There's No Toilet Paper . . . on the Road Less Traveled: The Best of Travel Humor and Misadventure (Travelers' Tales)

Good travel writing is inspirational. It can inspire you to set off for unpronounceable capitals of wee, distant kingdoms, or, in the case of There's No Toilet Paper, inspire you to burn your passport and settle more securely into your comfy chair, feet up, and eyes riveted to the next more-humorous-in-the-retelling-than-it-was-in-the-experiencing story. It also makes pleasant airplane fodder on your way to your own misadventure. Doug Lansky has collected a fine trove of comic (when it's not happening to you) travel moments, as told by the best in travel humor. Dave Barry writes eloquently about failing to learn any Japanese save for how to order beer (pronounced "bee-roo") and big beer (pronounced "big bee-roo"). Mary Roach points out that utilizing an Antarctic ice-sheet outhouse at the very moment that a seal chooses to use its opening as a blowhole is an inauspicious way to start the day. And Bill Bryson stumbles disconsolately about Paris, wondering "Why does everyone hate me so much?" There are 28 stories in all, by 20 very funny writers who traverse the world and provide a great deal of amusement for those of us who aren't locked in a Dutch public bathroom without a handle or a light. --Stephanie Gold