During the past year or so, I've strolled the beaches in Uruguay, explored the island of Puerto Rico and picked wild raspberries in Alaska. Novelist and literary critic Caroline Gordon said, "A well-composed book is a magic carpet on which we are wafted to a world that we cannot enter in any other way." I couldn't agree more.

Please join me at the Great Thoughts blog to read more about how my book journeys have taken me places I don't necessarily have the opportunity to visit in real life. I've shared a few great books there and would love to read your recommendations and stories.