I Should Have Stayed Home: The Worst Trips of the Great Writers (Travel Literature Series)

Rating:
Summary: Disappointing
Review: The backcover text describes this book as a "...hilarious anthology...". However this is not a humorous book, let alone a hilarious one. The stories, written in the literary equivalent of a monotone, are simply dreary tales of other people's misfortunes, which after a few chapters become tedious. One particularly unmemorable story was entirely devoted to the author's encounters with human excrement in Nepal. The book's anthology format - a different "great writer" for each chapter - works against it. There is no consistent style, unless one considers bland writing a style. It _is_ possible to take travel misadventures and put a humorous spin on them (Carl Franz, "The People's Guide to Mexico", which is a great guide to boot) or even turn them into high comedy (Dave Barry "Dave Barry Does Japan"), but the authors of this book fell far short of the mark.

Rating:
Summary: Disappointing
Review: The backcover text describes this book as a "...hilarious anthology...". However this is not a humorous book, let alone a hilarious one. The stories, written in the literary equivalent of a monotone, are simply dreary tales of other people's misfortunes, which after a few chapters become tedious. One particularly unmemorable story was entirely devoted to the author's encounters with human excrement in Nepal. The book's anthology format - a different "great writer" for each chapter - works against it. There is no consistent style, unless one considers bland writing a style. It _is_ possible to take travel misadventures and put a humorous spin on them (Carl Franz, "The People's Guide to Mexico", which is a great guide to boot) or even turn them into high comedy (Dave Barry "Dave Barry Does Japan"), but the authors of this book fell far short of the mark.

Rating:
Summary: I Should Have Just Stayed Home
Review: The editors don't pay their writers. Shame on them. The stories are hillarious and well-written, but the editors are thieves.
Don't buy this book.

Rating:
Summary: Humorous Spins on Disasterous Trips
Review: This is a must-read for anyone who has ever bought a ticket for the wrong bus, ordered a tractor on toast, or mistaken a brothel for a bargain pensione.

One hilarious, laugh-out-loud episode after another! A great companion reader to have along on your next vacation abroad. Good variety of locales, plots, and writing styles.