Okay, so I finally got my hands on The Best American Travel Writing 2019, and wow—what a rollercoaster! Some essays had me daydreaming about far-off places, while others... well, let's just say they missed the mark.

First off, the GOOD: There are some absolute gems in here. One essay about Victorian travel guides had me laughing out loud—imagine applying those stuffy rules to a modern-day mall visit! And the piece about a woman reconnecting with her Turkish roots while navigating cultural differences? *Chef's kiss*.

But then... the BAD: Some entries read like rejected freshman comp papers. One author spent way too many words describing their digestive issues in Myanmar (seriously, who edits this stuff?). And don't get me started on the overuse of 'I'—we get it, you're the protagonist.

The UGLY: The political slant is impossible to ignore. Look, I get that travel writing reflects our times, but when every third essay feels like an anti-Trump manifesto, it stops being travel writing and starts feeling like... well, propaganda. I came for escapism, not a lecture.

Final verdict? Worth reading if you skip around (I'd recommend about 60% of it). But maybe pair it with something more classic—Paul Theroux this is not.