Frommer's 500 places where you can make a difference...

This guidebook leads you to places around the globe where you can serve communities while exploring them in an unique, connected way. From caring for orphans in Delhi, India, to teaching English on the beaches of Salvador, Brazil, to tracking dolphins in Oahu, Hawaii, or building a school in Madagascar, you'll find an adventure that matches your interests and lets you see your destination with new eyes.

Author: Andrew Mersmann with Carrie Havranek and Kisha Ferguson
Publisher: John Wiley & Sons Canada, Ltd.
ISBN: 978-0-470-16061-9

Juicy Tip From this Book: Be a volunteer at the Festival of Books In Los Angeles, USA. Every spring, America's largest literary event takes over the beautiful UCLA campus. Hundreds of volunteers pitch in to make this 2-day gathering of writers and readers as idyllic as the weather. Nearly 100 author events, signings, and readings - plus 300 exhibitor booths and 140,000 attendees- celebrate great writing and some literary stargazing. Further information at: Los Angeles Time Festival of Books Website: www.troutco.com/fob
ISBN: 144951376X

Good Night & God Bless...

Hospitality has long been a tradition of religious orders and throughout Europe unused monks and nuns' cells are being quietly refurbished and opened as accommodation. Good Night And God Bless is the modern travelers Bible. This unique guide lists details of atmospheric and affordable accommodation in convents, monasteries, abbeys and Christian hotels across Europe. Volume Two of a series, this book centers on France, United Kingdom and Ireland. Volume One covered Austria, Czech Republic and Italy.

Author: Trish Clark
Publisher: Hidden Springs
ISBN: 978-1-58768-057-1

Juicy tip from this book: More House, a Catholic Chaplaincy Centre for the Universities of London is located in South Kensington, London. Single and double rooms are let to tourists during university holidays (July and August). The guestrooms are basic, but adequately furnished; shared bathrooms are located on each floor. Continental or full English breakfast is the only meal served but cafes and restaurants are only a short stroll away. Coin operated washers and dryers available. One of the advantages of staying at More House is its premier position, just yards from the main underground line (Gloucester Road Station on the Piccadilly Line) to Heathrow Airport. Website: www.morehouse.co.uk P.S. Ask for quieter rooms at the rear of the building.

3 MPH: The Adventure of One Woman's Walk Around the World...

Pursuing the spirit of adventure and an altruistic goal of raising global awareness and funds for breast cancer, Polly Letofsky broke down the barriers and walked across four continents, 22 countries, and covered over 14,000 miles in five years to be the first American woman to successfully walk around the world. Polly takes us deep into the pain and glory of being a woman that paid attention to her heart's desire and went in search of all that the world had to offer.

Author: Polly Letofsky
Publisher: Tendtril Press
ISBN: 978-0-9841543-2-6

Juicy Excerpt From This Book: "I don't know that you'd be happy going with me,' I suggested. ' I might want to saunter through town and take photos, maybe stop at a cafe and have a mochaccino while reading the newspaper. I might attempt the crossword, then give up and go and see a movie and change my mind three times about what I want to see. I might call a couple of friends and not worry about someone waiting for me, then stop at a bookstore and wander through the books, looking for nothing in particular. I might sit on a park bench and just watch people without making conversation. I want to be alone to discover, peruse, reflect, ponder, meander and chill.'

Wise words on travel and books...

There is no frigate like a book
to take us lands away.
(Emily Dickinson, 1830-1886, American poet)

Books have always been an essential part of travel for me,
wherever I go, my armchair adventures commingle intimately with actual ones.
(Tracy Johnson, American writer)

The world is a country which nobody ever yet knew by
description; one must travel through it one's self to be acquainted with it.
(Lord Chesterfield, 1684-1773, English statesman)

Most people who travel look only at what they are directed to look at.
Great is the power of the guidebook-maker, however ignorant.
(John Muir, 1838-1914, Scottish-born American naturalist)

There should be a bit of the author's blood in
the ink of a travel book.
(Edward Hoagland, American novelist)

It is far easier to travel
than to write about it.
(David Livingstone, 1813-1873, Scottish explorer)