Lifestyle books
The Longest Road
Overland in Search of America, From Key West to the Arctic Ocean
Philip Caputo
Henry Holt, $28
In search of the real issues that unite and divide the country, Caputo embarked on a 16,000-mile road trip from Key West, Fla., to Deadhorse, Alaska, and stopped to talk to everyday Americans along the way.(July)
Hitchhiking With Larry David
An Accidental Tourist’s Summer of Self-Discovery in Martha’s Vineyard
Paul Samuel Dolman
Gotham, $22.50
On a spiritual quest in the aftermath of a painful breakup, a man hitchhikes around the storied island, encountering many characters — among them Larry David, with whom he forges a unique friendship. (June)
Counterclockwise
My Year of Hypnosis, Hormones, Dark Chocolate, and Other Adventures in the World of Anti-Aging
Lauren Kessler
Rodale, $24.99
Kessler investigates and immerses herself in the anti-aging movement in hopes of reversing her biological clock from the inside out. (June)
On the Noodle Road
From Beijing to Rome, With Love and Pasta
Jen Lin-Liu
Riverhead, $27.95
A food writer carves a culinary path along the Silk Road in search of food and cultural connections. (July)
Bootstrapper
From Broke to Badass on a Northern Michigan Farm
Mardi Jo Link
Knopf, $24.95
Serious debt and a divorce left this mother of three with a steely resolve to live off the land and raise her boys simply in a century-old farmhouse. (June)
Italian Ways
On and Off the Rails From Milan to Palermo
Tim Parks
W.W. Norton, $25.95
British novelist Parks uses train journeys as a way to explore the wonders and absurdities of modern Italian life, encountering all kinds of ordinary Italians along the way to a cultural history of the rails. (June)
The Telling Room
A Tale of Love, Betrayal, Revenge, and the World’s Greatest Piece of Cheese
Michael Paterniti
The Dial Press, $27
Under the spell of a “sublime” cheese, Paterniti (author of “Driving Mr. Albert”) relocates his family to the cheesemaker’s village in Spain, where he gets implicated in an unfolding mystery that involves death threats and a murder plot. (July)
But Mama Always Put Vodka in Her Sangria!
Adventures in Eating, Drinking and Making Merry
Julia Reed
St. Martin’s, $25.99
The Garden & Gun columnist mixes writing on her own culinary adventures with recipes and cocktail tips culled from Southern hostesses, New York socialites and top mixologists at the Paris Ritz. (May)
The New York Review Abroad
Fifty Years of International Reportage
Edited by Robert B. Silvers
New York Review Books, $30
This collection offers 28 eyewitness accounts from the likes of Susan Sontag, who writes of staging “Waiting for Godot” in war-torn Sarajevo, and Ryszard Kapuscinski, who recalls being set on fire while running roadblocks in Nigeria. (June)
To the Moon and Timbuktu
A Trek Through the Heart of Africa
Nina Sovich
New Harvest, $25
Following in the footsteps of famous female explorers such as Mary Kingsley and Kenyan farmer (and author) Karen Blixen, journalist Sovich packs her bags for a trek through the lands of West Africa. (July)
The Last Train to Zona Verde
My Ultimate African Safari
Paul Theroux
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, $27
The celebrated travel writer returns to Africa 50 years after his first trip there and, ever alert to the continent’s history and struggles, describes the very different place he encounters. (May)
The Prophets of Smoked Meat
A Journey Through Texas Barbecue
Daniel Vaughn
Anthony Bourdain Books /Ecco, $29.99
From brisket to ribs, beef to pork, mesquite to oak, this book by Texas Monthly’s barbecue editor offers a fully illustrated, comprehensive guide to Lone Star State-style BBQ. (May)
The Road to Burgundy
The Unlikely Story of an American Making Wine and a New Life in France
Ray Walker
Gotham, $26
After a wine-tasting vacation, Walker quit his job in finance, moved to France and immersed himself in Burgundy winemaking; now he shares his stories of struggles and success in starting his own winery, Maison Ilan. (July)
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