I Am Giving Away Some Lost Girls. Do You Want Them?

This is my first giveaway, so please keep reading. And comment.
But we'll get to that in a second. First things first:

I love to read.  I love to read while traveling, and I especially love to read books about  traveling. So that is why I was pretty excited when I came across The Lost Girls, and determined to hold off reading it until my next big trip.  It took me a few years to arrange that (getting married and becoming a teacher kind of took precedence over really long trips) but when I booked my ticket to Nicargua, my next thought was Yes!! I get to read the book! Finally. (Did you actually think I was giving away humans today?)
Here is my very unprofessional (and slightly miffed at the end) book review.

First the synopsis. Three New York City girls quit their jobs with 30th birthdays looming and decide to step way out of the box and do something crazy and take a 'round the world trip.  Leaving jobs and boyfriends behind, they book their first ticket to Peru.

What follows is 500 pages of all three girls taking turns telling their story. The 500 pages is partly why I wanted to wait until I was traveling to read it-I knew that is when I would have long stretches of time where there would be nothing much to do.  Several hundred pages is a long story to tell, unless you are War and Peace. As a result, I feel that at times, the dialogue was a bit overwritten.  Since I am no literary genius/critic/expert, I was trying to think how I could describe these parts of the book and "overwritten" was the only word I could come up with. It was as if they were trying too hard to replicate their experience for us, trying to force the feeling of the reader being right there in the moment.  Ehhh.

My other major issue is that they each came home at least once during their year of travel. One of them came home twice.  Is it just me or is that cheating the definition of RTW if you come home? Twice even?!  Because to me, that's just going on three really long trips, back to back.


 And that is where my criticisms end. Here is why: Have I ever set out to travel the whole entire world in one specific amount of time? No.  Have I ever written a book about that, or anything else? No.

Enough said.

It was an entertaining read, easily accomplished in about a week.

However, I might have been just a teeny bit more gushing in my review if I had not received the following reply when I posted a comment on their blog right before I left on my trip. (please note that it does say the message may not have been sent by them, so who actually knows?)


The Lost Girls lostgirlsworld@gmail.com to me
show details Jun 15
This message may not have been sent by: lostgirlsworld@gmail.com  Learn more  Report phishing
Hi Claire
Thank you for your comment at The Lost Girls (http://www.lostgirlsworld.com/). Be sure to come back soon.
Thank you,
The Lost Girls
You posted the following comment:
---------------------------------
Hi ladies,
I just got my copy, via Amazon, in the mail today. I am taking it with me on my month long jaunt to Nicaragua. Heard great things about it. Gave it a plug on my latest post ;)


*gasp* *clutching hands to heart*
A FORM REPLY?
Maybe I have high expectations in the blogging community, because we all have started somewhere, and that's usually at or near the bottom. Or are still at the bottom. But I am pretty sure this is the first form reply I have ever gotten. I think I would have rather just have gotten no reply at all.

Moving on.

Would you like to read this book? Because I am giving my copy away! All you have to do is leave me a comment with a recommendation on your favorite book that has to with a traveler, a journey, or anything travel-related, by September 12 at noon EST! I will choose the winner at random (i.e. my husband will choose your name out of a Ziploc bag) and announce it here next week. I will mail it anywhere, so if you live in a mansion in Massachusetts, that's cool. Or  if you live in a hut in the Himalayas, that's cool too.

For two books that I absolutely love, go here.

It's Tuesday, but Saturday is Coming

And Saturday just so happens to be the day that I leave for Nicaragua. I am pretty excited, but also slightly nervous-this is the first time I have traveled solo. Yes, there will be other people around, but they won't be MY people. Because of this, I have developed a lengthy list of irrational fears that have caused minor consternation over the past month.
Here is a sample:

1) What if I don't wake up in time every morning? (Aside from not being in charge of directions on trips, I am also not in charge of time)
2) Will I eat alone every night, crying salty tears into my rice and beans?
3) What if I get there and forget every conjugation of Spanish verbs that I ever learned last time I was there? 
4) What if the Nicaraguan kids think I am as mean as some American kids think I am?

and most middle school of all:

5) What if nobody likes me or wants to be my friend?
6) In the event that #5 occurs, does that mean I will be climbing volcanoes and relaxing on the beach solo on my off days?

Is there anything wrong with being alone? No, definitely not. I have just never, ever done it on a trip before. Ever. So this is uncharted water for me.

I think I can do it, and what's more, I think it will be good for me. 

If all else fails and I have no friends, I have my blog to update, trusty ole' Blue and a brand spanking new copy of The Lost Girls, 560 pages of three friends' journey around the world. I've been wanting to read it since I discovered it after venturing into the world of blogging three years ago.  I decided that I would wait until my next extended trip do that.

That trip is here, and the book has arrived today.

So that's all folks. Got my book, my passport, some clothes, a mix of excitement and trepidation (mostly excitement), and an adventure waiting to happen.


 Any thoughts on traveling alone?