book crush thursday: Educating Alice

One of the sneaky, hidden agendas of curiosity, I believe, is to make you go forward in the face of fear. -- Alice Steinbach, Educating Alice

If Amalfi were a man, I thought, he'd be dressed by Calvin Klein and reading Tom Clancy. Positano would wear Armani and carry a book by John le Carré. But if Ravello were a man--ah, Ravello!--he would be in chinos and a fresh white oxford shirt with no tie, buried in a book by Graham Greene. -- Alice Steinbach, Without Reservations

I'm not a big fan of nonfiction, in general. (That is actually a massive understatement.) I will, however, stay up terribly late at night reading travelogues. If I can't be touring the world myself, I'm very happy to read while someone else does it.

.

And so I loved Educating Alice (and the book before it, Without Reservations). Alice Steinbach is a Pulitzer-Prize-winning journalist, and reading her books feels like having a wonderful conversation with a very smart, cool friend. Who's traveled everywhere. And learned all kinds of interesting things.

.

Maybe that's what makes Educating Alice especially compelling for me. Not only did she travel around the world, but she took a class in each place. So ... she talks about each destination through the lens of the course she is taking, like Cuban architecture, Jane Austen, French cooking, and Japanese traditions.

.

And though I first read it in 2007, I still think about her chapter on gardening (in Provence) every time I stare at a tree, and Border collie training (in Scotland) whenever I "meet" a new dog.

.

Perhaps the best part of this book? It gives plenty of inspiration to plot my own classes-round-the-world tour. I mean, seriously. There is some major daydreaming fuel. What would I like to learn and where? Oooh. I could spend all week thinking about that. Or all summer.

.

Recommendation: Wouldn't it be best to celebrate one of the cultures she's writing about as you read? Two chapters are devoted to French destinations, and I won't argue with that. Have yourself an omelette, or perhaps a crepe, with a cup of strong coffee. Mmmm. The makings of a perfect afternoon.