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heyallimarie's review
4.0
I’ve listened to both Tsh’s own podcast and heard her interviewed on another about this book, and I’ve been looking forward to reading it for a while now. It was just what I wanted - an easy read with stories about her travels around the world. I appreciated her insights and hearing what she learned along the way (though at times it felt too philosophical and poetic) and it was perfect to read while I was up nursing my baby in the middle of the night.
freckleduck's review against another edition
4.0
A worthwhile read
I liked this book. The sense of adventure and honesty made me appreciate her journey. I liked the way she described not only where she went and what she did but how she felt and processed her experiences.
I liked this book. The sense of adventure and honesty made me appreciate her journey. I liked the way she described not only where she went and what she did but how she felt and processed her experiences.
novelvisits's review
4.0
My Thoughts: I listened to At Home in the World and loved hearing the author tell her own story of her family’s travel adventure and her examination of what it means to find home. Oxenreider and her husband, Kyle, were no strangers to world travel and living in other countries. They met fresh out of college in Kosovo where she was teaching English and he was helping to rebuild homes. After marrying and having a child, they moved to Turkey where they lived for three years and had their second baby. Having lived in Bend, Oregon for several years and adding a third child to the mix, the Oxenreiders again felt that itch to travel. This is a smart couple in that they’d planned ahead for a future of travel. Both had jobs they could do remotely, they already home-schooled their kids and they’d saved money for just such an adventure.
Traveling for the better part of a year with a 9, 6 and 4-year old would sound like a nightmare to many of us. Not the Oxenreiders. They wanted to share the world with their kids, to make them global citizens and they did just that. I’m not one to travel on a budget, but still I admired how this couple planned ahead and found unique out-of-the-way places to stay. Their choices not only saved money, but gave the family more than tourist experiences in the places they visited. They stayed in some countries for weeks and others for days, following the path of summer/spring along the way. With only a backpack apiece, Tsh and Kyle taught their children what was truly valuable. They left me wishing I’d taken my own kids on more adventuresome journeys when they were young.
Along their trek, Tsh came back to the idea of home over and over again. What is home? What makes one feel at home? Where is home? How important is home? I loved her examination of home because home can mean so many different things to different people. For some it’s a place, to others a feeling, and to still others it’s people. The longer Oxenreider traveled with her family, the more important the idea of home grew for her. By the end, home was everything.
I highly recommend At Home in the World to anyone who enjoys traveling, world cultures or family. I found her journey inspiring. Grade: B+
Original Source: https://novelvisits.com/mini-reviews-nonfiction-edition/
Traveling for the better part of a year with a 9, 6 and 4-year old would sound like a nightmare to many of us. Not the Oxenreiders. They wanted to share the world with their kids, to make them global citizens and they did just that. I’m not one to travel on a budget, but still I admired how this couple planned ahead and found unique out-of-the-way places to stay. Their choices not only saved money, but gave the family more than tourist experiences in the places they visited. They stayed in some countries for weeks and others for days, following the path of summer/spring along the way. With only a backpack apiece, Tsh and Kyle taught their children what was truly valuable. They left me wishing I’d taken my own kids on more adventuresome journeys when they were young.
Along their trek, Tsh came back to the idea of home over and over again. What is home? What makes one feel at home? Where is home? How important is home? I loved her examination of home because home can mean so many different things to different people. For some it’s a place, to others a feeling, and to still others it’s people. The longer Oxenreider traveled with her family, the more important the idea of home grew for her. By the end, home was everything.
I highly recommend At Home in the World to anyone who enjoys traveling, world cultures or family. I found her journey inspiring. Grade: B+
Original Source: https://novelvisits.com/mini-reviews-nonfiction-edition/
the_bookish_musings_of_mari's review
It was due at the library and I just didn’t love it, the privilege and whining from the author grated on me.
amandae129's review
3.0
I'm having a hard time rating this. Once again I am not a blog fan girl, so I read this as a normal person, making my review much different than others on here.
The good: I love that she and her husband took their children on an around-the-world adventure. As a fellow person with severe wanderlust and a parent I enjoy reading about people who continue traveling after they have offspring. She also had some great quotes on travel scattered throughout the book and she quotes other travel memoirs that I will be adding to my to read pile. I also like that she had an epilogue about what they did after they returned.
“Once you have traveled, the voyage never ends, but is played out over and over again in the quietest chambers. The mind can never break off from the journey.”--Pat Conroy
The not-so-good: Her writing is definitely style over substance. She uses a lot of twenty-five cent words, metaphors, and adjectives. She doesn't drink, she slurps . She doesn't just find a hot water bottle, but a gurgling hot water bottle under her sheets. It's also a pretty short book (just over 250 pages) for such a long trip. I would have much preferred a longer book with more information about what they did in each place. I also would have liked to hear from her kids on how they felt throughout this journey and after returning home.
Overall, a recommended read for those with wanderlust, especially if you're a parent or thinking of becoming a parent and want to know how that will change your traveling life, but don't expect more than a brief overview into their year and have your dictionary handy.
The good: I love that she and her husband took their children on an around-the-world adventure. As a fellow person with severe wanderlust and a parent I enjoy reading about people who continue traveling after they have offspring. She also had some great quotes on travel scattered throughout the book and she quotes other travel memoirs that I will be adding to my to read pile. I also like that she had an epilogue about what they did after they returned.
“Once you have traveled, the voyage never ends, but is played out over and over again in the quietest chambers. The mind can never break off from the journey.”--Pat Conroy
The not-so-good: Her writing is definitely style over substance. She uses a lot of twenty-five cent words, metaphors, and adjectives. She doesn't drink, she slurps . She doesn't just find a hot water bottle, but a gurgling hot water bottle under her sheets. It's also a pretty short book (just over 250 pages) for such a long trip. I would have much preferred a longer book with more information about what they did in each place. I also would have liked to hear from her kids on how they felt throughout this journey and after returning home.
Overall, a recommended read for those with wanderlust, especially if you're a parent or thinking of becoming a parent and want to know how that will change your traveling life, but don't expect more than a brief overview into their year and have your dictionary handy.
destiny_hisey's review
4.0
I always love what Tsh writes
I always love reading what Tsh writes. I'm not sure what it is about her style but I love it! There's just enough descriptive language but not flowery or excessive.
I enjoyed the memoir feel of this book. I had hoped to walk away with a new inspiration to travel with my family, but that didn't happen. I loved reading about her family's experiences, but that didn't translate to me. I appreciated that they did make themselves at home in the world.
I always love reading what Tsh writes. I'm not sure what it is about her style but I love it! There's just enough descriptive language but not flowery or excessive.
I enjoyed the memoir feel of this book. I had hoped to walk away with a new inspiration to travel with my family, but that didn't happen. I loved reading about her family's experiences, but that didn't translate to me. I appreciated that they did make themselves at home in the world.
katie_chandler's review
3.0
While I 100% support the idea of traveling as a family, reading this family's travel log didn't translate into a page turner for me. My favorite chapter was the return chapter, not because it was last in the book, but because of the authors discoveries on what home means, which is what I'd like to explore more.
justicepirate's review
3.0
I read Tsh Oxenreider's Notes from a Blue Bike and have had this one on my to-read list for quite some time. Finally, I was able to dive into it.
This is a story of Tsh's family adventure of traveling around the world as a homeschooling family. The idea of doing this as a family sounds like so much fun. It is really cool they were able to do so. I suppose she and her husband are able to afford to do that, though she doesn't really state how they are able to. Yes, she was a well known blogger and they sold their house, but I am unsure of the rest of the details, and that would have been good. Regardless of the hows, I think it is a great thing for families to be able to do if they can (which mine has been unable to other than a few states).
As one who is a minimalist, had homeschooled my kids for the majority of their school years, and loves the idea of travel, I truly appreciated this family a lot.
I do wish there was more meat about the cultures they were around, but I am sure the book would be much larger than this, and it was more about their family experience. Well done.
3.5 stars.
This is a story of Tsh's family adventure of traveling around the world as a homeschooling family. The idea of doing this as a family sounds like so much fun. It is really cool they were able to do so. I suppose she and her husband are able to afford to do that, though she doesn't really state how they are able to. Yes, she was a well known blogger and they sold their house, but I am unsure of the rest of the details, and that would have been good. Regardless of the hows, I think it is a great thing for families to be able to do if they can (which mine has been unable to other than a few states).
As one who is a minimalist, had homeschooled my kids for the majority of their school years, and loves the idea of travel, I truly appreciated this family a lot.
I do wish there was more meat about the cultures they were around, but I am sure the book would be much larger than this, and it was more about their family experience. Well done.
3.5 stars.
toniclark's review
3.0
3.5 stars. I really enjoyed this travel memoir, a most interesting journey around the world with three children (ages 4, 6, and 10) in tow. I enjoyed the format and style of the book, hearing about the countries visited, the people encountered, the ups and downs, foods eaten, friends made, and all the novelties and pleasures, from Australia to Zambia. So many wonders and exotic locales. There were difficulties, too — long flights, jet lag, being overtired — but nothing too serious. A few lost items, some barfing, one small accident (resulting in two chipped teeth). Overall, everyone fared really well. I wish there’d been more detail about some of the countries, especially later in the book. I was looking forward to hearing about France and was just getting into the chapter when, vroom, they were off to Italy. Considering that this book covered nine months of travel, it could have been considerably longer.
I also appreciated the way the book led me to muse on the nature of home and, as one reader here put it, the tension between wanderlust and the comforts of cozy hominess. Oxenreider does justice to both of them. And she’s a good storyteller.
The God-talk irritated me. Most of the time, it’s not excessive, but Oxenreider was on a “spiritual quest.” Whatever. . . . I’m perfectly capable of appreciating natural beauty, cultural variety, and human kindness without the need to credit a Creator or see any of it as a manifestation of God’s divinity.
I listened to the audiobook, which is very well narrated by Oxenreider, herself. Occasionally, she mispronounces words (e.g., mores rhymes with forays, not doors) or gives an intransitive verb a direct object. This always threw me a bit. Sometimes it derailed me long enough to miss the rest of the sentence. But as narrators go, she’s pretty good and moves right along. Some audiobook narrators are too slow.
I also appreciated the way the book led me to muse on the nature of home and, as one reader here put it, the tension between wanderlust and the comforts of cozy hominess. Oxenreider does justice to both of them. And she’s a good storyteller.
The God-talk irritated me. Most of the time, it’s not excessive, but Oxenreider was on a “spiritual quest.” Whatever. . . . I’m perfectly capable of appreciating natural beauty, cultural variety, and human kindness without the need to credit a Creator or see any of it as a manifestation of God’s divinity.
I listened to the audiobook, which is very well narrated by Oxenreider, herself. Occasionally, she mispronounces words (e.g., mores rhymes with forays, not doors) or gives an intransitive verb a direct object. This always threw me a bit. Sometimes it derailed me long enough to miss the rest of the sentence. But as narrators go, she’s pretty good and moves right along. Some audiobook narrators are too slow.