The world, books, and me

I have traveled the world by ship (Semester at Sea) and by book: walking with barefooted crowds through the magnificent Taj Majal, and sleeping in the slums of Mumbai (“The Space Between Us” by Thrity Umrigar); listening to King Wally play the didgeridoo in Oz, and discovering the Maori and New Zealand in Keri Hulme’s “The Bone People”; drinking tea on the sidewalks of Paris and in a Pakistan café with a “Reluctant Fundamentalist” (Mohsin Hamid).

I’m not sure which has brought me more joy, the books or the real-life travel. But with books I can travel whenever and wherever I want.

As Mary Anne Radmacher put it in a poster my good friend gave me: “I am not the same having seen the moon shine on the other side of the world ” And that change comes both when I visit a new place on foot or via the written page.

I haven't confined my travels to this world or this century, though. I’ve spent elegant afternoons at Pemberley, and would gladly return. Hogwarts showed me such a good time that I never wanted to graduate. And though I read it many years ago, I can still picture the amazing landscape of the Venus C.S. Lewis described so vividly in “Perelandra.”

Nothing satisfies me more than discovering a good book. Once I’ve absorbed it down to the last whimper or sigh, I always want to share it with someone in the hope that they might love it as much as I did.

When I’m not reading or traveling, I write and copyedit books, articles, newsletters and more on a variety of topics, working with authors, literary agents, and publishers. I also do copyediting for various business clients. To learn more about me or see examples of my work, visit my website:
                                                      www.vickitgibbs.net