Introduction: Bookpacking – Bringing Books to Life, Journeying with the Author
A few years ago, while sitting in Starbucks at Yonge and Charles Street in downtown Toronto, telling a friend about my Read the World Challenge, she asked if I have ever heard of bookpacking. She couldn’t remember where she first learned about the concept, but thought it would be good for me to look at. This concept is new to me.
I was intrigued, so when I returned home, I researched the concept, gathering as much information as possible. There isn’t a lot of information on bookpacking, because someone actually coined that phrase.
However, I found an interesting website, Bookpackers.com, where Andrew Chater, an award-winning filmmaker, is using some great stories to tour the United States, recreating the journey in the books he selected.
Have you read?
The Grand Tour – Avil Beckford’s Musings
Bookpacking With Andrew Chater
This is a fantastic idea, and some of the books he is using, include:
“'The Big Sleep
‘ in Los Angeles, ‘Blood Meridian
‘ in Los Angeles, ‘
‘ in the Texan boarderlands, ‘
‘ in Alaska, ‘
‘ in Jackson, MS.”I have read The Big Sleep and The Call of the Wild, but I am particularly interested in The Call of the Wild by Jack London, which is such a fantastic story, with a lot of movement. Imagine journeying with Jack London through the Yukon in Canada and into Alaska. Into the Wild would be a great book to experience.
Since writing this post a few years ago, he has added a few more books, which include:
Have you read?
The Call of the Wild by Jack London, a SummaReview
Into the Wild by Jon Krakauer: Why Go on an Adventure
To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
Review – The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald
Bookpacking and Google Lit Trips
When I read about Andrew Chater’s project, I wondered how I could tie it to the Strategic Reading Challenge. I am not quite sure how to do that, but in thinking about it, I was reminded of Google Lit Trips. Using Google Maps, many have brought classic literature to life, to engage students in the classroom. There are similarities between Google Lit Trips and bookpackers.
In an earlier iteration of Strategic Reading Challenge, when I called it the Virtual Literary World Tour, I wanted to tie literature, geography, history and technology together, but I simply couldn’t pull it off, because I couldn’t get Google Maps to work the way I needed it to.
A few years later, perhaps the time is right for me to try again. I will not recreate the journey in the books I read, while on the Read the World Challenge (precursor to the Strategic Reading Challenge), because that goal is too ambitious for me, and there are other things that I need to accomplish. But a more modest goal of mapping the birthplaces of the authors is doable for me. Imagine taking my readers to places they have only heard of, or never heard of, to learn basic information about the place. And if the information piques someone’s interest, he or she can learn more about the place.
Final Thoughts: Bookpacking – Bringing Books to Life, Journeying with the Author
Many people are not in a position to physically travel the world to learn more about different cultures. But they can travel the world through the books they read. They can take part in bookpacking or become a bookpacker. They can see a place the way the author does, allowing them to walk a mile in another person’s shoes.
Next Steps
Wondering what to do next, you can do all of:
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Subscribe to my YouTube Channel
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Join the Art of Learning Membership Site
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Download Unlock Your Genius Power Reading Tips Sheet
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Buy me a cup of coffee!
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UPDATE: First Published February 2016
