you fascinated by the number of languages spoken in the United States? If so, follow "brainy, foul-mouthed, and very funny tour guide" (Kirkus Reviews) Elizabeth Little to 46 states! The self-described language fanatic spent two years exploring how various tongues shaped the U.S. and helped define Americans individually, socially, and politically. Visiting Native American reservations in several states, Creoles in Louisiana, Gullah speakers in South Carolina, and other people with interesting dialects or non-English tongues, Little learns a lot and chronicles her fascinating travels in this eclectic combination of travelogue and linguistic survey.

Most people buy a shiny-new up-to-date guidebook (or several) when they plan a trip around Europe and consult various travel websites. Not so with Doug Mack! He uses a 1963 edition of Arthur Frommer's classic Europe on Five Dollars a Day to navigate around eight countries (Belgium, Italy, Switzerland, France, etc.), without any help from the internet. Some of the hotels are closed and the Louvre isn't free on Sunday anymore, but he manages, and even embraces being a typical tourist treading the well-worn trails that others, including his mother in the 1960s, walked before him. In this "amusing" (Library Journal) book, he also reflects on what has changed in travel and what hasn't...and spends a lot more than five bucks every day.

Bestselling British author Peter Ackroyd draws upon everything from ballads and folk tales to court records and newspaper accounts to create a book about London that's as diverse and enthralling as the city itself. Ackroyd portrays this amazing place as a living entity and organizes his chapters thematically, writing about the city's inhabitants, crime, theater, street life, and waste disposal practices over time. If you're looking for a "sweeping, highly readable" (Library Journal) chronicle of London from the time of the Druids to the end of the 20th century, this 800+ page "biography" of the city that's already hosted the Summer Olympics twice (in 1908 and 1948) should do the trick. For a shorter, more people-centric look at London, try Craig Taylor's Londoners.

Imagine moving to a foreign country for a year...with 6-month-old twin boys in tow! That's just what author Anthony Doerr and his wife did in 2004 after he won the prestigious Rome Prize, which offers an aspiring writer a stipend and a place to live in the Eternal City for a year. In this memoir, first-time parent Doerr writes eloquently of children, sleepless nights, intriguing Romans, the funeral of John Paul II, and the multitude of things to see and do in the centuries-old city that hosted the Summer Olympics back in 1960. In a starred review, Kirkus Reviews says Four Seasons in Rome is "delightful, funny, and full of memorable scenes."

In this "funny, poignant, and entertaining memoir" (Booklist), music journalist Alan Paul tells of his family's relocation to Beijing in 2005 after his wife is named the Wall Street Journal's China bureau chief. Besides adjusting to a new culture and caring for three small children during his time there, Paul ends up playing guitar for a Chinese blues group that becomes one of the hottest bands around -- and he takes readers along for the ride, whether he is shopping in Beijing, traveling across the country for gigs, or on holiday with his family. For another look at Beijing during the years that led up to the 2008 summer games, try Tom Scocca's Beijing Welcomes You.