When Wanderers Cease to Roam: A Traveler's Journal of Staying Put

I’ve read both of her books, but much preferred this one. (In part because the illustrations in this one feel fresher, whereas the other book’s felt too copied from photographs, to my eye.) Her observations of daily life, marking of the subtle changes of the seasons, interesting factoids, and snippets from the village newspaper make me yearn for my own special village to call home. (Seriously, I found myself searching online real estate sites while reading this book!) I often give away books when I finish reading them, but not this one. It is the perfect book to savor on a winter’s day, or as I did, in the shade on a hot summer’s day, and I’m sure I will want to experience it again. Delightful.

"When Wanderers Cease To Roam" is so delightful, I am telling all my friends and family about it! It's in the format of a personal journal, full of Ms. Swift's charming watercolor sketches and whimsical comments, trivia, and vignettes of her many years of traveling the globe - as well as the many positive aspects she has discovered concerning "Staying Put." This book can best be described as "Lovely!" The pages are thick, smooth, and semi-glossy - just perfect of displaying the many, many watercolor paintings found on nearly every page. The book is divided into twelve sections - one for every month of the year. After years of globe-trekking, Ms. Swift settled herself in a small village, nestled along Long Island Sound in New York State. I keep this book beside my favorite chair, where it has lived for over a year, and I look at it repeated as the weeks, months, and seasons arrive and then spin-away. The text was hand-written by the author, which adds to the personal tone of the book. It is also an inspiration to all who love journal-keeping ... especially those who enjoy including art within their narratives. I've given this book to several people as a gift, and it's been very well-received. You won't be sorry, buying this little Gem!

Illustrated journals, scrapbooks, memoirs. You've seen them all, right? Wrong. In "When Wanders Cease to Roam" Vivian Swift brings a breath of fresh air to a genre that is in danger of becoming too stultifying. Her deft combination of crisp watercolor images and text (her own thoughtful reflections along with delightful quotes and obscure and amazing anecdotes) keeps you turning the pages. Of special note is how Swift skillfully composes each page leaving plenty of room for the reader's eye and imagination to add to the experience.This book is like a chocolate box offering an array of treasures to be considered and then sampled in any order you please. Best of all, unlike chocolates, you can go back to enjoy this book over and over again.A great book for travelers (both the active and armchair kind), artists, writers and anyone who enjoys the company of a smart, opinionated thoughtful and laugh-out-loud funny traveler who has learned the joys of staying put.And if you like this then don't miss her new book "Le Road Trip: A Traveler's Journal of Love and France" (coming out April 2012).

What attracted me to order this book was the illustrations. When I received the book I wasn't sure if I liked the content. I started to page through the book just to see and then decided to kept it because of the simple watercolor, sketchy illustrations that originally attracted me to it - I really liked them. I then decided to read a couple of pages; I was then captivated as Vivian Swift took me on a year-long, month by month journey in her life. I loved her writing style as well as her art! I brought in on vacation with me and my sister-in-law picked it up and started thumbing through the book. She ended up reading half the book during our time together and then ordering one for herself! This book caught my attention both visually and narratively.

I am a Vivian Swift fan! This book is great. It is inspiring for those of us who watercolor journal, but it is also a great story of Ms. Swift's younger days of traveling Europe (presumably when it was safer). She is brave and talented. She is also unselfish to share so much of her story with us. I have read it twice and and still find myself picking up the book and simply enjoying it's loveliness... her style of writing, her sense of charm and her humor made this a fabulous read, not to mention her talent with a brush. This is a book I will buy as gifts for my artsy friends and also my FUN friends, as well (not that my artsy friends and fun friends are mutually exclusive! Ha!). Ms. Swift actually wrote this book in her own handwriting (no font here). A very talented lady.

"Take the worst day you had in January, repeat it 28 times, that's February."It's almost February, I'm feeling dull and lonely, so I take out Vivian Swift's journal, because it's one of the best companions in a time like this. It is like a heart-to-heart with friends: personal, relatable, interesting, and eye-opening.I never read the book all at once, but flip to the season or the month I'm inspired to crawl into. It's a perfect book to read when you need some inspirations to keep on going in life, or when you want a companion to go over the good things in life.

As a journaling enthusiast, this book appeals to me because it is presented with the author's cursive writing (not printed font) and lovely water color illustrations. It is her journaling observations of her day-to-day life, not traveling around as she used to do in previous years. It actually points out how to be thankful, grateful and find joy in ordinary everyday life, which is a basis of feeling happy. She does write about her past travels, but the book focuses on her not traveling around and just enjoying the simple pleasures of real life.

will look at this book again and again it is truly lovely

Like both her other books I loved this book. Vivian is on home turf and the book was an introduction for me to Long Island Sound , I loved the style of the book charting the months and the fact I could identify with so much of what she wrote which together with the delightful watercolours meant I just couldn't put it down until the last page. Together with the other two books this will never leave my bookshelves ! A really wonderful book you will enjoy for many years..........!

I read this book in one day, I was totally entranced by the beautiful paintings and the conversational tone of the little sketches describing daily life. Buy this you will not be disappointed, I dare you to read the first few pages and then put it down... ha hah you won't be able to... it's gorgeous!

I had already seen the book, so I knew it was what I wanted, and sure enough it is one of the best art/journal-type books I have ever seen! I've learned from it, as well as just generally enjoying the contents - I've even corresponded with the author, who is a delightful person. I would certainly recommend it to anyone looking for a book like that. As I recall the delivery was very quick also, and the book in mint condition.

I love this book. It’s a journal over a period of time, some of it whimsical but the illustrations are amazing and the hand written entries look like they were typeset. It is one of favourite possessions. I agree it would have been nice to read more about her travels but none the less, I love this book.