Weird U.S.

What travel is to one person it may not be to another; it’s all very subjective and personal. The book Weird U.S.: Your Travel Guide to America’s Local Legends and Best Kept Secrets reminded me of this once again. It’s not as though I see many of the things in the book as actual travel-related places, but really anything can fall under the travel category now as people travel to see different things and have varying experiences; it’s not always all about the Eiffel Tower or the Pyramids of Giza.

As I read this book I was reminded of all the ghost shows that are on television now, including the one on the Travel Channel. To the main stream the places they talk about aren’t considered travel destinations, most would even be downright frightened to get anywhere near them, but there is a certain niche that is interested in such places. The book Weird U.S. definitely caters to that crowd. There are nearly 450 pages of ghost stories, stories about big foots and lizardmen, and other tales of the bizarre in America that would have some people booking immediate flights to spooky destinations.

Weird U.S. is an excellent guide for anyone interested in such trips and adventures. For the someone looking at seeing bizarre and kitschy things, such as the world’s largest ball of twine maybe, it would have really no value as such things aren’t to be found. I had hoped some such things would be found in the pages, but certainly wasn’t overly disappointed in the direction the authors took by excluding the goofy road stops either.

I, for one, can’t say that I have any interest to tempt fate by taunting spirits, but I certainly did enjoy reading many of the stories in the book by Mark Moran and Mark Sceurman. Of course, I didn’t find every story interesting, especially as may stories are just repeated from different angles, but that wasn’t a problem as I could just turn the page without really losing anything from the book. It’s a compilation of various stories, some that they wrote and others by readers, so it’s not as though the reader has to go through every story page-by-page or risk missing out on a huge chunk of the plot.

I read every page though, as I feel it only fair to do for a review, and was pleased that I did as there certainly were some interesting stories. My one complaint though, which came to me about halfway through the book, was that most of the stories were from the east coast. I know the authors are from the New Jersey area and that the book originated from a publication they did in the Garden State, but it would’ve been nice to see more stories from the west. As it is, the book is mostly “Weird East Coast with a Smattering of Tales From the West.”

NOTE: THis book was sent to me by the publisher for review. In no way would a complimentary copy of a book every constitute a positive review though.