Yesterday, we talked about the joys of adventures, road trips, and the wonderfulness of summer getaways.  And encouraged you to take your own excursion, whether that was in a car, on a bike, or in your favorite chair.

But let’s be honest:  sometimes, adventures aren’t that great.  Sometimes it rains every day you’re at the exotic beach (been there).  Sometimes the museum you wanted to visit is closed for emergency ventilation work (been there, too!).  Sometimes you just get lost.

And you know what?  There are books for that, as well!  Sometimes, the most exciting books–and the most memorable adventures–are the ones that defy your expectations, grab you with unexpected revelations, or lead you down a dark, unexplored path.

So here, to balance things out, are a selection of books about journeys that didn’t go according to plan, fictional and non-fictional, funny and scary, real-world and outlandish.  Use them to comfort you, should you summer plans fall apart, or perhaps see them as a cautionary tale, but, either way–enjoy!

River of Doubt: After losing the presidential election of 1912, Theodore Roosevelt and his son left the United States for the Amazon.  Teddy was determined to conquer the most grueling and perilous physical challenge that he could find–and he met his match on one of the most dangerous rivers on earth, a black, uncharted tributary of the Amazon that snakes through one of the most treacherous jungles in the world.  In this fast-paced, well-researched, and wonderfully insightful book, Candace Millard takes us down the Amazon with Teddy, giving us a look into the man himself, as well as into the journey that nearly broke him (and killed three of the men in his party).

A Wretched and Precarious Situation : In Search of the Last Arctic Frontier: In 1906, from atop a snow-swept hill in the ice fields northwest of Greenland, hundreds of miles from another human being, Commander Robert E. Peary spotted a line of mysterious peaks looming in the distance. He called this unexplored realm “Crocker Land.” Scientists and explorers agreed that the world-famous explorer had discovered a new continent rising from the frozen Arctic Ocean.  Several years later, two of Peary’s disciples, George Borup and Donald MacMillan, assembled a team of amateur adventurers to investigate Crocker Land, dreaming of placing their names next to those of Magellan and Columbus.  Instead, they found themselves trapped in a bizarre, harrowing, and pitiless landscape that defied not only maps, but seemingly reason itself.  David Welky’s book captures the cold and the confusion of this epic adventure perfectly, and he also brings a scientists’ eye to the details of their plan, helping readers understand the real wonder of this whole story.

Station Eleven: This book is nothing like you’ve ever read, I think I can guarantee it.  A little bit of science fiction, a little bit of mystery, and a whole lot of Shakespeare combine in this story that starts with an influenza epidemic that decimates the population.  Twenty years later, Kirsten Raymonde is part of a nomadic group of actors and musicians known as the Travelling Symphony, circling the Great Lakes in a two-year cycle.   Her memories of an actor that she saw die at the beginning of the plague sparks an exploration into human nature, love, memory, and all the ways that our lives are bound up in each other.  This book is as much about personal journeys as it is about a wandering troupe of players, and is a haunting, powerful, and utterly imaginative book that is so unlike most dystopian novels out there that even those who don’t consider themselves sci-fi fans will find plenty to enjoy.

The Last Days of Jack Sparks: We’ve talked about this book before, but honestly, it’s so weird, and so unsettling, and so absolutely unlike anything else out there that I think we need to talk about it a lot more.  Jack Sparks is a pop-culture journalist, sensationalist, and all around cynical jackass, who delights in busting myths, superstitions, and religious events with equal gusto.  But after he witnesses an exorcism in Italy, odd things begin happening to him–beginning with a video being posted to his YouTube account that he never shot.  This book is presented as a compilation of the last days of Jack Sparks’ life, his wild (paranoid, desperate) adventures around the world, his increasingly erratic behavior and the many, seemingly infinite layers of truth, lies, self-delusions, and terrors that make up his existence.  It’s an exhausting, terrifying, eye-opening book that will certainly make any summer trip of your seem tame…and maybe that’s ok…

Best of luck in your travels, dear readers!  Send us a postcard!

Sometimes, dear readers, you just need to get away from it all.  Just turn off the navigational devices, turn up the radio/music device of your choice, and drive/fly/train/bike to a different place.   And there is no time like summer to have just those kind of adventures.

And whether you’re the kind of person to throw caution to the winds, pack up, and head out of town with the wind at your back, or the kind to spread out in a lounging chair of some sort and read your way through an adventure, the Library is just the place for you.

Our selection of travel books, featuring local, national, and international sites and locales is extensive…and, of course, we have the power to call forth books from all corners of the state in order to help you plan your perfect summer escape.  On top of that, we also have a vast array of books that featuring road trips, train treks…even covered wagon adventures, if that’s what makes you happy…in order to help your “stay-cation” be the most adventurous and fulfilling possible.  Take a look at some of the selections below, or come in and see us for more exciting and adventurous reading recommendations!

Wicked Becomes You: Gwen Maudsley is wealthy, pretty, and popular, but she’s also nice.  So nice, in fact, that she’s been jilted at the altar twice by men who think she won’t mind.  So Gwen has decided that if nice has ended in such heartache, it’s high time she decides to be naught–and she knows just the man to help her: Alexander Ramsey, her late brother’s best friend.  Alexander wants nothing to do with this plan, because he wants nothing to do with changing Gwen in any way.  He loves her precisely as she is, even if he can never tell her.  Meredith Duran is one of my favorite historical novelists, because she embraces every aspect of the period and the place she is covering.  This romp through France and Italy, from the confines of a continental train to the luxuries of the high-class hotels, comes to life in this book–and it doesn’t hurt that Alex and Gwen are such an interesting, complex pair.  For fans of my favorite romance, Follow My Lead, this is a bit of a darker, deeper story, but one that will most likely appeal.  Stop in at the Information Desk to request this book through ComCat!.

The Oregon Trail: Remember the covered wagons I mentioned earlier?  Well, Rinker Buck recreated the epic journey of the 19th-century Americans who made their way west in a covered wagon, with mules, and wrote a truly fascinating book about his adventure.  More than just a travelogue, though (and there is nothing wrong with travelogues, either), this book delves into the history of the “settling” of the American West, and the significance of the Oregon Trail, and those who traveled it, on the US today.  Anyone who grew up with the Mecc computer game, anyone whose ever dreamed of ye olde timey adventures, and any history buff around will love this book, as well as Buck’s wholly unique voice and perspective.

Stephen Fry in America: So Stephen Fry owns a black London taxicab, and in 2007, he drove it across the United States, on a quest to understand American life.  This book details those adventures (and serves a brilliant companion piece to the DVD Documentary of the adventure).  For locals, there’s a whole section about Stephen going to Salem Willows on Halloween–but this is also a really charming, funny, and insightful way to see the country we inhabit through different eyes, and to appreciate all the weird, obscure, delicious, confusing, beautiful aspects of the United States, as well….And seriously, check out the DVD, too.  It’s a delight.

Reservation Blues: Sherman Alexie’s book about a Native American rock n’ roll band sometimes gets overlooked in favor of his more oft-banned books, but it deserves a lot more love and attention.  When blues legend Robert Johnson miraculously appears on the reservation where Spokane Indian Thomas Builds-the-Fire lives, and hands him his legendary guitar, Thomas knows his life is never going to be the same. Inspired by this devilish guitar, Thomas and his “Indian Catholic” band go on tour across the country, allowing Alexie the room and scope to tell a consistently surprising, engaging story that touches on big social themes, like conversions among Native American tribes and the economic pressures of reservations.  But this is also very much a coming of age novel that delves deep into the soul of each young musician on this magical journey.

Enjoy all of your adventures, dear readers!  Send us a postcard!