My Kind Of Place: Travel Stories From A Woman Who's Been Everywhere (2005) - Plot & Excerpts
I picked this up at the Macomb Friends of the Library book sale last fall because it was a $2 hardback and because the first essay is about something that happened in Springfield, IL (where my sister lives). OH, and because it's by Susan Orlean, one of my all-time favorite writers. But I thought it might be one of those weird publishing company things where, without even really involving the author, they just compiled a bunch of random essays without thoughtfully tying things together (like those "Greatest Hits" CDs you see in the $3 bin at a gas station). But there's a thoughtful introduction by the author, and, as I should have expected, it's representative of the incredibly diverse places and subjects she has covered.My favorites were the story about taxidermy enthusiasts at a convetion in the Illinois state capitol, (mainly because I kept thinking, "Wow, on a weekend when I might have been in Springfield babysitting my nephews, Susan Orlean was down the street at the Holiday Inn!"), and the thorough dissection of life inside a neighborhood grocery store in New York.I will admit to skipping a few entries and flipping through the book a bit randomly after having spent a few weeks reading it linearly. I wasn't bored, really, but maybe just not in a non-fiction mood. (I gave 3 stars instead of 4 for this reason, but maybe that's not fair.)Susan Orlean continues to blow me away with her amazing ledes (lead sentences in journo lingo); her gently humorous takes on, and--always--humane treatment of, her subjects; her curiosity and interest in literally everything; and, more than that, her ability to make you think she is the first person and first writer to ever have paid attention to a certain subject. She is a master of the casual discovery.
I was going to buy this book in SF a few weeks ago, but my cards wouldn't cover it and the author whose picture is on the cover looked like kind of an asshole, so I easily gave that up. But checked it out at the library cause they had it a few weeks ago. I don't know why this book was in the travel section. Sure, the stories took place in locations all over the country and world (sort of), but the stories had hardly anything to do with the locations. More like events that took place that happened to be in that location. She rarely talked about the place itself, more about the people and that they did and stuff. They where short, which was nice, sometimes only a page or three, which was nice, but kind of annoying, if I was interested in the topic. (But good if I wasn't). I hate authors that act like they are superior to everyone else, and the author sort of acted like that. She interviewed Thomas Kinkade and mentioned where he lived, but couldn't say exactly. So why mention it at all? I hate shit like that. They where all short stories from articles she had written mostly for The New Yorker which already rings snooty to me and everything was prewritten, so what was the point of the book? To make suckers like me buy/read it and for the author to make more money.Grade: C
What do You think about My Kind Of Place: Travel Stories From A Woman Who's Been Everywhere (2005)?
My Kind of Place has several interesting essays. I particularly like those that focus on a certain location instead of a region. For instance, "All Mixed Up" centers on a grocery store in Queens, New York, rather than Queens itself. Some end too abruptly, I think, but most are informative and fascinating. It would've been helpful for Orlean to have worked the year into each essay--even in a roundabout way--so that the reader would have a clear(er) sense of context. I also think that the "Everywhere" section contains a few extraneous pieces that were tacked on for the sole purpose of increasing the page count. Aside from said drawbacks, this is a solid investment for travel aficionados and/or those who enjoy learning.
—Jason Jordan
I love Susan Orlean's writing, even that article about her walking desk (yes, that one). This collection includes great reported pieces on everything from animal hoarders and NYC grocery stores to fertility blessings in Bhutan. A few pieces get a little overwrought with description or a little silly, but most are thoughtful travel essays with fun quips dropped in like "never go anywhere without a sweatshirt, a string of pearls, and a big, elegant scarf, which can be used as a dress, a shawl, a skirt, a shrug, a blanket, or a tent." I've seen other reviews call her a latter-day de Tocqueville, but I think she's far more Twain than de Tocqueville. Anyone who opens with "as soon as the 2003 World Taxidermy Championships opened, the heads came rolling in the door" strikes me as being akin to an incisive, witty riverboat pilot traveling the waters of the world.
—Mandy
I loved these essays. I do not gravitate toward "travel writing" because I do not travel and so I just don't usually have any way to identify with it in any way. But I found this on a list of best nonfiction books and so I went with it. Orlean's "everywhere" included the Bridgewater Mall near where I grew up in New Jersey and the home of a woman in NJ who kept a crap-load of tigers--a story I knew well, I thought, but Orlean rendered the characters with such lively energy. And, man, her endings! I really learned something about endings. She ends essays like no one else I've read.
—Elissa Washuta
