AustLit

'From Lonely Planet, the world's leading travel guide publisher, Better Than Fiction 2, the follow-up to 2012's Better Than Fiction, is a second serving of true travel stories told by some of the world's best fiction writers including Dave Eggers, Jane Smiley and Karen Joy Fowler.

'Varied in place, plot and voice, these are stirring and evocative pieces that all share one common characteristic-they manifest a passion for the precious gift of travel, from its unexpected but inevitably enriching lessons about other peoples and places, to the truths, sometimes uncomfortable but always enlarging, it reveals about ourselves.

'By turns comic, dramatic, and moving - from Francine Prose's confrontation of the mysteries of India to DBC Pierre's search for Hemingway's muse in Italy - these 30 short tales reveal the joys, perils, and surprises of travel, and that truth can often be stranger (and better) than fiction.

'Whether on a plane en route to your own travel adventure, or at home settling in for a vicarious experience of world adventures, embark on this literary journey around the world and explore your passion for travel now!' (Publication summary)

'Since the ancient Greeks, actors have been society's storytellers. And ever since Hollywood first left the backlot, these storytellers have been traveling to far-flung corners of the world to tell those tales. We decided to ask some of the most widely traveled people in the film industry to sit down and tell us their own stories - personal, inspiring, funny, embarrasing and human experiences from their time on the road.

'Lights, Camera ... Travel! includes 33 stories from screen stars including Alec Baldwin, Brooke Shields, Rolf de Heer, Paul Cox, Neil LaBute, Richard E Grant, Sandra Bernhard and Bruce Beresford.' (From the publisher's website.)