What do readers think of To the Moon and Timbuktu by Nina Sovich? Write your own review.

I did enjoy this book because I like to read about travel and women traveling. I found her reasons for traveling valid but, perhaps, selfish. Timbuktu has been a talisman for many and continues to intrigue those who are curious and avid travelers. Good book. Not great because I found the author (non-fiction) ingenuous in many instances.

Although there were many intriguing scenarios in To the Moon and Timbuktu, and the author's descriptions of West Africa were often captivating, my overall impression of Sovich's memoir is unremarkable. Had I been able to make a more emotional connection with the author I may have enjoyed it more. I was much less interested in her personal and emotional journey than her travels in Africa, and for me, too much of her focus was on her inner journey.

I'm not sure what I think of To the Moon and Timbuktu by Nina Sovich. The writing was pleasant and readable in this memoir of the author's travel through western Africa. The insight into the countries where Nina traveled was revealing because those are areas that do not have a lot of 'personal 'written about them. I share Nina's interest in Mary Kinsley and other early explorers and appreciated her research. The part of the memoir that bothers me is the risks Nina took in her travels. I laud her adventurous spirit in traveling alone, but am unsettled by the risks she took.

An example of the writing in To the Moon and Timbuktu.
"I remember thinking in Paris that I would pour African into me like some kind of magic elixir. Then I would be seen. Then I would exist."

While this book was well-written, I found it was too much of an internal journey and not as much of a travel memoir as I would have liked. Fans of more introspective memoirs will enjoy this one the most.

I read three quarters of this book before i gave up. I love travel, I love travel non-fiction, but this book is missing something others in this genre have - perhaps it is humor, perhaps it is deeper insight into the cultures. For me at least this book was a disappointment.

This could have been a good book. If the author had focused more on the places she went and the people she met rather than herself. I have traveled Africa quite extensively and it is a beautiful continent with very interesting people. It was tiring to keep seeing the word "I". She seemed discontent and sometimes miserable - never truly amazed with the experience or the adventure.