So, in the midst of the worst downturn in travel book sales in a decade is there a point in continuing? Will our yet-to-see-the-light-of-day tomes ever… well… see the light of day?

According to Bookseller.com travel book sales have slumped more than 10% over last year’s sales figures which themselves were almost 30% lower than the year before that.

Some imprints had modest increases apparently — Rough Guides for one — but across the board business has been terrible. What, with Icelandic ash clouds, airline strikes and Bangkok turning into the OK Corral, travel guides particularly haven’t been selling. But marketing always has its greatest impact in times of struggle. Lonely Planet tackled the downturn in a unique fashion by giving away their iPhone City Guide apps for free when volcanic ash closed many of Europe’s key airports.

If the global economy is coming around as most financial pundits seem to believe, and if the summer travel season begins to percolate, then perhaps all these setbacks will be nothing more than short-term events and we can all get back to doing what we do best: reading, writing and road trips (the three ‘R’s…?)

[REW] – [Source]

Tunner: “We must be the first tourists since the war.”

Kit: “We’re not tourists. We’re travelers.”

Tunner: “Oh. What’s the difference?”

Port: “A tourist thinks about going home the moment they arrive, Tunner.

Kit: “Whereas a traveler might not come back at all.”

- From the film “The Sheltering Sky”, Directed by Bernardo Bertolucci (original novel by Paul Bowles)

Literary travel is a particular fascination of mine. Reading guidebooks, especially in anticipation of actually traveling to a specific destination, has never been a prerequisite (although Lonely Planet, Bradt and Moon have all figured in many of the foreign locales I have visited).

No, I prefer to consult the likes of Graham Greene, John Steinbeck, James Joyce or my personal favorite, Evelyn Waugh, whose “When The Going Was Good” I consider the best travel book ever written.

I recently discovered the bookstore of my dreams – Idelewild Books in New York City. In a small sidebar article in the Travel section of a recent issue of the Sunday New York Times, they present a short piece on this store and the pleasures to be discovered within.

As if you needed another reason to travel to NYC, you just found a new one.

[REW]

Bookstores are a ‘must do’ travel experience for us. Do you have a favorite? Comments below.

At first blush this may look a little humorous and a tad clever. But look closer… this is the work of a talented man with a keen, if mischievous eye.

If a picture is worth a thousand words, then allow me to shut up and let you get on with the show. Enjoy!

[DCM]

Thoughts…? Comments below.