In the first week of the Guardian's autumn books season we look at travel writing. Veteran author Colin Thubron explains why, despite changes in the way travel books are written and read, some values remain the same.
We look at the books that the world's most distinguished travel writers value most highly, as reported in the Travel section of this week's Guardian. And we talk to Mike Carter, one of the new breed of writing travellers, about the difference between the literatures of motorbike and pedal cycle.
As London's famous Travel Bookshop in Notting Hill closes, meanwhile, we also head off to London's Daunt's bookshop to find out how retailers are adapting to the new world. We find them placing traditional travel literature alongside fiction, which will come as no surprise to our next guest, Edward Docx, who explains about the importance of location to his fiction.
Lastly we catch up with the performance artist Bobby Baker, who recorded her journey through mental illness in a diary which has just been made Book of the Year by the charity Mind.
Reading list
To a Mountain in Tibet by Colin Thubron (Harper)
One Man and His Bike by Mike Carter (Ebury)
Diary Drawings by Bobby Baker (Profile)
The Devil's Garden by Edward Docx (Picador)
