Turning the page

In "State by State," a collection of fifty essays by fifty writers released this fall, it is clear there are many ways to begin a journey.

In Tennesee, for example, the novelist Ann Patchett opens with this: "I have on several occasions been told that the secret to making money, big money, is to find that place at the edge of a town where the real estate stops being priced by the square foot and begins to be priced by the acre."

Or in New Mexico, Ellery Washington: "Shortly after my tenth birthday I was nearly struck by lightning."

As a reader, though you may not be sure exactly where, it is clear you are going somewhere interesting.

In that spirit, travel writer Rory McLean recently put together a list of writers' favorite travel books for the Guardian newspaper.

One that I hope to explore: "The Bridge," by Geert Mak, about Istanbul's Galata Bridge. Like a good first sentence, the seemingly simple title starts one place, but hints, too, that you will end up somewhere different.