London may be an ever-expanding tangle of concrete and gleaming glass but it also harbours wildlife that goes beyond pigeons, park ducks, and increasingly brazen gangs of foxes. From roaming deer and leaping lemurs to wallabies and alpacas, there are surprising creatures in every corner of the capital. Yes, a diverse array of city farms – originated by the band of early 1970s pioneers who turned a disused Kentish Town timberyard into London’s first rural hideaway – are dotted all over the capital.

The rainforest often seems like it is another world - full of animals, plants, and cultures that are unfamiliar to us. Yet something about this area draws us to learn more about it. I've recently read an extraordinary book that documents one journalist's many years among the people of Central America, in the cradle of the Maya civilization.

Have you ever read a memoir that you couldn't put down? They are rare, but I've found one: A World Erased: A Grandson's Search for His Family's Holocaust Secrets. Author Noah Lederman (we've shared his book, Traveling the Cambodian Genocide, here) delves into his family's past - both in the United States, and at different concentration camps and towns in Europe.

100 Things To Do In America Before You Die is a collection of uniquely American experiences. In it, you'll find...  

Travel can be hard – challenging at times, less than comfortable, and the stresses of dealing with unfamiliar cultures, people, and food. This can sometimes overwhelm the joys of travel – the wonder of the newly discovered, the kindness of people, the breathtaking scenery. Travel is as much about the journey within as the journey without. It’s about cultural adaptation, and changing worldviews, and intercultural growth. And, it’s about being open to learning, trying new things, understanding difference. 

I have the (the!!!) most beautiful book sitting on my desk. It’s about Paris (naturally), and is a completely new look at an ancient, much photographed city – through its bridges, glowing, at night.

Community building must become the heart of any school improvement.
~Thomas Sergiovanni

Note: Revolutionary Ride is Lois Pryce's third book, about her travels in Iran.

If I were to dance these words, I would dance the drops of rain falling on parched earth.