Take a photo of a barcode or cover
3.86 AVERAGE
3.86 AVERAGE
Really enjoyed this first book from a fellow Tar Heel. Great writing of her epic adventure. I did not feel it was a page-turner; sometimes got bogged down in the side stories.
There was so much in this book that I fell in love with. I connected so strongly with so much of what Kate Harris wrote about that it's hard knowing where to begin. Her discussions about knowing she wanted to become an explorer but not knowing how to do so in a modern age put emotions and feelings I have had for years into words. Her education and research were clear in her writing from the beginning and I loved being on this journey with her. From the emotional lows, which had me rethinking my own existence, to the highest peaks. I found additional connections in the fact that so much of her inspiration came from Alexandria David-Neel and cold glaciers of which I have lived near most of my life. I wanted to savor every page of this journey and reading this work has left me feeling both inspired and connected knowing there are other women in our modern world who long for a journey in and of itself without the need to find themself or anyone else.
If there is a book that screams "white privilege" this is it. Two white women, clueless, ignorant and ill prepared set off to traipse through lands and cultures they haven't bothered to try to understand before they got there. Infuriating. Only made worse with how many times they were helped by people who had barely anything to give. Give this one a wide pass.
adventurous
informative
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
I had been craving a good travel memoir for some time now - Kate Harris' Lands of Lost Borders not only hit the spot, it completely exceeded my expectations...
Packed with historical, geographic and scientific facts, literary references and philosophical wisdom, this book is an impressive debut and well deserving the recognition. Harris' passion, curiosity, and love for mountainous landscapes and vast spaces are contagious. Though I've never felt particularly drawn to Central Asia as a travel destination, nor compelled to hop on an almost yearlong bike trip, her courage and determination certainly are envious. As is her ability to recount her journey, and share her experiences...
The words are put together so perfectly on the pages, I was definitely along for the adventure. And I did not want it to end. I feel as though the magic of the Silk Road, its incredible stories and people met along the way, are now also a part of me... Unexplainably beautiful. Kate Harris is a rockstar explorer, and an extremely gifted writer.
Packed with historical, geographic and scientific facts, literary references and philosophical wisdom, this book is an impressive debut and well deserving the recognition. Harris' passion, curiosity, and love for mountainous landscapes and vast spaces are contagious. Though I've never felt particularly drawn to Central Asia as a travel destination, nor compelled to hop on an almost yearlong bike trip, her courage and determination certainly are envious. As is her ability to recount her journey, and share her experiences...
The words are put together so perfectly on the pages, I was definitely along for the adventure. And I did not want it to end. I feel as though the magic of the Silk Road, its incredible stories and people met along the way, are now also a part of me... Unexplainably beautiful. Kate Harris is a rockstar explorer, and an extremely gifted writer.
There is no question of Kate's ability to write beautifully. Some truly stunning passages. Also, her research was thorough and impressive. She is 'next-level' intelligent. Was she the most relatable protagonist? Not always. The passages about Oxford and the dreams of travelling to Mars served to create a divide between myself and the author. But, overall, both the journey and this book are remarkable achievements.
Anyone who’s ever experienced feelings of wanderlust and uncertainty on what to do with your life needs to read this. It felt like having myself explained to me over again while also getting to experience a beautiful side of the world I want to visit so badly.
adventurous
informative
reflective
sad
slow-paced
Deeply meditative book. Some elevations brought me back to reading the book, "Lives of a Cell."
The world is (still) on fire. Borders are still closed, airplanes are still grounded — some of them languishing in the middle of an Australian desert — and more than a million people have died from a virus with no vaccines in sight. The least of our problems now is when we will be able to make travel plans once again. Japan and Uzbekistan were on my 2020 plans but who knows when I will actually make it there again. In the meantime, though, I settled for the next best thing: a book about two Canadian women cycling across Asia before the world descended into a dumpster fire. I needed my itch to be scratched and, for the most part, this book did just that.
First off, I don't read a lot of travel memoirs (is that even the right term?). The ones that I have read usually involves some kind of horrific disaster, such as Jon Krakauer's Into Thin Air (being trapped on Mount Everest during the worst storm on record) and Alfred Lansing's Endurance (being trapped on packed ice in Antarctica). It's not that I don't have an interest in travel writing, though. It's just that, for the most part, I am drawn to stories of ordinary people (sometimes extraordinary ones) surviving extraordinary circumstances, and travel memoirs do often feature such stories. Books about people travelling from point A to point B, not really encountering any life-and-death situations along the way, just were not high on the list.
With that said, I have read — and enjoyed — some of the travel memoirs that I have read. Long Way Round by Ewan McGregor and Charley Boorman is a close kin to Lands of Lost Borders by Kate Harris. Only, instead of motorcycles, you have heavily ladened bicycles. What I enjoy most about travel memoirs are the descriptions of places that I have never been to, the people they meet there, the cultures they encounter for the first time, as well as the stories along the way.
For the most part, Harris' Lands of Lost Borders delivers on all those fronts. I am particularly fond of the stories Harris tells in Turkey, Armenia, Georgia and Tibet — or anywhere with a long, complicated geo-political history, really. Tibet, in particular, is a place I travelled to in 2015, so her descriptions of the place — harsh, relentless landscape with unnatural amount of military presence — does hold true. I also really enjoy reading about the people she met along the way — and the kindness, too, especially from those with the least to offer. These are the moments that stay with you when you travel, and I am glad that I got a taste of that through Harris' travel through the region.
With that said, there are two main reasons why this book does not get the five-star rating. First, Harris is obviously a really intelligent human being. While her rumination about borders, ancient explorers and philosophy are interesting, some of them did indeed just glide over my head. Also, while some countries received full-chapter treatments, others had to share and be nice. For example, I really wanted to read about Uzbekistan because, as I mentioned, I was supposed to travel there this year. However, Harris breezed through the weeks/months she spent there, noting just the famous landmarks she saw along the way and the European tourists she saw there. Tajikistan, too, shares the chapter with Tibet, I believe, which is also strange because I too wanted to know more about the country. So even though the entire journey took months on end, some countries feel rushed, somehow.
If, like me, you have the itch to travel and love cycling — in fact, I have rediscovered my passion for it as of late — then this book is highly recommended.
First off, I don't read a lot of travel memoirs (is that even the right term?). The ones that I have read usually involves some kind of horrific disaster, such as Jon Krakauer's Into Thin Air (being trapped on Mount Everest during the worst storm on record) and Alfred Lansing's Endurance (being trapped on packed ice in Antarctica). It's not that I don't have an interest in travel writing, though. It's just that, for the most part, I am drawn to stories of ordinary people (sometimes extraordinary ones) surviving extraordinary circumstances, and travel memoirs do often feature such stories. Books about people travelling from point A to point B, not really encountering any life-and-death situations along the way, just were not high on the list.
With that said, I have read — and enjoyed — some of the travel memoirs that I have read. Long Way Round by Ewan McGregor and Charley Boorman is a close kin to Lands of Lost Borders by Kate Harris. Only, instead of motorcycles, you have heavily ladened bicycles. What I enjoy most about travel memoirs are the descriptions of places that I have never been to, the people they meet there, the cultures they encounter for the first time, as well as the stories along the way.
For the most part, Harris' Lands of Lost Borders delivers on all those fronts. I am particularly fond of the stories Harris tells in Turkey, Armenia, Georgia and Tibet — or anywhere with a long, complicated geo-political history, really. Tibet, in particular, is a place I travelled to in 2015, so her descriptions of the place — harsh, relentless landscape with unnatural amount of military presence — does hold true. I also really enjoy reading about the people she met along the way — and the kindness, too, especially from those with the least to offer. These are the moments that stay with you when you travel, and I am glad that I got a taste of that through Harris' travel through the region.
With that said, there are two main reasons why this book does not get the five-star rating. First, Harris is obviously a really intelligent human being. While her rumination about borders, ancient explorers and philosophy are interesting, some of them did indeed just glide over my head. Also, while some countries received full-chapter treatments, others had to share and be nice. For example, I really wanted to read about Uzbekistan because, as I mentioned, I was supposed to travel there this year. However, Harris breezed through the weeks/months she spent there, noting just the famous landmarks she saw along the way and the European tourists she saw there. Tajikistan, too, shares the chapter with Tibet, I believe, which is also strange because I too wanted to know more about the country. So even though the entire journey took months on end, some countries feel rushed, somehow.
If, like me, you have the itch to travel and love cycling — in fact, I have rediscovered my passion for it as of late — then this book is highly recommended.