Next time you stay at a participating Country Inns & Suites By Carlson, in the U.S. or Canada check out the complimentary lending library! Through the Read It & Return program, guests are invited to choose a book from the lobby bookshelf and return it at any Country Inns & Suites hotel once they’re done reading. You’ll find a variety of books, including mysteries, fiction, non-fiction and children’s books. These are a few of our favorites—check out the full list of titles!

Sight Hound
by Pam Houston
Dog lovers in particular will be charmed by Pam Houston’s debut novel (she has previously published short story collections). Rae is a Colorado playwright who is learning about hope, love and faith from an unlikely source—her Irish wolfhound, Dante. Though Dante is diagnosed with bone cancer and loses a leg, his strength and serenity impacts everyone in Rae’s life.

Each chapter is narrated by a different character in the story, including animals. Rae’s complicated life is anchored by Dante and, in his own chapter, he offers insight into how he wants Rae to learn to trust love and keep hope alive in a world without him.

Crashing Through: A Story of Risk, Adventure, and the Man Who Dared to See
by Robert Kurson
Mike May lost his sight at age three, but thanks to a revolutionary stem-cell and cornea transplant, he regained his vision at age 46. After decades of blindness, he embarks on a physical and emotional journey as he adjusts to his ability to see.

Although this is a true story, May’s life seems at times unbelievable. He was a CIA analyst, champion skier and entrepreneur before ever undergoing the procedure. As he weighs the physical risks of the transplant, he also struggles with how his identity and self-image are changed.

Shem Creek: A Lowcountry Tale
by Dorthea Benton Frank
If you’re in the mood for a good narrative, try this one from Frank’s Lowcountry Tales series. Linda Breland is a single mother who decides to pack up and move, along with her two teenage daughters, from New Jersey to Mount Pleasant, S.C. Her sister Mimi is waiting with open arms and endless advice for the three women.

Linda is hired to work at a local restaurant, and the owner seems like a refreshing departure from the men she left in New Jersey. The story unfolds as the likeable cast of characters all learn to depend on one another and find a new life together in this small Southern town.

The veteran business traveler hits the road an average of 12 trips per year, according to a survey by the Global Business Travel Association, a trade group for travel professionals. That much time away from home can be isolating, removing the road warrior from connections with family, friends and familiar environments.

There are ways to minimize that sense of dislocation by tweaking your routine and bringing a little bit of home with you when you travel.

1. Don’t live out of your suitcase. By unpacking and putting your “stuff” where it belongs, you’ll give yourself a subconscious cue that you’re in familiar territory.
2. Venture out of the room. Even if you need to bring your laptop with you, make use of the hotel’s welcoming shared spaces, such as seating areas around the fireplace and pool. Being around others can spark conversation or make silence more companionable.
3. Bigger is better. When possible, upgrade from a standard room to a suite for an extended stay. Having more elbow room, an in-room fridge and other conveniences makes a big difference.
4. Travel with your totems. What reminds you of home? Maybe it’s your pillow, a few photos, an iPod playlist. One frequent traveler opts for fresh flowers in a collapsible vase that’s easy to pack. Another listens to e-books to stay connected to the neighborhood book club. Or maybe it’s a comfy robe and slippers to make evenings cozy. Whatever it is, bring it.
5. Stay with your normal routine. Flying, driving and being on the move are disruptive enough. When possible, try to stick with your normal regime of exercise, diet and sleep habits to maintain balance away from familiar turf. Make use of your hotel’s fitness center and check for healthy food options in the breakfast offerings.
6. High tech helps. Kissing your spouse and kids goodnight over Skype isn’t perfect, but it’s better than nothing. Apps for smartphones, such as Apple’s FaceTime, deliver live video calls perfect for bedtime reading and sharing the details of a busy day. Even something as simple as keeping a photo gallery on your laptop to remind you of loved ones is a big help.
7. Membership has its privileges. Be sure to join your hotel’s frequent stay program. Club Carlson^SM rewards with free room nights, airline miles, prepaid cards and more. When you feel like your business is appreciated and the welcome mat is out, you’ll sleep easier, even if you are away from home.

Traveling for business can be a grind. But it doesn’t have to be. Why not give yourself a break and get more than just work out of your next business trip? Adding a Saturday night stay over instead of heading straight home can actually reduce the overall cost of the trip by saving on airfare, a strategy that lets you deduct your travel expenses and have a mini-vacation at the same time.

Since business travelers tend to be creatures of habit—remember George Clooney’s “same old” regimen in Up in the Air?—forging new paths may take some conscious effort. Even if you don’t add on extra days, there are still ways to recharge your batteries by getting local and soaking up a slice of regional culture.

1. Do what you love. From swimming laps at the Y to taking in a foreign film to perusing a farmers’ market, sniff out a source of R&R in your business destination. For example, conference goers in New Orleans can take a yoga class at the Cabildo Museum overlooking Jackson Square three mornings a week for just $12.50.

2. Stop by the local visitors’ center or CVB. In Philly, for example, the Independence Visitor Center in the heart of the historic district can hook you up with a Mural Arts walking tour, breakfast with Ben Franklin and a City Pass for bundled savings on museums and other attractions. There are plenty of free touring options, and a multilingual concierge staff can help you make the most of your time.

3. Force yourself to disconnect. Instead of catching up on email in your room, take a technology break and visit new surroundings. Even if you have to work, opting for sitting in a local coffee shop will expose you to an energizing flow of people and a sense of place.

4. Don’t always have dinner with colleagues. It’s easy to fall into the habit of rehashing office politics and the day’s business. Treat the end of the workday as exactly that, and go out and do your own thing.

5. Support local restaurants. Even somewhere as chain-heavy as Orlando has an indie restaurant scene, populated by gems such as Le Coq au Vin, where chef Louis Perrotte gives farm-to-table dining a decidedly French accent. Not sure where to start? Your Country Inns & Suites By Carlson front desk staff can help.

6.Museum hop. Just because a city museum is huge doesn’t mean you have to spend all day in it. Even the vast British Museum offers free 30–40 minute eyeOpener gallery tours introducing different areas of the museum’s collection. Dip in for the time available and you’ll walk out better for it.

7. Take in a show. Getting out and about can include experiencing repertory theater, showing up for a library lecture series or giving stand-up comics an audience. Anything that gets you out and about is a good thing.

8.Use social media. Search on Twitter or Facebook for a city and an activity, say hiking and San Francisco, or fishing and Columbus, and you’ll find all kinds of connections to explore.

More than 90,000 books will help promote learning and literacy in Greater Kansas City.

I’m so excited to tell you about some great news from Country Inns & Suites and how we have extended hospitality beyond the four walls of our hotel and out into the community.

If you’ve taken advantage of our Read It & Return Lending Library^SM, you know we see reading as a vital everyday activity – either by yourself, or with the family. So we’re thrilled to be able to share our surplus books last week – all 90,000 of them! – with the United Way of Kansas City, for distribution to its more than 50 partner agencies.

The donation, which was announced at an event last Tuesday, included selections of fiction, non-fiction, mystery/suspense and self-help, and titles including Moon Over Manhattan and Show Boat, along with family books like Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and Nancy Drew Mysteries. But the key was seeing how grateful the partner agencies were to receive the donation and to hear stories of how the books will be used.

You can read more in this story by the Kansas City Star.

I Love this Country!

“The more you read, the more things you will know. The more that you learn, the more places you’ll go.” - Dr. Seuss, “I Can Read With My Eyes Shut!”

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New York City is a book collector’s paradise, and for rare collections, Manhattan is unparalleled. “While there aren’t as many stores as there used to be, we’re still the epicenter of book dealing in America,” says Adina Cohen, whose family has owned Argosy Book Store for three generations.
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Through its unique lending library and partnerships with schools, publishers and educational programs, Country Inns & Suites By Carlson is promoting literacy. The hotel brand also supports teachers with a special educator discount.  By Mark Caskie

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