Wanderlust

In this vibrant array of photos, photographer and graphic designer Litten cleverly depicts the most commonplace experiences of traveling: stumbling into a dark hotel room bathroom at night, gazing out a window on a high-speed train, trying to catch a few z's on an uncomfortable airport bench. Readers would be hard-pressed to nail any of the book's copious images down to a specific locale. Instead, the photographs emphasize travel's universal nature, portraying such ordinary sights as racks of postcards, cups of coffee, weathermen pointing to maps dotted with clouds and sunshine, itty-bitty airplane meals served on white trays with tiny packets of salt and pepper and plastic cups of orange juice. Litten elevates his subject through his amusing juxtapositions and his keen eye for colorful layouts--and the book's small size suggests that he doesn't expect readers to take it too seriously. Nonetheless, he may have created one of the most realistic accounts of the beauty, adventure, frustration, boredom and wonder of travel.