To a well-worn friend: Travels with Charley, John Steinbeck, and the US of A

I do like the feel of a book once I’ve finished savoring it: worn like a favorite shoe. One can feel slight creases in the cover, perhaps a curled page or minor tear in the spine. Woe is the book that, once having been read could be returned to a store without question, not showing any mark upon itself expressing how it was once treasured, tossed in a bag, fallen from a bed, maybe wedged under papers on a desk and retrieved with tea-stained edges.

Of course, it does cause grief to see harm done to a favored text. One must never throw a book. Such blatant disrespect is not to be tolerated. One doesn’t wish to see a page torn or a cover harshly creased or a spine broken so one page is the constant middle. Rather, one hopes that through gentle wear and afternoons spent in a favorite resting place that the tome will emerge as worn as we: a bit older, having discovered some new wisdom, but never beaten or broken. Just cared for, sought, and enjoyed.

I wrote these thoughts after I finished reading a much worn copy of John Steinbeck’s Travels with Charley: In Search of America last week. I picked it up after finishing Bill Bryson’s The Lost Continent: Travels in Small-Town America which was an easy read but Bryson was so crabby the whole time that I needed something to clean my palette. I thought Steinbeck would cheer me up and I was right. I decided with Travels with Charley that I love John Steinbeck. I’ve always wanted to love a classic American author, someone who would make me feel like I’m really a part of the literary scene in our country because I understand his writing. I already love plenty of work by female authors so I was looking specifically for a male author. I tried loving Fitzgerald but nothing was as wonderful as The Great Gatsby and I tried loving Hemingway but I couldn’t figure out how.

I’ve found my old man in Steinbeck for his simple truths:

“…we do not take a trip; a trip takes us…”

“…in my own life I am not willing to trade quality for quantity.”

“A sad soul can kill you quicker, far quicker, than a germ.”

“There are as many worlds as there are kinds of days…”

Is that overkill? I don’t care. He chooses his words to exactly fit what he wants to say. He acknowledges his weaknesses and doesn’t apologize for them. He lays out his fears and his joys as equals. He is so genuine I feel as if I’ve met him just from reading this one book of his. (I’ve read others but Travels with Charley being something of a memoir is a bit more personal.)

Bryson, for his part, had some good things to say too when he wasn’t being such a grouch. He held me when he wrote: “I wanted to step outside my front door and be somewhere.” Isn’t that what we all strive for? Meaning in our lives? Can we find it in the spaces we inhabit? Can we make the spaces of our lives be somewhere? How?

Bryson, as I’ve mentioned in an earlier post, is quite funny. I particularly enjoyed his observation that “…American radio is designed for people who have already lost their minds” and I agree wholeheartedly but for one small detail: in Minnesota we are fortunate in that we have MPR and more specifically: The Current.

The Lost Continent (1989) and Travels with Charley (1969) share a common theme in that they are both about travels through the United States and even though neither of them had anything decent to say about Minnesota, they were neat paired together. I wonder had retrieved my copy of Kerouac’s On the Road (1951) from an old family friend if I could have had a travel trifecta. I read it many years ago and I think it might have been over my head. I love travel and the thrill of discovery and these three books allow for these joys when I don’t have the resources so thank you, gentlemen.

This is a particularly appropriate day for discussing discovery as it is the 25^th anniversary of the Challenger explosion and the death of seven NASA astronauts. There are many types of travel, many motivators and destinations, but none so heartbreaking as a journey that ends in violence and catastrophy. Some seek truth and others wonder; may our journeys always bring us safely home once more, wherever that may be.

Traveling mercies.

Bill Bryson

Reading my first couple Bryson texts was a “where have you been all my life?” kind of moment. Of course I love Bill Bryson, why wouldn’t I? Why haven’t I heard of him before? Why haven’t I loved his books always?

Having received a text for my birthday that I already owned from a dear friend (thanks to a kindred traveler, Miss Kari Ann Grieman), I opted to exchange the book for another that captured the spirit of our love of travel. I had been hearing about Bryson’s newest product, At Home on NPR for so long that I felt compelled to give him a chance. Having received an advance copy of “At Home” from a very generous co-worker (and former B&N Inc. employee), I purchased Neither Here Nor There: Travels in Europe and called it a day.

What a door a book can open! Rather, how many splendid doors! I have never read a book that was, at times, as informative, joyful, irreverent, and heartbreaking as some of the travel literature I’ve read, and I’ve read so little! There is no way I could give a proper review of these two texts so I’ll just leave you with these few thoughts:

Bryson has a way with maps and strange places that make them accessible. His books illuminate without illustration, inform without overburdening the reader with facts, and delight without becoming gaudy or crass. Furthermore, they are immensely readable and, I am sure, wholly unappreciated unless one has read them twice or more. I am certain that the next time I pick up one of these books I’ll notice much more than I possibly could, especially in At Home, than I did on the first perusal (which is really all one can do the first time they read such a book).

Short Histories - Bill Bryson

Do you need to hone in on your trivia skills? Do you want to wow friends and family with factoids during the upcoming holidays? If so, pick up some books from Bill Bryson.

A year ago, a friend recommended A Short History of Nearly Everything. The title seemed to exaggerate, but he did provide information on topics ranging from the creation and size of the universe to physics and chemistry to biology. The one notion that really stuck with me was his description of the size of the universe. Before this book, I couldn't quite wrap my arms around why space exploration is so important. It finally clicked with one chapter; showing how discoveries away from earth explains why life is the way it is here. He has the knack for taking complex scientific matters and explaining them for the reader in a way that doesn't put you to sleep. In my latest adventure in Borders, I discovered there is a new illustrated edition of the book. Its gorgeous!

More recently, Bryson has published a book titled "At Home: A Short History of Private Life." He happens to live in an 1850s era home in England, and sets out to describe the origins of various rooms, furniture, appliances and other creature comforts of the home. Be ready for an adventure, sometimes you have to look to the top of the page to remember which room he is covering in the particular chapter. In one of the earlier portions, he is describing the use of glass for windows and how taxes and technology changed the way people live. Have you ever wondered why, of all the herbs and spices, we normally only set out shakers for salt and pepper? Have you ever wanted to know why suit coats usually have three buttons on the cuff that don't serve any obvious function? Did you know that less than half of homes in Paris, France in 1954 had flush toilets?

Based on these two books, I'm willing to dig into his other stories. That is one of the true joys of reading - discovering a new author who has plenty of books to keep one occupied for a while. Happy reading!