- BOOK REVIEW -

I don’t know about you, but sometimes, in a certain moment of extreme bias, I will pick a bottle of wine because of its pretty label and not touch another because the label is completely unappealing to me. As you can imagine or have experienced yourself, this behavior may lead to a horrible taste experience, or to the discovery of a gem of a wine, or missing out completely on an amazing wine because I thought the label was ugly. In the same vein, I will admit to doing the same with books. Either the cover will draw my attention, or the title, and even, sometimes, the font that was chosen for the title. 

For this month’s book review, it was all about the title for me: The Accidental Adventurer by Ben Fogle. That title was so compelling to me and it made me wonder what could have happened to this man to accidentally make him an adventurer... Intriguing, right? 

Throughout the book, Fogle takes the reader on a multitude of adventures that he has experienced throughout his adulthood: from his travels to some of the remotest areas of South America, rowing across the Atlantic, participating in the Marathon des Sables, humanitarian work in Africa, and the list goes on. He chronicles his travels and he recounts the events in a genuine and humorous prose, usually detailing any mishaps and more often than not, his complete lack of preparation or experience for some of the challenges he tackled. I really enjoyed how he included succinct snippets of history of some of the places he visited or the current or past political background of a country he was in. 

The Accidental Adventurer was an entertaining and easy read, which kept me turning page after page. In the end, it was not as thought-provoking as I expected it to be, yet it took me on a whirlwind tour of what it might feel like to always live life to the fullest, no matter how ready one might be. The lesson here being: just go for it and do the things that make you feel most alive. 
And just like the biased bottle-of-wine-picking method I sometimes adopt, choosing this book for its title led to the discovery of a bit of a gem. A great read for the Holiday season!

- Kirsten -
​Fresh Air Reads Contributor