This was originally published on my old blog BackpackBook (Livro de Mochila), a project that blended literature and travel, sometimes just traveling in my lucid dreams.
The Livro de Mochila (Backpack Book) had been in my head for a while, a place to share good books and good trips, but it only became real when time started feeling short and precious, so I grabbed the chance.
I kind of had to. It’s not every day you sleep a few hours a night and still stay up late reading guides on how to set up a blog, on a makeshift desk in the kitchen (temporary, or so I keep telling myself).
It was also a time when my impulse buying was at an all time high, and a lot of good money went into books I still haven’t read. My ability to buy books is clearly bigger than my ability to read them, so for now I’m keeping a safe distance from bookstores.
And the author?
Not that it matters much, but this post is called “Author” and so far I haven’t said a word about him.
First, a clarification. When these posts say “we”, it’s really just me, for now. The idea is to give a voice to anyone who agrees with what’s written here, even if that number is, let’s say, still small.
So “we” are Diego Dotta, an aspiring traveler and a recent reader, still getting to know a world that is unknown to a lot of people, and excited about how much of it there is to explore and respect.
The goal
I’ll skip the long introduction. The whole point of this project is to share, and to get friends excited about reading and traveling (if we aren’t friends yet, give it time).
With the words of my friend Richard Faust, a specialist in “parenthesis trips”, in my head, I keep noticing how little time people have for themselves these days. Livro de Mochila is for travelers stuck in their schedules, a small taste of freedom even when the next destination is just another day at the office.
And if the project never gets where it wants to go? That’s fine too, at least I’ll have finally read some of those books.
See you out there, in the real world or in the virtual one.