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All Over the Place
All Over the Place: Adventures in Travel, True Love, and Petty Theft | Geraldine DeRuiter
Most travel memoirs involve a button-nosed protagonist nursing a broken heart who, rather than tearfully watching The Princess Bride while eating an entire 5-gallon vat of ice cream directly out of the container (like a normal person), instead decides to travel the world, inevitably falling for some chiseled stranger with bulging pectoral muscles and a disdain for wearing clothing above the waist. This is not that kind of book. Geraldine met the love of her life long before this story began, on a bus in Seattle surrounded by drunk college kids. She gets lost constantly, wherever she goes. And her nose would never, ever be considered button-like. Hilarious, irreverent and heartfelt, All Over the Place chronicles the five-year period that kicked off when Geraldine got laid off from a job she loved and took off to travel the world. Those years taught her a great number of things, though the ability to read a map was not one of them. She has only a vague idea of where Russia is, but she understands her Russian father now better than ever before. She learned that at least half of what she thought was her mothers functional insanity was actually an equally incurable condition called being Italian. She learned about unemployment and brain tumors and lost luggage and lost opportunities and just getting lost, in countless terminals and cabs and hotel lobbies across the globe. And she learned what its like to travel the world with someone you already know and love. How that person can help you make sense of things, and can, by some sort of alchemy, make foreign cities and far-off places feel like home. In All Over the Place, Geraldine imparts the insight she gained while being far from homewry, surprising, but always sincere, advice about marriage, family, health, and happiness that come from getting lost and finding the unexpected.
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CaliforniaCay
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Panpan

This book started out promising but overall fell flat for me. She spent not enough time talking about the interesting places she went to and way too much time blowing really small stories out of proportion. Like how she clogged a toilet in New York, how her husband threw a tantrum because he was asked to check his luggage and decided not to go to Paris, and how she peed all over a bathroom in Spain because she was overcharged for tapas 🙄

RamsFan1963 Ugh! Sounds like the very definition of Ugly American 5mo
rockpools Thanks for the warning! 5mo
tpixie She and her husband sound very rude and petty. Who would she think we want to read about that abhorrent behavior!! 5mo
47 likes4 comments
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vlwelser
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Pickpick

This was actually really good. 💖📚✈

12 likes1 stack add
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Travelinglibrarian
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Chelsibeau
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Only 6 books this month. One of my worst. Been suffering from a lot of anxiety and it makes it really hard to enjoy things. Hopefully this month I‘ll get more reading in!
My favorite: All Over the Place
Least favorite: Living the Dream

Laura317 Anxiety sucks the life out of anyone! I hope this month is better. Hugs! 7y
everlocalwest 💙💙 7y
Tamra Take care of yourself! 7y
RebelReader I'm reading All Over the Place this month! 😍😍 7y
Suet624 💕💕💕 7y
64 likes5 comments
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Chelsibeau
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Birthday reading plus bubbly! My husband and I have the same birthday so he watches his shows and I snuggle with a good book!

BookMaven407 Cheers 🥂🍾Happy Birthday. 7y
Redwritinghood 🎉🎉 Happy birthday! 7y
merelybookish Sounds perfect! Happy birthday! 7y
See All 8 Comments
readordierachel Happy birthday!🎈🎉 7y
ScientistSam Happy birthday! 7y
Ashley_Nicoletto Happy Birthday! Also, this is very convenient. No one can ever forget. 😂😂 7y
L_auren That‘s so cool!! I would love that!! Happy birthday to you two 7y
Lmstraubie Happy birthday!🎂 7y
68 likes1 stack add8 comments
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DaniRa
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Pickpick

I thought this book was fantastic! It wasn't at all what I wanted it to be or what I was looking for but I was laughing and thinking "I'm so glad I chose this book!" Geraldine is hilarious, honest and pretty witty in my opinion.

30 likes1 stack add
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nbarbosa85
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Just about to start this book - very excited! Has anyone else read and loved it?

1 like1 stack add
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StephsBookRamblings
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Pickpick
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whelanmaria
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Pickpick

My sister lovingly gave me this ARC for Christmas because she knows how much I love to travel, particularly without a plan. I haven't read Geraldine's blog but her memoir was sweet, witty, and made me chuckle many times. She talks about her relationships with her husband, mother, father, and brothers and how a life of traveling has changed and developed these relationships in beautiful and unlikely ways. Check it out when it comes out in May!

22 likes1 stack add
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Well-ReadNeck
Bailedbailed

Interesting topic and initially engaging. However, I didn't finish because the author's sarcastic and irreverent tone bothered me. For what it's worth, I have not enjoyed well-loved books by comedians in the past for the same reason. #netgalley

Susanita Yeah I think it's a very fine line between amusing and annoying in humor books. 8y
nikirtehsuxlol What do you do when you bail on netgalley reads? Do you just leave feedback within netgalley or do you still post a review to your blog? 8y
Well-ReadNeck @nikirtehsuxlol I give feedback (but not a star rating) and let them know that it wasn't for me, and I DNF. My guess is that they would prefer no review over a bail. I generally don't post negative reviews on my blog because: I want to be affirmatively recommending books; it feels not great; and I don't really want to give any attention to books I don't like on that forum. 8y
nikirtehsuxlol Thank you for the netgalley response! 8y
80 likes1 stack add4 comments