KEY POINTS:
It's always fun to have a theme for a trip overseas. I've heard of people having great holidays in pursuit of the perfect surfing wave, the finest pinot noir, family history, places associated with Sherlock Holmes, ancient pilgrim ways, rare birds, art galleries, All Black tours, cathedrals, tigers and even places with the same name (specifically a tour of all the Dublins in the United States).
I managed a tour of England earlier this year where my main aim was to experience as many fine old pubs and as many different ales as possible (highly recommended).
It's certainly possible to organise that sort of expedition yourself with the aid of Google and Lonely Planet, but it's even better if you can find a guide book aimed specifically at your needs.
For instance, if you fancy copying my real ale tour of England the ideal companion is the Campaign for Real Ale's Good Beer Guide 2007 (available from www.camra.org.uk for about $43). And there are an increasing number of other specialist guide books coming out these days.
World Party (Rough Guides, $45)
If your travel plan is basically to party your way around the world, then this book is for you.
Not only does it list the best parties - as identified by Rough Guides' readers - it also advises how to get there, how to make the most of the fun and how to survive.
Top of the party pops, as you might expect, is the Rio Carnival, described as "the world's best party - period ... the wildest, glitziest, largest carnival of them all". Second on the party list is the less famous Fantasy Fest, held every year in Florida's Quay West, "a music and rum-fuelled party marathon that reaches its zenith with a massive themed costumed parade." (See story page 8.)
Third spot goes to the Fiesta de San Fermin in the Spanish town of Pamplona, best known for the Running of the Bulls, an event which is only part of "the scariest, loudest and most raucous party you'll ever come across".
The fourth best place to be - and, I must admit, a surprise to me - is England's Glastonbury Festival, described as "simply the finest music festival in the world" and a chance to "rediscover your free-spirited, tree-hugging side".
Rounding out the top five parties around the globe is Munich's Oktoberfest, known to generations of hungover young Kiwis, and celebrated as "an unadulterated celebration of beer, Bavarian life and bacchanalia".
But that's not all, there are more than 200 other great parties listed in the book, including even a few from Australia (the Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras ranked 16th overall) and New Zealand (Hokitika Wildfoods Festival, Golden Sheers, Pasifika).
So what are you waiting for? Get out there and join the international party.
Wine Travel Guide to the World, by Robert Joseph (Footprint, $65)
Sponsored by local wine company Montana, and featuring on its cover the glorious Rippon Vineyard on the shores of Lake Wanaka, this offers a tour of 600 of the finest and most interesting vineyards from 80 countries including Mexico, Russia, Macedonia, China, Ethiopia and Lebanon.
Joseph, a renowned international wine expert, is a particular fan of the way the New Zealand wineries welcome visitors.
"If one had to choose just one country in which to spend a day or a week visiting vineyards, New Zealand would have to be it," he said when he visited for the book launch at the Brancott Winery in Marlborough.
"Wineries are widely spread across the two islands, making it easy to combine wine tasting with other activities, but most important of all is the way in which the entire industry has embraced the notion of wine tourism."
This is in sharp contrast with, say, the French, who Joseph commends for their superb wine and food, but criticises for making "little effort to encourage people who would like to get to know their wines better".
Obviously the book's aim is to make up for such failings by helping the travelling wine enthusiast to plot an enjoyable course through places which produce fine wines but have little interest in promoting tourism.
I'm in no position to judge how well the guide does that job in, say, France, but when it comes to his advice about wine areas I do know about I wasn't particularly impressed.
On Waiheke Island, for instance, he lists only Stonyridge and Te Motu.
Well, I've spent a lot of time on Waiheke and, while I wouldn't argue with the choice of Stonyridge, I can't imagine how Te Motu would be selected ahead of the likes of Goldwater or Te Whau.
And in Hawkes Bay, where I lived for a few years, there's a disappointing emphasis on big, flash wineries like Sileni and Craggy Range at the expense of more individualist places like Clearview and Eskdale where visitors can usually get the chance to chat to the winemaker.
Furthermore, it's a bit worrying to see him refer to one of the leading English wineries, whose sparkling wines have beaten those from champagne, as Ridgeway when its name is actually RidgeView (and which is worth visiting).
Tigers in Red Weather, by Ruth Padel (Abacus, $29.99.)
Ruth Padel's obsession - prompted in part by the breakdown of a long-term relationship - is with tigers.
An encounter during a cheap, get-away-from-it-all trip to India, inspires her to discover more about the great cats, their historical role in religion, their habits, their place in nature and, in particular, their modern-day battle for survival.
In India and Nepal, Bangladesh and Bhutan, Russia and Korea, China and Sumatra, she searches for and occasionally finds tigers, explores temples dedicated to their power, meets the people fighting to help them survive in the face of corruption, hunger and indifference, and argues about where to draw the line between human needs and protection of animals.
All this would be fascinating enough, but Padel is by profession a poet, with a poet's eye for imagery and love of language, so her story is not only intriguing and insightful but a joy to read, achieving the rare combination of being both enthralling and highly informative.
The result is a classic travel book which brilliantly explores the relationship between the natural wonders we all like to see, and the threat our way of life poses to their continued existence.
Butter Chicken in Ludhiana: travels in small town India, by Pankaj Mishra (Picador, $28)
Most travellers to India tend to focus on the big cities and famous attractions but there is much enchantment - and a lot less hassle - to be found in the myriad small towns and villages across the sub-continent.
Pankaj Mishra travelled to 20 such towns, not as a tourist but rather as a social observer, eager to report on how the patchy spread of affluence in the new India was impacting on the traditional way of life.
But his book, originally compiled 10 years ago but now re-issued in an updated form, makes delightful reading on both counts.
His keen, if somewhat patronising, eye and biting wit paints a delightful picture of the crass nouveau riche middle class that resonates even in New Zealand.
And his description of the marvellous experiences to be found outside the usual tourist centres provides a compelling reason to go there.
