The Risks of Sunbathing Topless: And Other Funny Stories from the Road

by Kate Chynoweth (Editor)

If they could do it all over again, they might not...so it's a good thing none of the women in this hilarious collection had the foresight to make good decisions during these travel experiences. If they had, we wouldn't hear the delicious details of how horribly wrong it all went. Like Marrit Ingman's disastrous honeymoon in Maui—and the repercussions of societal pressure for the perfect love escape in paradise. Or of how the entire kitchen of C. Lill Ahrens's new Seoul apartment is literally lost in translation. Or why Ayun Halliday would attempt to climb Mount Kilimanjaro, when her training consisted of drinking beer and rolling her own cigarettes, and her gear cost $14.99 at Sportmart. From Kandahar to Baja to Moscow, these wry, amusing stories capture the comic essence of bad travel, and of the female experience on the road.

Roughly translated / C. Lill Ahrens --
Kilimanjaro / Ayun Halliday --
Hamil's house of fun / Kay Sexton --
I could do this in my sleep / Karin Palmquist --
Adventure Pete / L.A. Miller --
Constipated in Palinuro / Judith Levin --
The trail / Erica J. Green --
How to travel with a man / Kate Chynoweth --
A useful and comprehensive travel dictionary for girls / Buzzy Jackson --
Tri training in Russia / Mara Vorhees --
Worry warts / Lisa Taggart --
In search of Sami / Ann Lombardi --
Bigger than France / Spike Gillespie --
Souvenirs from Ecuador / Bethany Gumper --
Heading South / Samantha Schoech --
Knocked off my high horse in New Zealand / Catherine Giayvia --
The lion sleeps tonight / Sarah Franklin --
No strings attached / Paige Porter --
Y2K in Kandahar / Hannah Bloch --
Prada on the Plaka / Michele Peterson --
Honeymoon in Hell / Marrit Ingman --
The occidental tourist / Judy Wolf

Genres: Travel, Nonfiction, Humor, Essays, Memoir, Short Stories, Adventure

256 pages, Paperback

First published April 22, 2005

Reviews

[Dianne Mogilevsky carty · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved this book. I laughed from beginning to end

[Jana · Rating 1 out of 5]

Couldn’t make it halfway before stopping. I didn’t find the stories that humorous.

[Nicole · Rating 2 out of 5]

This collection reminded me why I do not like short story collections. The first story was hilarious and had me laughing. The rest were mediocre at the best and some were so cringe worthy I just skipped them after trying a couple paragraphs. The writing is not consistent among the stories some are great at word building and painting a picture while others are just dull and ramble on.

[Amy · Rating 3 out of 5]

The stories by Lisa Taggart and Spike Gillespie are excellent.

[Kristi · Rating 3 out of 5]

A quick and fun read. As with any collection like this, I enjoyed some stories more than others but in general had a nice laugh and got a few ideas about future travel destinations.

[LisaMarie Mercier · Rating 3 out of 5]

Airport Book

[Melissa · Rating 3 out of 5]

In a series full of not so great books (Whose Panties are These, Not so Funny When It Happened) this one actually wasn't half bad. It had some decent stories in it and for once they actually seemed to involve travel and were interesting. After being disappointed by so many others, it was kind of nice to finally get this one.

The Risks of Sunbathing Topless is a collection of short stories (although these were longer short stories than usual, if that makes sense) that involve travel and humor, and in this case, were written by women. They range from the Greek Islands, to Mexico, to even the United States and incorporate all sorts of different travel methods from plane, train to automobile. Some of the stories involved a mom and her teenage daughters living it up on parties during their cruise, another smuggling champagne into a dry country. One of my favorites was actually a dictionary of sorts of things people need to know when traveling. Unfortunately this was tempered by the less interesting story of someone having a one night stand in Mexico. I just really couldn't get into that one.

I'd never heard of any of the authors before so no one really stood out. The writing styles were all surprisingly the same too so it makes me wonder if the editor just didn't have a certain taste in writing and stuck to that. Most were well written though and while they may not all have been humorous, they at least kept my attention. With the exception of a few that is. Just because something bad or lewd happens, doesn't necessarily make the story funny. Something that this book just didn't seem to figure out with before mentioned one night stand story and a few others. But honestly, even the lewd wasn't that terrible and it was a pretty tame book considering it dealt with underwear and sex and other unfortunate happenstances.

The best of the series, although that doesn't say much. This one I actually would probably recommend for some light travel reading.

The Risks of Sunbathing Topless
Copyright 2005
280 pages

Review by M. Reynard 2011

More of my reviews can be found at ifithaswords.blogspot.com

[Jeanette (Ms. Feisty) · Rating 3 out of 5]

The thing about the spearmint gum (Heading South) is absolutely hilarious! I can't believe she actually slept with that guy (YUCK!) but the story is funny.
The one about the girl in Ecuador with the boil on her butt was pretty funny too, although I don't think I would have wanted to be her, with all the medical personnel looking at her a$$cheeks!
The better stories in this book are toward the middle and back of the book.(Although the first story's pretty good, about negotiating for the "chicken.")
I had hoped these stories would be funnier. Some of them were a little grody for me, because they get going on bodily function problems they had while traveling. I'm a little skeevy about that sort of thing.
Anyway, I like Seal Press. They have lots of great collections of books by women writers. I think men would enjoy these stories as well.

[Gina · Rating 2 out of 5]

I didn't care much for this book. It's a collection of short stories supposedly by travel writers of funny (in hindsight) misadventures during their travels.

Some of the stories definitely deliver but several do not. And the ones that don't unfortunately overshadow the ones that do. One don't in particular has nothing to do with travel woes and misadventures, it's only connection to the book is that it is set in Mexico. It's about a spoiled girl dealing with a broken relationship by hooking up with a married childhood friend. Ruining a childhood friendship for absolutely nothing. The story and storyteller are both just pitiful. My guess is she was related to someone in the publishing house.

The other stories elicit mild chuckles and smiles but nothing guffaw-worthy. Still these women (most) have travelled a lot of places and offer worthwhile travel tips for foreign countries.

[Arminzerella · Rating 3 out of 5]

This collection is for the armchair traveler who likes a little bit of adventure and excitement – from the safety of home. By reading this, you’ll learn to avoid bugs that burrow into your skin to lay their eggs, amphibian experts that almost get you locked up for trespassing on private property, wedding season in Cambodia, intestinal trauma in faraway lands, fractious horses, broken bones, boils, ants and other calamities! I’m thoroughly convinced that I need never leave home again. But, take heart! Everyone survives and comes away from their probably-not-so-funny-at-the-time ordeals with these amusing tales. Entertaining.

[Linda · Rating 4 out of 5]

The dirty little secret of travel writing is that in order for a story to be funny something bad has to happen. Editor Kate Chynoweth is well aware of this fact and has selected tales with terrible twists written with wit and charm that demonstrate the point. The writing in this collection is a cut above the average collection of women’s travel tales that I have read. However, not all of these tales are amusing. I was horrified by the Erica J. Green’s story about an ant phobia brought to life in Africa. But, most are quite lighthearted. I found some of the one-liners in A Useful and Comprehensive Travel Dictionary for Girls by Buzzy Jackson laugh out loud funny.
www.lindaballouauthor.com

[Brigit Zelenak · Rating 3 out of 5]

An entertaining collection of short stories from women who've traipsed around the globe and lived to tell the tale. Kilimanjaro is a particular favorite of mine, although they're all good. One interesting aspect of this collection: it's not just holiday stories. Many are told from the perspective of a newly relocated expat or students studying abroad.

All make for interesting, detailed takes on the cultures and pitfalls of life in different countries. A must read for those with wanderlust.

[Lisa · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book reminds me of Chicken Soup for the Soul books. There are a bunch of short stories all compiled into 1 book. The stories in this book are Bad luck, or embarrassing or stories about: if anything can go wrong it does, type of stories.
Some are good, some hold your interest, others don't. Its only slightly interesting and not a laugh a minute type book, its actually pretty boring and dull.

If you like Chicken Soup for the Soul books, you might enjoy this one.

[Kara · Rating 4 out of 5]

A collection of travel essays from women whose trips did not always go as planned or end up as pleasant as one might have hoped. I found more than one story i could relate to and read about several places i long to visit myself, most hopefully, without the embarrasment or illnesses or mishaps in the stories told therein.

[Xanthi · Rating 2 out of 5]

A mixed bag of travel stories by women. Some better than others. A few made me wonder if the writers realized how badly they come across as people (take the one about travelling with a beagle dog, for instance). Some of these experiences were down right risky, others amusing. It is always fun to read about others' misfortunes. ;)

[Frank · Rating 3 out of 5]

Amusing collection of women's stories from the road ranging from a hike up Mount Kilimanjaro (one of my favorites), to training for a triathlon in Moscow, to having stomach problems in Italy and Hawaii. In these vignettes, if anything can possibly go wrong, it does! A mild recommendation for this one.

[K · Rating 2 out of 5]

I read this book for the first time in 2009. When I came across it on my shelf, though, I had no recall of whether I enjoyed it. After a re-read, I'm comfortable giving it away, because if I found it again five years from now (or even five months from now), I still wouldn't remember anything about it.

[Diane · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book. It was filled with funny, heart-warming stories of women's adventures while travelling. The dictionary on travelling is a must read chapter, you will literally be snickering to yourself while reading it.

[Chris · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love travel books and this one was lots of fun. It was interesting to read a book about when things go bad on the road, rather than a beautiful travelogue of perfect experiences. Lots of the stories and very funny.

[Morgan · Rating 2 out of 5]

I enjoy traveling and was looking forward to reading a collection of short stories about others adventures. However, I was slightly disappointed with this collection. Half of the stories are well written & entertaining, while the others fail to keep the reader interested.

[Emily · Rating 3 out of 5]

Yeah, this was totally some fun escapism. Good for people (ladies) who like traveling and adventure!

[Kristina · Rating 4 out of 5]

A bunch of fun stories (some much better than others). Makes you want to have fun adventures all over the world, even if it means dancing on a table in Germany.

[Heidi · Rating 3 out of 5]

overall good read. some very entertaining travel stories.

[Denise · Rating 5 out of 5]

laugh out load funny

[Jill · Rating 3 out of 5]

A quick read about travel stories, as related by women. A bit uneven. Most of the stories started strong and funny, yet didn't end with the same bang I was hoping for, albeit, an enjoyable read.

[Karen · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's not as though this is a life changing book, but it took a couple hours to read and made me laugh out loud multiple times. That doesn't happen that often.

[Monica · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've read several humorous women's travel books, but this is one of the better ones.

[Aleta]

Contains the hysterically funny story "Kilimanjaro" by Ayun Halliday.

[Kathryn · Rating 3 out of 5]

Collection of funny travel stories written by women describing the not so awe-inspiring moments of travel. Quick engaging read.

[Angi · Rating 2 out of 5]

Some of the stories were great, others so-so.