I am not a fan of books on tape. I have tried a few, and I don’t like them. So much is lost from the printed page to the recorded story. I have friends who love audio books because they can listen to them while driving. These busy people have no other time to actually read the book, so audio books satisfy them.

I don’t agree with that logic, but I can understand that and respect their opinion. However, on a recent flight to New York, I encountered something that made no sense to me at all. My seatmate was listening to a book on tape while reading a magazine!

Eliminating some of your questions right off the bat — I know it was an audio book because I could hear it through his crummy headphones. I also know he was reading the magazine (as opposed to just thumbing through) because his head kept moving, following the text.

First, I don’t understand listening to a book on tape when he could have easily read during the flight. I can even get by that, since he might have started the audio book earlier and really wanted to finish it. Multi-tasking by reading the magazine while listening was just ridiculous (unless he was reading Global Traveler magazine, which I wouldn’t condemn under any circumstance).

Maybe this guy utilized his brain more than I ever could. I wouldn’t be able to properly comprehend either the audio book or the magazine. Listening to music while reading is one thing. Scanning an article mindlessly is one thing. Reading an article, listening to an audio book and fully understanding and following both is out of the question.

After several minutes of contemplating this absurdity, I shifted my attention to my screen and settled in to watch episodes of Cash Cab and Mythbusters. I barely even noticed when he ate his in-flight snack without skipping a beat on either of his other activities.

I probably would have forgotten the whole thing, but he pushed me over the edge while we were waiting to disembark. He added texting to his repertoire. This wasn’t just a quick text either. It was a continual stream of texts — an actual conversation of sorts. Now this guy was reading, listening and carrying on at least one active conversation.

Fortunately, the plane emptied quickly and I left my seatmate behind, still seemingly engrossed in his trifecta of activities.

-John Wroblewski

Hey, do me a favor. Grab your most recent issue of Global Traveler — or any issue, for that matter — and take a look at the cover. You’re probably engaged by the gorgeous color photo on the front. But see that little phrase under the magazine’s name? The one that says “The Independent Source for Business Travelers.”

The important word here is independent.

That little word is one of the many things that drew me to the magazine as a place to work. As a freelance writer and editor, I’ve always been an independent kind of person, even when part of a team. I enjoy working with entrepreneurs and start-ups and free spirits. In fact, my husband and I owned an independent bookstore a few years back — books have been my lifelong passion, and I got to share that passion with our customers. As an independent store, we catered to the needs and wants of our community, hand-selecting every book we stocked. And the most satisfying — and most important — part of the business was getting to know exactly what individual customers liked to read and helping them find just the right book.

I’ve always believed that independent business owners — and usually the people who work with them — are passionate about what they do. I’ve been associate editor at GT for less than a year, but I’ve already discovered my instincts were right. Everyone I’ve had contact with at GT is passionate about the magazine and a pleasure to work with.

Our editorial team — Lisa (editor in chief), Tracey (art director), Patty (proofreader) and I — are global travelers of a different sort. We telecommute from four states and two time zones, and the emails are flyin’ fast and furious when we’re close to deadline. The jokes start flyin’ too, as we start to get punchy and — well, who knew you could get so many chuckles out of style rule debates and photo captions and editing goofs?

But back to the word “independent.” I’m wondering how many readers realize — and appreciate — how important that little word is. Being independent means GT isn’t backed by a large publishing company. It means GT can make changes on the fly to adjust to trends in the travel industry or changes in the economy or, most important, in response to what our readers want.

So here’s to five years of independence, and many more to come! As a business owner, I know it is no small achievement to reach this anniversary, and I admire Fran, our publisher, and the staff for their passion and dedication through the ups and downs of growing the magazine. And many thanks to all those who have supported Global Traveler along the way.

- Jan Hecht, associate editor

I woke up this morning to the sound of palm fronds rustling in the breeze and a view of the blue Pacific just beyond the red-tile roofs and white stucco of our resort complex. To think that less than 24 hours ago I was gazing upon slush-clogged streets and low, gray clouds! We arrived last night here after dark, and a chill wind was blowing at the time, so to wake up to this summery view and 60-degree temperatures makes it seem even more as if I have been dropped into some wonderful dream.

We are staying at the La Paloma Tennis Club and Resort complex where our time-share vacation plan has a number of condos. Located in Rosarito in northern Baja California, it is about 25 miles south of the U.S.-Mexico border. While certainly not as trendy as Cabo San Lucas and likely not quite as warm, this place is a heavenly oasis after the past year of hustle and bustle I’ve experienced. We have several pools and hot tubs to choose from, tennis courts, sauna, spa facilities, FREE WiFi in our apartment, a gym and beautifully landscaped grounds.  For me, though, the best thing about this place is our west-facing balcony, giving me a quiet, sheltered, sunny spot from which to gaze out on the ocean and read (or not). Shortly, I will be watching the sun set and enjoying the fact that I don’t have to do anything or be anywhere by any particular time–for a whole week.

I have decided that I will not even consider any New Year’s resolutions until after we return north next weekend. In the meantime, I have made a few vacation resolutions: I will not put on make-up unless we go out to dinner (or unless my husband or daughter refuse to be seen with me, but they’re not likely to make a fuss–if they know what’s good for them!); I will read at least two books (GT’s editor in chief Lisa Matte and associate editor Jan Hecht gave me some great recommendations which found their way onto my Christmas list and under the tree); I will eat whatever I want whenever I want without thinking (too much) about the consequences; I will try to learn and use at least three new Spanish words or phrases a day; and beyond booking a massage and a facial, I will not schedule my days with places to go or things to do, but I will definitely, maybe, get out and do something each day–if I feel like it.

Now excuse me, but the sunset is not going to wait.

Patty Vanikiotis, proofreader

Read it. Please, please read it! It is a true, ongoing story written by Greg Mortenson and David Oliver Relin. If you need a last-minute holiday gift idea, this is it. You, or your loved one, will love it. If you don’t love the book, please let me know why by responding to this blog.

A couple of months ago, on my way to visiting my parents on Long Island, I realized I left the book I was reading in my apartment. Since I had no reading material to distract me from the constant banter offered on the LIRR, I wandered into the book shop. The book store at Penn Station is one of its highlights. Penn Station is not nearly as fun as Grand Central when it comes to walking around and people watching.

At the book shop, I was glancing through the best sellers section and I happened upon Three Cups of Tea. The cover has three girls wearing head scarves. I gathered the book was based in the Middle East, a region I cannot learn enough about, so I figured, “Why not?” and decided to give it a shot.

This spur-of-the-moment purchase has opened up my mind and inspired me. No book has done that for me in a very long time. It made me remember one person can make a difference — a very big difference. It also reinforced my feelings about following my heart and my passions. There are so many more questions to be answered about how the world has gotten into its current state — questions we may not ever be able to answer. These questions will certainly help us better assess the future and realize we need to make education a primary concern, around the globe and in our own backyards.

-Alex Young, vice president and associate publisher

My daughter called me Friday morning to report on Twilight, the movie based on the first book in the popular teen vampire series. She and some college friends attended the first showing at 12:01 a.m. in Chicago. She knew I’d be interested because she got me devouring the books this summer after she became so taken with them earlier in the year.

I got to thinking how my daughters and I have come full circle in influencing each other’s choice of reading material. As long as I can remember, I have loved the worlds that books have taken me to. Before I could read, I went along with my dad and assorted siblings every Saturday morning to the public library on our way to the grocery store. When I could barely scrawl my name, I got a library card and checked out the maximum number of books allowed (just three at first) each week.

My own girls were read to nightly from the time they were babies until well after they could read chapter books on their own. When our oldest was about three, I started to read to her the Laura Ingalls Wilder books, and she lapped them up, just as I had when I first discovered them in grade school. From there we progressed to Lucy Maud Montgomery’s Anne of Green Gables series. And of course when  Jenny came along and because the girls shared a bedroom, she was exposed to all that literature as well. Even as the girls approached their middle-school years, I was still reading to them. By then we had found Brian Jacques’ Redwall books, and the girls protested that they couldn’t read and understand the British dialects he had his animal characters speaking, but they flattered me by claiming they understood and enjoyed them perfectly when I read (and performed) it to them.

Not long after that, though, J. K. Rowling’s first Harry Potter book hit the stores, and the wheel began to turn. Wanting to know what enthralled the girls and their friends so, I picked up each volume as they finished it. In the ten years or so since, we’ve shared with each other books we enjoyed (and warned each other off of ones that were disappointing). My daughters have kept me current on the latest literary trends in their age group, and I still delight in introducing them to some of my favorites from the past. Admittedly, sometimes we just indulge in good old guilty-pleasure reading, enjoying our discussions as much as the reading itself.

Thus my summer reading frenzy of the four Twilight series books and the chance to dish with Jenny over the movie they spawned. It may not be great literature, but anything that tightens the bond with my daughters is nothing to sneer at!

Patty Vanikiotis, proofreader