Travel by the Book and Love in the Time of Coronavirus
Spider-Man’s adventures in the UK, love in the time of coronavirus, and armchair travel during a pandemic with author Lindsey Tramuta.
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Show Notes
First stop:
Kids in Stockport, England have spotted Spider-Man outside their windows as they practice social distancing. Signs have popped up inviting the superhero to come and visit. (Spider-Man wants everyone to know he practices proper social distancing.)
Two friends, Andrew Baldock and Jason Baird, are bringing a little magic to the lives of local kids by coordinating their hour of daily outdoor exercise with Spider-Man's appearances. You can follow Spidey's movements on the Stockport Spider Men Facebook group.
Elsewhere in the world, people are putting hearts, rainbows and other signs of hope in their windows to cheer up their neighbors. Alicia contributed a photo to this collection of images from all over the globe, compiled by April Berry.
Next stop:
Joe interviewed Lindsey Tramuta about how evocative writing can transport us to places we've never been -- which is just what we need when we're stuck at home for the next few weeks, at least. Lindsey is the author of The New Paris: The People, Places and Ideas Fueling a Movement and The New Parisienne: The Women and Ideas Shaping Paris which will be published in July.
We all agree that a book doesn't have a be a travelogue or travel writing to help us understand a place. Fiction, creative nonfiction, journalism, history books and short stories have done it for us.
What kinds of books help you understand a place more deeply? Which titles do you recommend?
If you need ideas, this Business Insider story and this short list of travel book ideas from The Spectator are good places to start. And once you know the genres you like, dive into A5 Travel Books to round out your reading list.
And (shameless self-promotion alert!) if you want to support your friendly neighborhood podcast hosts, you can buy our books. Joe wrote Talking Tico: (Mis)Adventures of a Gringo in and Around Costa Rica and Alicia is the author of North Dakota Beer: A Heady History.
Postcard:
Romance is alive and well along the border between Denmark and Germany. Deutsche Welle reports that 85-year-old Danish citizen Inga Rasmussen has been meeting her German boyfriend Karsten Tüchsen Hansen (89) across the border fence at the German border city of Aventof every day. The couple chat, drink coffee and spirits and eat lunch or biscuits.
The story went global. And it's spawned an entire genre of new stories of people finding creative ways to stay connecting during a pandemic.
What about you?
Which books transport you?
What's on your reading list?
How are you staying connected during this pandemic?