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3.86 AVERAGE
3.86 AVERAGE
"Be present, utterly present. This world deserves your deepest attention... Wake up. Keep your eyes focused on what's bigger than than the sadness directly in front of you..."
I'm a great believer in the idea that travel changes a person and I've always loved books (non-fiction or fiction) about long journeys. Not everyone can be fortunate enough to go on life changing expeditions, but armchair travel via a book like this one can still provide plenty of insights. In Lands of Lost Borders Canadian cyclist Kate Harris has written a beautiful book about journeys, both external and internal. I've seen several reviewers compare this book to Cheryl Strayed's Wild and while not wanting to throw shade on Strayed's book, there is simply no comparison for me, other than that they are both about women who go off on a long journey and find themselves. Harris' book is far more contemplative and less self-consumed than Strayed's. She isn't spending time trying to figure out why she's a hot mess. She offers deep thoughts about exploration, the changing nature of scientific inquiry, and about the countries, people and borders of Central Asia. She and her travel partner Mel endure bitter cold, bureaucracy, isolation, yet are buoyed by the warmth and benevolence of people as they cycle through some of the remotest and most inhospitable corners of the world. Through it all, from Darwin to Sagan, Harris contemplates the explorers and scientists who have inspired her and who make her question what a true life of adventure and exploration really looks like. Though she began with yearning for Mars, Harris seems to have made her peace with adventure here on Earth.
The evolution of Harris' Silk Road experience is told both in this book and on her original blogging site, Cycling Silk. You can also find a short video of her journey with her friend Mel here. The cyclists were fortunate in the period of time during which they embarked on their Silk Road journey, as many of the regions have since undergone further political and internal struggles. Giving us a sense of the vastness and wonder of the journey itself, rather than her destination, from Istanbul, Turkey to Leh, Ladakh, Harris's account of her wanderlust is sure to become a classic in the genre of travel narratives.
I received a Digital Review Copy and a paper review copy, in exchange for an honest review.
I'm a great believer in the idea that travel changes a person and I've always loved books (non-fiction or fiction) about long journeys. Not everyone can be fortunate enough to go on life changing expeditions, but armchair travel via a book like this one can still provide plenty of insights. In Lands of Lost Borders Canadian cyclist Kate Harris has written a beautiful book about journeys, both external and internal. I've seen several reviewers compare this book to Cheryl Strayed's Wild and while not wanting to throw shade on Strayed's book, there is simply no comparison for me, other than that they are both about women who go off on a long journey and find themselves. Harris' book is far more contemplative and less self-consumed than Strayed's. She isn't spending time trying to figure out why she's a hot mess. She offers deep thoughts about exploration, the changing nature of scientific inquiry, and about the countries, people and borders of Central Asia. She and her travel partner Mel endure bitter cold, bureaucracy, isolation, yet are buoyed by the warmth and benevolence of people as they cycle through some of the remotest and most inhospitable corners of the world. Through it all, from Darwin to Sagan, Harris contemplates the explorers and scientists who have inspired her and who make her question what a true life of adventure and exploration really looks like. Though she began with yearning for Mars, Harris seems to have made her peace with adventure here on Earth.
The evolution of Harris' Silk Road experience is told both in this book and on her original blogging site, Cycling Silk. You can also find a short video of her journey with her friend Mel here. The cyclists were fortunate in the period of time during which they embarked on their Silk Road journey, as many of the regions have since undergone further political and internal struggles. Giving us a sense of the vastness and wonder of the journey itself, rather than her destination, from Istanbul, Turkey to Leh, Ladakh, Harris's account of her wanderlust is sure to become a classic in the genre of travel narratives.
I received a Digital Review Copy and a paper review copy, in exchange for an honest review.
This is a hard book to review. The writing is nothing short of brilliant. The author has just enough self-deprecation to make living with her tolerable even though she is obviously a certified genius. The problem for me was that there just wasn't that much to the story. Two young women riding a bike across parts of Turkey and Central Asia and a very little bit on her young life. I'm not sure riding across China and Tajikistan is really all that heroic (though it is clearly really, really, hard.) Her observations of history and culture are more or less on target but so very fleeting.
Brilliant writing but just not about all that much.
Brilliant writing but just not about all that much.
A brilliant book. Ostensibly a book about bicycling the Silk Road, this seems more an exploration of what it means to be a wanderer - one who needs the freedom of the road and wilds of the globe like others need oxygen. Kate Harris's thought provoking musings on life, borders, and travel are beautifully expressed. This is not a how to. Those seeking details and pictures of the places she visits will be disappointed.
adventurous
informative
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
adventurous
informative
medium-paced
Very reminiscent of “Lab Girl” as the author brings her life & academic studies - particularly the scientific-historical aspects to bear in the trips she takes by bicycle. The descriptions of the devastation we wrought on lakes & mountains is terrible but I like her problem solving approach to socio-political-environmental issues.
I loved the descriptions of her encounters of people along the way & the sheer tenacity of biking day after day for a year.
I did cringe on the number of illegal border crossings she did - that somewhat sullied the tone - if she’d been caught there would be all sorts of outrage in the western press but it was essentially stupid no matter what her rationale was.
I loved the descriptions of her encounters of people along the way & the sheer tenacity of biking day after day for a year.
I did cringe on the number of illegal border crossings she did - that somewhat sullied the tone - if she’d been caught there would be all sorts of outrage in the western press but it was essentially stupid no matter what her rationale was.
3.5 enjoyed it, but it didn't wow me. Would consider re-reading at some point.
"Others have biked higher and farther, and certainly faster, with fewer flat tires and false turns. But exploration, more than anything, is like falling in love: the experience feels singular, unprecedented, and revolutionary, despite the fact that others have been there before. No one can fall in love for you, just as no one can bike the Silk Road or walk on the moon for you. The most powerful experiences aren't amenable to maps."
What a book. Kate's observations from the saddle are so stunningly beautiful, true and witty. As someone who has spent a few months cycling remote landscapes myself, she captured the essence of the experience so accurately that I found myself grinning, calling friends to remember "that time you didn't leave me any hot water for coffee" or "When we woke up to rain and you had to spend 30 minutes convincing me to get out of the sleeping bag".
Kate's engagement with the world, deep reflections on self, place, purpose and wonder, gave me a renewed sense of excitement for travel and exploration after a year in quarantine. I will definitely be reading this one again and again in years to come.
What a book. Kate's observations from the saddle are so stunningly beautiful, true and witty. As someone who has spent a few months cycling remote landscapes myself, she captured the essence of the experience so accurately that I found myself grinning, calling friends to remember "that time you didn't leave me any hot water for coffee" or "When we woke up to rain and you had to spend 30 minutes convincing me to get out of the sleeping bag".
Kate's engagement with the world, deep reflections on self, place, purpose and wonder, gave me a renewed sense of excitement for travel and exploration after a year in quarantine. I will definitely be reading this one again and again in years to come.
adventurous
inspiring
medium-paced
A book about a journey. I expected it to be a cycle touring thing, but it's not really. It's about the author's personal journey, which just happens to have a huge cycle tour in the middle of it. I enjoyed it, as with many books of its type it turned out to be more than was suggested.
adventurous
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
medium-paced