I'm like totally into nature, seeing what's happening where I'm at, and being a helpful and authoritative guidebook! I'm also interested in selling a lot of copies of me, so my author, Harry S. Pariser, can sell a lot of more guidebooks. I'm also interested in my sibling books: Explore the Virgin Islands, Explore Puerto Rico, and Explore Barbados. Please buy them too!
Music
I'm a book, so I don't have ears, but my author, Harry S. Pariser, really enjoys world music, jazz, salsa, African pop, folk music, etc. He also reviews concerts from time to time. You can find some of his reviews on his website:
http://www.HarryPariser.com/
Movies
I'm a book, so I don't have eyes and ears, but my author, Harry S. Pariser, really enjoys international cinema, especially Japanese, Iranian, and British movies. Some of his favorite directors include Ozu, Naruse, Kiarostami, Panahi, Mike Leigh, Ingmar Bergman, Kurosawa, and Kon Ichikawa.
Television
I'm a book, so I don't have eyes and ears, but my author, Harry S. Pariser, doesn't watch much TV. When he does, he likes PBS Frontline, Link TV, CSPAN, Moral Orel, The Colbert Report, The Daly Show, and huckster preachers.
Books
I'm a book, so I don''t read, but my author, Harry S. Pariser, really appreciates a wide range of literature. Some of his favorite authors include Kurt Vonnegut, John Updike, Rohinton Mistry, Yukio Mishima, Dorothy Allison, and Anne Tyler.
Heroes
I'm a book so I mostly admire bestsellers that are socially conscious such as Howard Zinn's A People's History of the United States.
About me: I am a travel guidebook. I would like to meet people who will go to Borders, Barnes and Noble, or a local bookstore and either buy me or order me. (You can also order me from the Manatee Press website which will make my publisher very, very happy!) I want to be used, underlined, and otherwise marked up and abused. That means that I will be doing my job as a travel guidebook. I will have a great time going around Costa Rica. So far, since I was born in a Midwest printing plant, I've just been in a box; some of my lucky brothers and sisters may have made it to a bookstore shelf. I have been under development since the early 1990s. I used to be a travel guidebook called Adventure Guide to Costa Rica. Since 1999, I have been Explore Costa Rica, and this is my best incarnation ever. I'm really happy with myself now. I have more pages than the Lonely Planet guide, my chief competitor, and I have eight pages of color photos.
I also have URLs (website listings) and e-mails for most of the hotels, travel agencies, and other travel and tourism concerns listed in my book. I list a lot of places not found in other guidebooks. I also offer a unique ecological perspective which many readers will find refreshing. I will help you find special places in Costa Rica, and I give you concrete advice and warnings to prevent theft, swim safely, and otherwise enjoy your trip and come back safely.
I have a slide show of some of my photos here:
Who I'd like to meet: Travelers to Costa Rica who really want to get the most out of their trip. I think that people who are interested in nature, the environment, food and dining, meeting the locals, and trying to be a traveler and not a tourist will most appreciate me! I don't think that people who view locals as inferiors, who want to be waited on hand and foot, who expect a guidebook to dictate their itinerary to them, and who are afraid of getting a bit wet, a bit muddy, and getting a mosquito bite or two will properly appreciate me.
