Good Laughs, Good Travels, Hot Mamalah---Oh My!!

It's getting to be that time again. The halloween decorations are barely off the houses and the holidays are breathing down our necks, which can only mean one thing---SHOPPING! ---and maybe a little vacation. Naturally, you're going to want to give the gift of a good read, and maybe pack a few too. Whether you're on the beach, the ski slopes, or curled in your favorite armchair by the fire, these books are guaranteed to make you laugh, cry, and take you far away, at least for a little while. Of course, my own book is on the list. Shameless? Whatever.  I'm happy to sign it for you too, and ship it right out!   Happy Travels. Happy Holidays.

 If you love to travel and love a good story, the the newly released (last month) anthology by Travelers' Tales, The Best Women's Travel Writing,  Volume 8 should be at the top of your must read list.  The women and stories presented will take you on spiritual, adventurous and emotional journeys to the far corners of the earth, from clubbing in Abu Dhabi to river rafting in Zimbabwe, and just about every compass point in between. From the moment editor Lavinia Spaulding's introduction told me how her friends, her 'tribe', are often the people she meets on the road, I was hooked. Each story will have you mining your own travel memories, as well as internet searching the places mentioned . These tales of travel are the perfect  gift for your wanderlust afflicted friends, and should accompany you on your winter vacation or stay cation. Curl up with a cup of tea, and travel the world.   To order go to www.laviniaspalding.com

Give the gift of laughter with  Leave the Lipstick, Take the Iguana, the ninth book in the best-selling Travelers' Tales humor series, and is a rib-tickling collection that will resonate with experienced travelers and novices alike, and includes hilarious misadventures with packing, travel fashion, border crossings, language faux pas, weird encounters with exotic cuisine, and romantic overtures abroad. Editor Marcy Gordon writes "Come for the Wine" a popular blog about wine and wine tourism destinations around the world. In addition to her blog, she partners with tour operators, vintners associations and wineries to help promote travel to their regions using social media, and conversation marketing strategies. She is also the founder of Writing Between The Vines , which will offer residencies to writers in vineyards around the world.  Order here.

Hot off the presses is Hot Mamalah: The Ultimate Guide for Every Woman of the Tribe, a start-to-finish celebration of the strengths, challenges, and triumphs of Jewish women—the good, the great, the PMSy, and the menopausal! This book-a-licious smorgasbord includes everything whole-y and holy feminine, tips  for having fun and having chutzpah, with humorous essays, amusing illustrations, lists and more lists, recipes, and more. From cocktails to cupcakes, Purim costumes to bar aliases, Hot Mamalah whets an appetite for getting the most out of life, love, and your closet. Hot Mamalah is the much-anticipated follow up to Cool Jew, from award winning writer Lisa Alcalay Klug whose passion for joie de vivre and Jewish culture will have you toasting L’chayim! with the best!  Order at Amazon or on Lisa's website.  GIVEAWAY---Enter before November 28 for a chance at $300 worth of prizes!  Click here

Pull up a chair and visit the Dordogne (called Périgord by the locals) the way it should be visited: one bite at a time. Walnut Wine and Truffle Groves won the coveted GOLD 2012 Lowell Thomas Award this year for Best Travel Book, but is more than just a guide. The hardcover book is is a culinary travel book that navigates the back roads—as well as the menus and markets—of the southwestern region of France with newfound excitement---and a knife and fork. Through interviews with local home cooks and chefs, visits to local farms, historic sites and wineries, market tours, detours, and recipes, readers get a rare inside glimpse into this unspoiled corner of France. The coffee table style book is a wonderful gift with over 80 photos, 40+ recipes, and enlightening tales  that leave you yearning to visit France's most beautiful and less trod-upon provinces.  Order by emailing the author (moi) directly and I'll sign and ship (within the USA) directly to you with a Lowell Thomas 2012 sticker affixed to the front.  Only $9 per book plus shipping.  Order 10 or more and the cost is only $7 per book, plus shipping. Paypal accepted. email:  kimberley@kimberleylovato.com

Overlapping history with personal observation, this inspirational memoir, The Way of Stars and Stones, follows one woman during her personal pilgrimage along the Santiago de Compostella, an ancient journey of more than 500 miles through northern Spain. Introduced to fellow pilgrims and their inspirational stories along the way, the author's thoughtful work is filled with commonsense advice and spiritual guidance as the winter blusters around the travelers on the historic path. Emotionally confronting the reality of a loved one being diagnosed with incurable cancer, the South African author, Wilna Wilkinson, generously shares her experiences with heart and humor, while keeping us gripped with the physical and emotional tension of traveling this path with only the voices in her head as company. Wilna is a writer, a motivational speaker, and one of the most adventurous women I know. When she's not hosting guests at her riverside castle in France, she's trekking continents. Right now, she's somewhere in Sierra Leone. Order her book here.