Blog

Category: Travel

Lonely Planet releases free Christchurch download

by Natalia
Travel / January 26, 2012

One of the things I like about working in the publishing industry is the long lead times: in an age of 24-hour newscasts and instantaneous gratification, publishers are unique in producing reflective, sustained, intelligent coverage of hot button issues.

But the glacial pace of traditional publishing has its drawbacks—I remember working on a book once that took a decade to move from conception to printing—and of course this is particularly problematic in travel publishing.

Case in point: Lonely Planet's 16th edition of the New Zealand travel guide is due to be published in September, but because it was written before last February's earthquake, the current edition is of limited use on the ground.

So this week Lonely Planet is releasing a free download of the Christchurch chapter on its website.  The chapter, researched by Brett Atkinson in December, is the first Christchurch guide to be released since the earthquake, and Lonely Planet is taking the unusual step of making it available eight months ahead of the guide's official release. 

Kudos to Lonely Planet for being nimble enough to get the most up-to-date post-quake travel information out to travellers as quickly as possible!

Any Canadian travellers planning a trip to New Zealand can find out more about the book here.

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My Favourite Book of 2011: Pete (Sales)

by Pete
Travel / December 22, 2011

Favourite book of the year for me? It’s not cheating to take a paperback edition of a previous fave-of-the-year, but people will chirp so I’ll needlessly defend my choice by saying it’s packed with more incredible photographs, more solid content, and more countries…? No, not more countries, had them all last time and still does; Lonely Planet’s Travel Book 2^nd edition in paperback is still my pick of the year.

Being in sales I really love the numbers this beauty puts up in any edition, but it does so because it is epic and people immediately grasp that when they see it, and don’t want their coffee tables to look super lame so they buy it in droves. Lonely Planet is a truly inspiring company, and The Travel Book is distilled travel inspiration. Tony Wheeler — the indomitable founder of Lonely Planet — sums this book up nicely: “It just reminds me how much of the world there is still to see” —  That's Tony Wheeler, Lonely Planet founder, 145 countries visited and counting ...

There is so much of the world to see, and I like to be reminded every time I pick this book up that I need to get out there and see more of it. It really is THE travel book.

PS: I’d also like to quickly remind anyone who hasn’t read Shantaram written by Gregory David Roberts and published by St. Martin’s to do so post-haste. It has fought off a lot of great fiction to stay in my top 10 for years. It’s an excellent read — if you like stories you’ll love it.

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Intern Insights: A Raincoast Wishlist

by Janet
Picture Books + Travel + Vancouver + YA Fiction / December 13, 2011

It’s the most wonderful time of the year! I hope you have all been enjoying Egg Nog Hot Chocolates (Crystal's creation) and gingerbread cheesecakes! My favourite things this season include lighting the Christmas tree, watching old holiday classics (Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, Elf etc.) and enjoying cheery tunes that bring back many memories.

It's easy to forget how to enjoy the season with holiday shopping and wallet stress but I've narrowed down ten of my favourite things with Raincoast to give you some ideas - whether it's a gift for someone else or for YOU!

Here's my “little” wish list:

 

1.  Moleskine:
   
   Who doesn’t love the feel of a new notebook waiting for your pen to scribble ideas and thoughts down? One of my top wishes from Moleskine, other than their pens, sketchbooks and new bag line, is their Passions Journal line. There’s one for everyone: the cinephile, the bookworm, the traveler etc.
   
   I definitely want the Book Journal, here’s a great YouTube trailer:
    
2. Zombie Lovers!
   First it was vampires, then werewolves and now everyone's current obsession is ZOMBIES!
   Raincoast offers two great books for anyone who is a zombie fanatic. First, is the humorous “Dead Inside” which is like PostSecret mixed with the Zombie Apocalypse.
   
   Then there's The Walking Dead: Rise of the Governor, a back story graphic novel which explores one of the series' most sinister characters. (The Walking Dead is currently an acclaimed TV Series airing on AMC.)
   
    
3. Ivy & Bean Paper Doll Play Set: Some great gift ideas for any Ivy and Bean fan! There's the Paper Doll Play Set where you can play out your own Ivy and Bean scenarios or the Mini Notes set which combines creative stationary with your two favourite trouble makers!
   
   
   
   
   
    
4. Grandpa Green:
   What is greater than the gift of a good story and beautiful illustrations? Grandpa Green is a heartwarming book that you can give to anyone at any age. I am a personal fan of this book and think it would make a great gift for any loved one!
   
   The book trailer:
   
    
5. The Cheesemongers Kitchen: For any foodie or cheese fan is a fantastic cookbook with creative recipes for everyone's favourite dairy product: CHEESE!
   Recipes include delicacies like Foccacia with Venetian Black Truffle and Squash Tuscan Devil's Pecorino with honey. 
   
   
   
   
   
   
    
6. Your Playlist Can Change Your Life: For anyone looking for some inspiration or going through any life changing events I would recommend this lovely little book that states simply, music can change your life. 
    
7. The Art of Pixar: I don't know a single person who has not loved at least one Pixar movie. As storytellers they have transcended animation from being just for kids or families to anyone. They have rooted their characters, their art and their stories deeply in our hearts. I love this large book that shows you the making of their films:
   
    
8. Darker Still: Some good YA Fiction coming your way, this is a great read for anyone who enjoys sinister magic and fantastic situations. Imaginative and with an original concept this is a great stocking stuffer!
   
   "Many teens will be reeled in by the romance, but will also be left thinking about how different things were for women a century ago, trapped by gender and birthright. This smart novel will have wide appeal." (Shelf Awareness)
   
    
9. Animals With Hangovers:
   A great and humorous photobook of animals with HANGOVERS! Share this with the animal lover in your life, you know the one – they always forward you cute animals on YouTube or are constantly posting funny cat photos on Facebook.
   
   
   
   
   
    
10. Lonely Planet's Best of Travel 2012:
    Travel junkies will enjoy this book with its great tips and beautiful photography! The book includes:

• Lonely Planet ranks the top 10 countries, regions and cities to visit in 2012.
• The best travel experiences for the year ahead, from feeling the football fever in Ukraine to awaiting the Apocalypse on the Ruta Maya.
• Over 35 events mapped out month by month in the 2012 travel planner.

 

Happy Holidays!

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Lonely Planet partners with UN to give relief workers vital information

by Natalia
News + Travel / October 03, 2011

There was lots of excitement in the office last Friday over some big news from Lonely Planet: in celebration of World Tourism Day, Lonely Planet is announcing a new partnership with the United Nations to provide information for first responders in humanitarian emergencies.  Staff from UN agencies deployed in the event of a disaster will be able to use Lonely Planet’s information to help them familiarize themselves with the country before traveling.

"Lonely Planet's expert content makes it easier for humanitarian workers to hit the ground running in unfamiliar environments," said Gwi-Yeop Son, Director of Corporate Programmes at OCHA. "We value Lonely Planet's commitment to provide accurate and up-to-the-minute information for our teams on the ground."
 

“Lonely Planet’s mission is to provide trustworthy and informative content about a destination,” said John Boris, Executive Vice President of Lonely Planet Americas.  “Our unique, in-depth information will empower the teams of humanitarian workers to learn quickly about the areas they are working in and the people they will be assisting.”

This is wonderful news, and a huge vote of confidence in the quality of Lonely Planet's information.  Congrats to Lonely Planet!

You can read more about the partnership here.

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New Lonely Planet Translation apps!

by Natalia
News + Travel / September 28, 2011

This past week I’ve been on vacation in San Francisco, my first trip outside Canada in some time.   Heading back to work this morning through familiar streets, armed with my cell phone, bus pass, and a steaming mug of home-brewed coffee, I was struck by the conveniences of being a local.  The everyday practicalities of travel can be frustrating—tracking down wifi, finding a pay phone, dealing with public transit—all these small details of life which you wouldn’t give a second thought at home can become a big hassle in an unfamiliar city.

So I was excited when I heard about Lonely Planet’s latest offering to beleaguered travellers: The Lonely Planet Offline Translator, available on Android and iOs.  From the Lonely Planet folks:

The perfect travel companion, Lonely Planet Offline Translator acts as your own personal translator, providing bespoke translations based on what the user has typed or spoken into the phone. Unlike other language translation apps, Lonely Planet Offline Translator is completely offline, which means it can be used anywhere with no data/roaming fees or connection delays.

Initially launching in eight languages, the app translates words, phrases or whole sentences into immediate audio or text translations. Designed specifically for travelers, the app utilizes over 40,000 words for its translations. It also features a completely searchable dictionary.

I love travel apps, and this one sounds pretty nifty—to my mind, this make much more sense than lugging around a heavy dictionary everywhere you go.  What do you all think? Ever used the Lonely Planet apps abroad?

Happy travels everyone!

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Win a Trip for Two to Paris!

by Dan
Contests + Travel / July 26, 2011

Psst... Do you know what this is? 

If you've got an idea about what exactly it might be, enter at Chapters-Indigo online for a chance to win a luxury trip for two to Paris (PARIS!) from Lonely Planet and Air Canada Vacations.

Not sure yet? Follow the clues through July 29th on the Chapters-Indigo Facebook page. They'll reveal more & more of the image each day!

(You can find the contest rules here)

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My Mothers

by Liz
Events + Fashion & Textiles + Psychology & Self-Help + Spirituality + Travel / May 04, 2011

Mother’s Day is this weekend!

 

And here is what I’m getting the mothers in my life.

My Mom: Just retired, feeling restless, emailing and calling her daughter incessantly.

A House Somewhere: Tales of Life Abroad

Hopefully this collection of stories by some of the finest names in contemporary travel writing (Isabel Allende, Pico Iyer, Mort Rosenblum…) will take my mother to a faraway place. And obviously by that, I mean nurture her love of adventure and travel and otherwise occupy at least a few hours of her day. (Love you! Kisses!)

 

 

My Mother-In-Law: Born-again hippie who secretly indulged in watching the entire Tudors series in one weekend.

Wholeliness: Embracing the Sacred Unity that Heals Our World

This book by internationally renowned clinical psychologist Carmen Harra explains that wholeliness; the unity of humanity, the Divine, and the universe, is the nourishment we require to transcend a challenging era and foster unconditional fulfillment in our lives. Maybe this book will make her stop yelling at me when I beat her in euchre?
 

And... (because you have to stay on the mother-in-laws good side right?)

Sins of the House of Borgia

In 1492, when Ferdinand and Isabella expel the Jews from Spain, six year old Esther Sarfati finds herself travelling to Rome to join her father who has helped his fellow Spaniard, Rodrigo Borgia, finance his bid for the Papacy. Nine years later, as Pope Alexander VI, Rodrigore pays the favour by offering Esther a place in the household of his daughter, Lucrezia. And so on... (with lots of lust, betrayal and greed this is sure to be a winner!)

My Sister: New mom who is trying not to let her exhaustion ruin her sense of self.

My Mom, Style Icon

Mothers should never feel guilty about taking those extra minutes in the morning for themselves. This collection of photos from style savvy moms over the past decades should encourage my sis to break out her headscarf and rock her baby-yoga class in style. (or match her Baby Jogger with her sombrero?)

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Two New Free iPhone Apps From Moleskine and Lonely Planet

by Crystal
Art & Photography + News + Travel / April 20, 2011

 

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Lonely Planet Comes To The Aid Of Stranded Traveler’s With Free City Guide iPhone Apps

by Crystal
Environment + News + Travel + Vancouver / February 02, 2011

Lonely Planet is once again coming to the aid of travelers stranded across Canada and the US do to snowstorms! For 72 hours Lonely Planet is offering 14 of it's iPhone City Guide apps for free.

“We recognize that travelers are stuck all over the country due to these recent storms and will need access to our content”, said John Boris, Lonely Planet’s Managing Director. “Thus, we made all our USand CanadianiPhoneCityGuide apps free so that regardless of whether they are stuck in a blizzard or on the beach, they can easily download the practical information and recommendations we provide straight onto their phone”. 

The 14 guides will be free in the iTunes App Store from 5pmPST on Tuesday, February 1^st to 5pmPST Friday, February 4^th 2011.

 

The cities available are:

·         San Francisco

·         New York City

·         Boston

·         Washington DC

·         Chicago

·         Seattle

·         New Orleans

·         Vancouver

·         Las Vegas

·         Miami

·         Toronto

·         Los Angeles

·         Montreal

·         Fort Myers & Sanibel

 

Lonely Planet has a history of helping stranded travelers, having offered their EuropeaniPhoneCityGuide apps free during the eruption of Icelandic volcano Eyjafjallajökull and again during the Christmas snowstorms. This is the first time they’ve offered their US or Canadian city guides for free.

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Favourite Books 2010: Crystal Allen

by Crystal
Kids + News + Travel / December 17, 2010

Those who know me well consider me to be a bad girl, a rebel if you will. I think that is why they hired me as a Children's Book Publicist here at Raincoast, to give it a bit more edge. Rules? Ha! I laugh in the face of rules. So when Dan Wagstaff our dashing (yes dashing! Have you heard Dan's English accent?) Online Marketing Specialist asked us all to come up with our favorite 3 books of 2010 I said "No way! I'm choosing 5!" So here they are, in no particular order, Crystal Allen's Favorite Raincoast Books of 2010!

Out of Sight
Francesco Pittau and Bernadette Gervais
Chronicle Books ISBN 9780811877121
$22.99

I remember the first time I heard about this book I thought "Oh that sounds like it will be pretty good!" Then I saw it and it and I was absolutely blown away! If you want to buy one book this year that will be enjoyed by everyone in your family from ages 6 months (with supervision) to 100 this is the book. The animal kingdom comes alive with over 50 known and unknown creatures from around the world. With lift the flaps and pop ups this 11 inch by 15 inch book is not only beautiful but it will also keep a child entertained for hours. And it's only $22.95 which gives you a lot of bang for your gift giving buck!

 

The Travel Book: A Journey Through Every Country in the World
Robert Reid
Lonely Planet ISBN 9781741792119
$56.00

My husband and I were given the first edition of The Travel Book for a wedding present back in 2006. Too poor to travel the world we often pull this tomb out and armchair travel for an evening. The book has 229 countries & destinations to explore each laid out over a two page full color spread. My very favorite part of the book is that each destination has recommendations on something to Read, Listen To, Watch, Eat and Drink to help experience the country. Then it sums up each country in one word. One of my favorites is Tahiti who's word is Haere Maru which means Take It Slow.

 

Alphabeasties Amazing Activities
Sharon Werner & Sarah Forss
Blue Apple ISBN 9781609050412
$15.99

One of my favorite book of 2009 was Alphabeasties, a book that explored all the different types of fonts and turned them into animals made out of combinations of different typefaces. From an alligator made of A's to a Zebra made of Z's the book took fonts blocky, small, thick, tall, roundish, slope-y fancy and dopey and brought them to life. For 2010 we have the sequel to the book Alphabeasties Amazing Activities which is packed full of mazes, word searches, rebus puzzles and other intellectual play plus 300 stickers and the really cool animals. It's a must have not only for kids but also for design nerds... or want to be design nerds... like me.

I had the opportunity to work with 2 fabulous authors in 2010 for their Canadian Tours and I would be remise if I did not mention their books on my list.

The first was the lovely Annie Barrows who visited Vancouver and did 3 events plus a bookseller & librarian lunch all in one day for her new book Ivy and Bean What's The Big Idea. The Ivy and Bean books are my very favorite chapter book series about two girls who are neighbors and best friends and get into all kinds of mischief together. My favorite books as a child were the Ramona books by Beverly Cleary and these take me right back to those days. Like the Ramona books the Ivy and Bean books have huge fans that are both female and male. I expected a ton of little girls to gush over Annie during the day that I spent with her but I was pleasantly surprised to see how many little boys were huge fans as well!

 

The second author we had in Canada was the hilarious and delightful Bart King who visited Toronto to promote his book The Big Book Of Gross Stuff. Bart was on Breakfast Television and fried up some worms for a little breakfast treat and had a great time sharing gross facts from around the world on YTV's The Zone. Farts, poop, boogers, maggots, vomit, head cheese and just about every other gross thing you can think of are explored in this book so it will delight boys (and we have to admit girls too) with it's grossness. The thing that parents will love? Bart is a middle school teacher so while kids think they are reading about all this nasty stuff that would churn grownups stomachs they are actually being tricked into learning a lot of really great things!

So that's my list of my favorite books of 2010! I think there is something for just about anyone that you may have on your gift list! Happy Holidays and Happy Reading!

Crystal Allen is the Children's and Travel Publicist at Raincoast books. As much as she would like to think of herself as a bad girl, she really isn't. She is also mama to 2 year old Isabella and the owner of Lilikoi Lane where she makes and designs really cool shirts for kids!

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