When I was a kid, summer road trips were a family tradition. There wasn’t much in the way of variation since we usually drove to my grandparents’ home located in Keith County, Nebraska, but I didn’t mind. I was not one of those kids who asked, “Are we there yet?” every five minutes. Sitting in the back seat and watching the scenery go by was usually all the entertainment I needed. Well, that and a package of SweeTARTS made me pretty darn happy.
I bring this up because my husband and I recently went on a road trip to Durango, Colorado. We like to take our time (no road warriors here), so we picked a route that took us through Oregon, Idaho, Utah, and our final destination of Durango. We had such a good time, and I was reminded of how much I enjoy road trips. No SweeTARTS on this journey, but plenty of beautiful scenery, happy tunes, and lots of time to talk.
The library has many travel guides in the collection in both print and digital editions. Search for a state or a country, and you’ll likely find multiple options for travel guidance. I was curious what might show up by searching the words “road trip” in the library’s catalog, so here is a selection of road-trippy titles for your reading—and viewing—pleasure.
- Don’t Make Me Pull Over!: An Informal History of the Family Road Trip by Richard Ratay.
- Horatio’s Drive: America’s First Road Trip [DVD] directed by Ken Burns.
- Laugh-Out-Loud Road Trip Jokes for Kids by Rob Elliott.
- Moon Pacific Coast Highway Road Trip: California, Oregon & Washington published by Moon Travel.
- Road Trip: Roadside America from Custard’s Last Stand to the Wigwam Restaurant by Richard W. Longstreth.
New at the Library
Fiction
- Be Mine by Richard Ford.
- Fractal Noise by Christopher Paolini.
- Liar! by Fern Michaels.
Nonfiction
- Building: A Carpenter’s Notes on Life & the Art of Good Work by Mark Ellison.
- Rethink Your Position: Reshape Your Exercise, Yoga, and Everyday Movement, One Part at a Time by Katy Bowman.
- Undaunted: How Women Changed American Journalism by Brooke Kroeger.
Children
- I’m Sticking with You—and the Chicken Too! written by Smriti Halls, illustrated by Steve Small.
- The Mystery of the Painted Fan written by Linda Trinh, illustrated by Clayton Nguyen.
- The Witness Trees: Historic Moments and the Trees Who Watched Them Happen written by Ryan G. Van Cleave, illustrated by Dom Dom.
This is just a small sampling of the many new titles added each week to the Fort Vancouver Regional Libraries collection. Find more in our catalog, or call 360-906-5000 to reserve titles or find additional listings.
Jan Johnston, Collection Manager
Fort Vancouver Regional Libraries
You can email Jan at readingforfun@fvrl.org.
