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Twitchhiker: How One Man Travelled the World by Twitter
One man's attempt to travel the globe in 30 days, depending solely on the generosity of strangers through Twitter There were five rules of Twitchhiker. I can only accept offers of travel and accommodation from people on Twitter. I can't make any travel plans further than three days in advance. I can only spend money on food, drink and anything that might fit in my suitcase. If there is more than one offer, I choose which I take. If there is only one, I have to take it within 48 hours. If I am unable to find a way to move on from a location within 48 hours, the challenge is over and I go home. Bored in the bread aisle of the supermarket one day, Paul Smith wondered how far he could get around the world in 30 days through the goodwill of users of social networking site Twitter. At the mercy of these rules, he set his sights on New Zealand—the opposite point on the planet to his home in Newcastle, England. All he had to do next was explain the idea to his new wife. In an adventure wrapped in nonsense, he traveled by road, boat, plane, and train; slept in five-star luxury and on no-star floors; schmoozed with Hollywood A-listers; and was humbled by the generosity of the thousands who followed his journey and determined its course.
320 pages, Paperback
First published February 8, 2010
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 42 reviews
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July 26, 2024While browsing in Leominster Library in Herefordshire, I came across this book and it tickled my interest. It's the true story of a man who had nothing better to do than ponder the idea of how far he could travel on the kindness of others. I can't wait to see how far he got and discover his adventures along the way!
July 12, 2012
First impressions of this book were good - it seemed to have the dry wit and humour that the likes of 'Yes Man' entertained me with, and I was really looking forward to getting stuck in. It seems like a fascinating idea, to travel the world with nothing but the good-will of others to help you on your way.
And so you would expect really interesting cultural observations, crazy characters and heart-warming, funny tales. And you get very little of any of this. Paul Smith tells us mainly about him being drunk; waking up with hangover after hangover; complaining about being tired and far from home; crying a lot; and throwing up a lot.
I could forgive the drunkenness if there were some bizarre escapades and hilarious events that happened during these episodes. I could forgive the endless descriptions of hangovers if he didn't tell us that he sat around on his computer for the rest of the day. And of course he's tired and missing home - we don't need to be told this over and over. Too much vomit and too many tears.
The locations he visited during the course of his travelling must have been amazing, and they would have been brilliant to read about. But Paul doesn't really get chance to explore until the very end. This might not have been his fault, but as a reader I want to be captivated by the locations and entertained by amazing sights and the awesome things that happen. Even just a bit of down to Earth reflection on his deeper thoughts would have sufficed.
As for the other people in the book, Paul doesn't really do them much justice. A brief (and usually quite shallow) physical description and an outline of their personalities - and they are each just another sentence on another piece of paper. Don't get me wrong, he might be a lovely fellow when he isn't being moody and tired, but I really don't like Paul as a person in this book.
In short, although this Twitchhiking business might have been an amazing adventure for Paul and the others involved, and the journey did raise a lot of money for charity (good for him!), as an entertaining read it failed. I'm not quite sure whether the critics on the book cover were reading the same book as me to be honest.
January 20, 2014
Great idea shame it was not followed through by someone who would have made the most of the experience and written about it well. As it is this is a poorly written book which told me nothing I did not know about Twitter or the places visited. I usually love travel books but felt this fell into the same category as The Shipping Forecast which also failed to make the beat of a brilliant idea.
February 18, 2015
I bought this book because I thought Paul Smith is similar to me - he loves journeys and keeps away from big cities and expensive hotels. Unfortunately, he turn out to be my opposite.
I read 408 pages and I don't remember places he had been, views he has seen and people he met, because he was too focus on his computer.
For me this book isn't about hitchhiking, but about complaining, stupid jokes, drinking, eating fast foods, vomiting and once again - complaining.
If you like American Pie film - you might also like this book, if not - stay away from it.
Good people spent their money to make his will come true, and he was upset about the couch he was about to sleep, or not five-star hotel.
He seem to be more excited about meeting Liv Tyler than visiting any country.
So.. This book is not any journey at all. It's about young, ungrateful guy, who travels across US to find people to drink and eat fast foods. For their money.
I read 408 pages and I don't remember places he had been, views he has seen and people he met, because he was too focus on his computer.
For me this book isn't about hitchhiking, but about complaining, stupid jokes, drinking, eating fast foods, vomiting and once again - complaining.
If you like American Pie film - you might also like this book, if not - stay away from it.
Good people spent their money to make his will come true, and he was upset about the couch he was about to sleep, or not five-star hotel.
He seem to be more excited about meeting Liv Tyler than visiting any country.
So.. This book is not any journey at all. It's about young, ungrateful guy, who travels across US to find people to drink and eat fast foods. For their money.
October 13, 2011
This was such an original idea it made me want to read the book. How exciting to travel the world and not know exactly where you are going and where you might sleep tomorrow! It was great to read about all the people who made this journey possible and all the ups and downs that there were. You can’t expect to circumnavigate the globe without a few hassles! Smith writes really honestly about how the journey worked out, the difficulties, the things he hadn’t thought about and the things he wasn’t prepared for.
It was interesting to learn about the world of Twitter, too. This was something that I was mostly unfamiliar with. This book does contain a unique insight into twitter and the tweeps that use it, (if you are not into this particular mode of communication you could learn a whole new vocabulary!). It was thought-provoking to reflect on the way communication has changed so much in recent years and on the impact on society of social networking sights. Smith offers some of his own insights into these issues, but there is plenty of room just to draw your own conclusions.
However I was disappointed that Smith didn’t write more about the places he visited. As he travelled across Europe and America he also had to work (fair enough!) but this didn’t allow time for actually visiting the places he was travelling through. When Smith reaches New Zealand he finally begins to have more time for his surroundings and it was great reading about the beauty of the country and his interesting experiences with the people he encounters there.
Verdict: A light-hearted and interesting read, but not quite what I was expecting so not one I’ll hang onto.
Helen.
It was interesting to learn about the world of Twitter, too. This was something that I was mostly unfamiliar with. This book does contain a unique insight into twitter and the tweeps that use it, (if you are not into this particular mode of communication you could learn a whole new vocabulary!). It was thought-provoking to reflect on the way communication has changed so much in recent years and on the impact on society of social networking sights. Smith offers some of his own insights into these issues, but there is plenty of room just to draw your own conclusions.
However I was disappointed that Smith didn’t write more about the places he visited. As he travelled across Europe and America he also had to work (fair enough!) but this didn’t allow time for actually visiting the places he was travelling through. When Smith reaches New Zealand he finally begins to have more time for his surroundings and it was great reading about the beauty of the country and his interesting experiences with the people he encounters there.
Verdict: A light-hearted and interesting read, but not quite what I was expecting so not one I’ll hang onto.
Helen.
May 15, 2015
A self-indulgent man who decided to go as far around the world for free as he could using the goodwill of twitter users to do it. I shan't be looking out for another book by this author.
September 23, 2021
An enjoyable journey about how you can rely on strangers and generally forget your clothes in hotel rooms! I read this a while ago but left the last chapter as it got lost in a move, so re-read recently. A nice little way to look back on the origins of social networking now but also to remind us of a time before covid and perhaps the near future again.
September 27, 2012
The concept of the idea written about in the book is fantastic, and as such, I expected a lot from this book. Although the story itself is both inspirational and insightful, the content of the text is far from the story I'd expected; if you want to read a book where the author gets drunk every night, is sick, complains about cramped conditions and then reminds you here and there that his plan is not as successful as he'd wanted it to be, then this is the book for you.
I was disappointed with the book as it did not match up to it's blurb, but it was not completely ruined and I did still enjoy reading the book, and has given a different outlook on the virtual communities the world hosts.
I was disappointed with the book as it did not match up to it's blurb, but it was not completely ruined and I did still enjoy reading the book, and has given a different outlook on the virtual communities the world hosts.
April 5, 2015
Absolute genius. I laughed, and I cried. I jealously read descriptions of cities on my wish list. I cringed at some situations, and sobbed at others. A truly brilliant book - as demonstrated by the fact that I only started it this morning!
April 6, 2015
It's ok a bite size chapter book written in a conversational style, I love twitter so that was a bit of a hook but if I'm honest the tweeting the the story didn't fit interesting an ok read but I wouldn't re read or recommend
February 3, 2022
Książka, po której przeczytaniu, mam coraz większą ochotę na podobną wyprawę. Uświadamia czytelnikowi, że świat stoi przed nim otworem, a podróżowanie to wielka przygoda.
November 11, 2018
Written in the days when Twitter was fresh, Paul Smith's jaunt across the globe sponsored by Twitter is a lighthearted, fun romp involving lots of booze and a few laughs. Saying that, I was put off by the writing style pretty early on, mostly because of the gratuitous humour and phrases such as 'sweet muscular Jesus', which pretty much annoyed the crap out of me. However I was won over by Paul's spirited endeavour and his approach to life, which is pretty down to earth.
Is the Twitchhiker worth a read? Yep, it is. It's not a particularly memorable read, but it's light and breezy and makes me think about how many entrepreneurial opportunities there are out there, and that this one was pretty creative and inspiring in its own way.
Is the Twitchhiker worth a read? Yep, it is. It's not a particularly memorable read, but it's light and breezy and makes me think about how many entrepreneurial opportunities there are out there, and that this one was pretty creative and inspiring in its own way.
May 31, 2021
Written in 2010 this book seems dated now as 11 years later social media isn't the novelty he makes it sound back then. I liked the concept of putting himself in the hands of fate and he yes man attitude to offers he got to aid his travel round the world. However I thought it would be funny, but for me it was only ever mildly amusing. His schedule was punishing and he rarely saw anything in any of the places he visited so as a travel book it lacked something for me. I also found it slightly irritating that everyone he met was named and hashtagged (to Twitter) - but then again I don't love social media and Twitter is the one I have always avoided. So not brilliant but a great idea at the time and well executed.
June 7, 2018
Good read for the most part but it was heavy with witticisms that got tired and annoying after awhile. Didn't really engage with the story as much as I thought I would, probably because I couldn't relate to him, his perspective, or how he went about his journey. A bit disappointing in that aspect but the social experiment side of things was interesting.
April 22, 2020
Really enjoyed this quick read. Liked the sense of adventure by relying on the kindness of others and the force of Twitter. A real life adventure.
July 21, 2020
Starts of super witty so you think it'll be a hilarious journey to follow- it isn't. Felt weary of the travel probably more so the the writer did.
Great concept- just not worth the read.
Great concept- just not worth the read.
July 4, 2023
A little dated now, but a quirky read.
August 3, 2013
This book is basically a social experiment, utilizing twitter as a means to travel. The author sets out to travel as far from his home town as he can in 30 days, via accepting offers of help by users of twitter. There are a few rules he sets himself and sometimes these rules threaten to end his journey, but the twitterverse comes to his rescue at the 11th hour. He starts off in England and ends up in New Zealand, with some of western Europe and the USA in between.
I was amazed that so many people and businesses offered him free travel tickets and accommodation. I have not traveled much due to cost involved, so this has just made my mind boggle. (Living in Australia doesn't help. Want to go anywhere, and you are faced with large travel expenses.)
I was also amazed that he didn't come to harm, but then, he is male and from what I gather, rather largely built. I doubt a woman could have safely pulled off this venture on her own, and that is an unfair shame.
During this trip, the author helped raise money and awareness for a charity that help dig water wells in third world countries. Kudos for that.
The book is written with much humour and often reminded me of Danny Wallace's books. I have to admit that whilst I enjoyed this book and found it to be entertaining, I think Wallace does do a better job of this sort of 'humourous, travel, adventure, social experiment' genre.
There wasn't much in the way of actually describing where he was, for most of the book. The set up of the challenge was to blame for that. With not being able to plan ahead for more than 3 days, and being at the mercy of offers of help from twitter users, a lot of his time seemed to be spent trying to get transport and accommodation, with little time and effort left to actually do some sightseeing.
Finally, in order for me to enjoy this book the best I could, I had to try and not focus on the writer's personality and habits, too much. At the back of my mind, I did wonder who would leave their wife and young children, less than a week after their wedding, to do such a thing? When he admitted that he was diagnosed with bipolar disorder, it kind of explained things. I do appreciate the author's honesty in that regard (and mentioning his gambling addiction, most likely tied into his bipolar disorder)but the impulse to do such a thing on what seems a whim, when you have a family that relies on you? Well....Hmmm. And the constant drinking, lack of sleep and over indulgence in eating animals throughout the book just started to grate after a while. It didn't sound to me like a good way to manage the disorder.
Still, I hear there will be another book out soon, so I may look out for it out of sheer curiosity.
I was amazed that so many people and businesses offered him free travel tickets and accommodation. I have not traveled much due to cost involved, so this has just made my mind boggle. (Living in Australia doesn't help. Want to go anywhere, and you are faced with large travel expenses.)
I was also amazed that he didn't come to harm, but then, he is male and from what I gather, rather largely built. I doubt a woman could have safely pulled off this venture on her own, and that is an unfair shame.
During this trip, the author helped raise money and awareness for a charity that help dig water wells in third world countries. Kudos for that.
The book is written with much humour and often reminded me of Danny Wallace's books. I have to admit that whilst I enjoyed this book and found it to be entertaining, I think Wallace does do a better job of this sort of 'humourous, travel, adventure, social experiment' genre.
There wasn't much in the way of actually describing where he was, for most of the book. The set up of the challenge was to blame for that. With not being able to plan ahead for more than 3 days, and being at the mercy of offers of help from twitter users, a lot of his time seemed to be spent trying to get transport and accommodation, with little time and effort left to actually do some sightseeing.
Finally, in order for me to enjoy this book the best I could, I had to try and not focus on the writer's personality and habits, too much. At the back of my mind, I did wonder who would leave their wife and young children, less than a week after their wedding, to do such a thing? When he admitted that he was diagnosed with bipolar disorder, it kind of explained things. I do appreciate the author's honesty in that regard (and mentioning his gambling addiction, most likely tied into his bipolar disorder)but the impulse to do such a thing on what seems a whim, when you have a family that relies on you? Well....Hmmm. And the constant drinking, lack of sleep and over indulgence in eating animals throughout the book just started to grate after a while. It didn't sound to me like a good way to manage the disorder.
Still, I hear there will be another book out soon, so I may look out for it out of sheer curiosity.
July 13, 2013
Why did I want to read this book? Because the idea behind it is just crazy yet at the same time simply amazing. I love travelling but I'm a control freak and I need to plan everything when I go anywhere. And for me to think that someone was brave enough to just go with the flow and let strangers decide for him where to go next and rely on those same strangers as far as transport and accommodation goes - it gave me a headache and a fit of overexcitement at the same time :)
Paul Smith managed to travel to the other side of the world using Twitter and relying on people who'd be willing to pay for his experiment or put him up, transport him from one place to another or simply take him for a drink.
Now, I loved the idea but yet again I was disappointed with the writing style (but this might be because I read a Polish translation of the book and that always makes reading less enjoyable). Also, I had a problem with what the book focused on, which was the author rambling on about whether he'll manage to find a way to get somewhere next and debating why in certain places there were less offers for him on Twitter. I know the whole premise was to get as far as possible in 30 days but I kind of missed more descriptions of places, more dialogues with people who helped him etc.
On the whole I think I would recommend this book but try and read it in English, maybe the writing style won't be a problem after all.
Paul Smith managed to travel to the other side of the world using Twitter and relying on people who'd be willing to pay for his experiment or put him up, transport him from one place to another or simply take him for a drink.
Now, I loved the idea but yet again I was disappointed with the writing style (but this might be because I read a Polish translation of the book and that always makes reading less enjoyable). Also, I had a problem with what the book focused on, which was the author rambling on about whether he'll manage to find a way to get somewhere next and debating why in certain places there were less offers for him on Twitter. I know the whole premise was to get as far as possible in 30 days but I kind of missed more descriptions of places, more dialogues with people who helped him etc.
On the whole I think I would recommend this book but try and read it in English, maybe the writing style won't be a problem after all.
November 19, 2016
As travel books go, this is unusual in that it replaces the conventional travel agent’s itinerary or self-directed motivation with the random helpfulness of Twitter followers who just happen to want to get involved in one man’s ambitious goal; namely, to travel to the furthest point from home in thirty days relying entirely on the assistance of strangers. Being familiar with Twitter as I am, I found this an interesting and wonderful experiment. It began with an optimistic belief in the generosity of the online community and really put to the test the idea that there would be enough people out there who shared this belief to make a round-the-world trip possible. The account is well-written and never gets bogged down with too much detail about the people or places the author visits. Rather, the focus on the centrality of Twitter stays constant, and the message about how people became inspired by the author’s intention and contributed generously towards making his journey possible stays firmly in the forefront of the narrative. While the emphasis on interconnectedness may be lost on anyone who is not familiar with Twitter, I think the book is well worth a read. In the end, it is about far more than travelling; it is about common vision, mutual support and amazing goodwill.
October 23, 2010
A wonderful story, told in a quite splendid way. There are bits that are sad, bits that are happy, and bits that are incredibly uplifting. It's an addictive book, too; rather too easy to lose hours by "just finding out what happens next". And you don't need to know, or care, about Twitter to read it either. He comes across as a splendid person to have as a house guest, as long as you don't let him cook sausages for you.
(Fessing up: I've known Paul for ten years or so. He cooks sausages very badly).
(Fessing up: I've known Paul for ten years or so. He cooks sausages very badly).
March 19, 2013
The concept is interesting, but the writing lets the book down. The first chapter does nothing for the book or story. I want to give the author a stern kicking for being so lazy and disorganised. Writing a little turgid in places. But I'm enjoying finding ou what happens. In summary, if the same mission had been undertaken by someone else who was more likeable and better at both writing and storytelling, it could havevbeen a great book.
September 21, 2014
This is a jolly little book, that zips along much like the actual journey must have done. It's a shame that due to the nature of the challenge Paul Smith obviously didn't have much time for sightseeing, so you don't get much about the places he visited - it's not really a travel book in that sense, it's more about the journey, and the people he met along the way. Good fun if you like books about eccentric Englishmen doing mad things and earning a bit for charity along the way.
July 21, 2014
I've got a real soft spot for travel books and technology and although not being a huge twitter user myself, was very curious to see how Paul's journey would occur.
I'm astounded at the kindness of the strangers he encountered, and its impressive to discover just how far Paul managed to get from Newcastle, relying on re-tweets reaching useful/helpful people.
There was a great pacing to the book, and was a very enjoyable read, especially with some of the descriptions of the places.
I'm astounded at the kindness of the strangers he encountered, and its impressive to discover just how far Paul managed to get from Newcastle, relying on re-tweets reaching useful/helpful people.
There was a great pacing to the book, and was a very enjoyable read, especially with some of the descriptions of the places.
January 27, 2012
The thoroughly enjoyable story of how one man embraced (& was embraced by) Twitter. Set the challenge of getting from northeast England to the southern islands of New Zealand in 30 days with only the help of tweeps, Smith encounters characters & adventure galore.
A wonderfully engaging and funny read.
A wonderfully engaging and funny read.
April 26, 2012
Paul Smith is a great and funny writer, and he has a great idea in his attempt to rely on Twitter to get him halfway across the world. Some parts of the story were a little dull but overall I was largely gripped by his dream.
http://chocolatedigestivebiscuit.blog...
http://chocolatedigestivebiscuit.blog...
July 4, 2012
3.5 stars.
It's a pretty interesting concept: One many travels around the world in 30 days solely through offers from people on Twitter (and raises money for a good cause, too).
It's an interesting read. It also confirms what I already suspected: Tweeps (People both known and unknown to you in real life) are pretty awesome.
It's a pretty interesting concept: One many travels around the world in 30 days solely through offers from people on Twitter (and raises money for a good cause, too).
It's an interesting read. It also confirms what I already suspected: Tweeps (People both known and unknown to you in real life) are pretty awesome.
February 21, 2013
The concept of twitchiking seemed intriguing so I was expecting to read an interesting travel story. However, as far as travel stories go, this didn't offer anything that exciting. The US parts were enjoyable, but all in all it fell a bit flat. Great idea, sound execution but as a book it's not that awesome. Certain things simply work better on the internet than they do on paper.
February 24, 2016
I admire the endeavour - a strange modern pilgrimage - more than the book. It does have its moments but it just isn't compelling. Clearly the adventure itself - as it was happening - really was, for many people, or doubtless there never could have been a book at all! I felt like I'd missed out on the excitement.
March 30, 2013
Unique adventure. Very original idea and great to recieve tweets from the author when I commented on the book on, you guessed it, twitter. Just goes to show the power of social media. Thanks for a fun read Paul.
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