A Certain Somewhere: Writers on the Places They Remember

In approximately 242 short pages, this fine book presents essays about the experiences of 30 authors who wrote vignettes about places that were very special ones in their lives. They were written between 1996 and 2002 for Preservation magazine,. These places vary from the faraway ones, such as Maui or the Al Qahira section of Cairo, down to the nearby ones, such as a stone wall on a Vermont farm. Each of the essays is quite short and written in a tight style that is direct and fun to read. The marvelous details in some of these stories give you a new way of looking at the familiar things and places in your own life. Many of the authors have passed through New York or New England and have interesting insights into these areas. The book is enjoyable on several levels. You not only get a tour of the place itself but also you also gain insight into the psychological meanings of the place to the author. It is the kind of book that you should enjoy at a leisurely pace, such as one essay per day, to savor the contents and let them sink into you.

I've read a lot of travel essays and anthologies, and this was a fairly good one. In this collection, authors remember various places; their childhood home towns, their favorite rooms in the public library, grandma's back porch. The reminisces are sentimental, and that's fine, because thats what fond memories are. Its an easy book to read, and good for relaxing between more challenging literature. If you prefer something with a bit more meat to it, however, the "Best Travel Writing" series may be more your to your liking.