Life Plans on Dive Bar Napkins: A guide for travelling recklessly, living stupidly

Paul Manser’s Life Plans on Dive Bar Napkins is about a travel writer’s adventures and experiences in different parts of the world. His story reveals his journey of making friends and creating memories with various personalities. Sometimes, he is met with friendly words like, “Chill man. Canadians are the friendliest people in the world.” Other times, he has to stomach the pain of embarrassing connections or lack thereof, like when he is referred to as “a bit weird” for pointing out to a girl in Iceland that she won’t find him on the app that “helps Icelandic people avoid sleeping with a direct blood relative”. Join Paul as he learns what it means to live in turbulent areas like Rocinha, where a gang that controls the neighborhood is called Amigos dos Amigos (ADA), or Friends of Friends. Share in his laughs and funny blunders as he looks back on his life travels with a carefree attitude.

The author’s writing is fast-paced and entertaining from start to finish. No parts of the book are slow or predictable. Paul keeps the narrative fresh and constantly busy, just like his travels to different countries. This allows readers to experience what it’s like to travel to the countries he went to and learn from their various cultures within a short time. I enjoyed learning about peculiar societal issues, like Portland’s fast transformation and Vancouver’s growing population of homeless people.

With its poetic words and smart metaphors, the book offers a brilliant escape for the artistic soul. I especially loved Paul’s description of LA and its tendency to attract insecure and desperately ambitious people. He says it’s like “a mosquito drunk on summer’s blood flying towards a fluorescent blue bug zapper.” Attentive readers will enjoy the immersing descriptions and Paul’s perspective observations. Even though the book quickly moves through different locations and experiences, it has a way of making you feel like you’re there with the author in every scene.

Jovial spirits and adventurous souls will love this book. Its humorous stories and funny remarks are some of its most compelling features. Paul doesn’t take himself too seriously, as he generously shares funny, embarrassing stories, including the time he realized he mistook his breath for a baby’s poop smell. Also, the travel tales are culturally enlightening and offer a memorable experience.

A variety of emotions await those who dare to explore Paul’s fast-paced, creative, and culture-rich book. The stories are designed to make you feel like you’re a part of every compelling experience, whether it’s the danger of being among gangs and criminals, the thrill of a possible romance, or the pain of losing half of a village to a mudslide.