Yet another story about the road, I hear you say.  Is this guy obsessed or what?  I suppose I am.  The thing is, there will always be road stories because the road goes on forever. It’s not a place – it’s a way of life.  It’s not a destination – it’s a journey, an odyssey, a means of discovery.  You don’t ever really want to reach the end of it because then it’s all over.  Arriving at somewhere is not the objective, getting there is what is important.  Street, lane, boulevard, avenue… none of those words conjure up the mysterious images associated with the word “road”.

It’s a mythical place in some respects but in others, it is downright tedious. For all its arcane routines, it stands as an iconic symbol of freedom that has entranced and inspired for centuries. Countless musicians, itinerants, artists, writers, hobos, songwriters have celebrated or been celebrated by it – Hit The Road Jack, King Of The Road, The Long And Winding Road, On The Road Again, One For The Road, Tobacco Road, Glory Road, The Yellow Brick Road…complete your own list.  Writers like Jack Kerouac, Cormac McCarthy and Jack London have immortalized it in print.

Personally (how else could it be?), I spend a lot of the in-between times on tours buried in books.  I couldn’t help but notice that a season of giving has just occurred, causing no end of receiving.  Amongst those socks, sweaters, train sets, ugly vases, unwanted kitchen utensils and general tat, there may be a book token or two. Of the books I’ve read on the road in 2010, these stand out, so if you care to, you could use those magic keys and delve into where my mind has been wandering lately.

In no particular order;

The White Tiger	Aravind Adiga
The Fry Chronicles	Stephen Fry
A Freewheelin’ Time	Suze Rotolo
A Special Providence	Richard Yates
Chaplin	Simon Louvish
The Millenium Trilogy	Steig Larsson
Solar	Ian McEwen
Shantaram	Gregory David Roberts
Between The Assassinations	Aravind Adiga
The Gun Seller	Hugh Laurie
Life	Keith Richards
Bicycle Diaries	David Byrne
Parrot and Olivier in America	Peter Carey
Our Kind of Traitor	John LeCarre
Rubicon	Tom Holland
A Week in December	Sebastian Faulks
All You Need is Ears	George Martin
The Yellow House	Martin Gayford

A healthy and peaceful 2011 to all,

RG