All over the Place

Adventures in Travel, True Love, and Petty Theft

By: Geraldine DeRuiter

Narrated by: Geraldine DeRuiter

Length: 8 hrs and 29 mins

Publisher's Summary

Some people are meant to travel the globe, to unwrap its secrets, and share them with the world. And some people have no sense of direction, are terrified of pigeons, and get motion sickness from tying their shoes. These people are meant to stay home and eat nachos. Geraldine DeRuiter is the latter. But she won't let that stop her. Hilarious, irreverent, and heartfelt, All over the Place chronicles the years Geraldine spent traveling the world after getting laid off from a job she loved. Those years taught her a great number of things, though the ability to read a map was not one of them. She has only a vague idea of where Russia is, but she now understands her Russian father better than ever before. She learned that what she thought was her mother's functional insanity was actually an equally incurable condition called "being Italian". She learned what it's like to travel the world with someone you already know and love - how that person can help you make sense of things and make far-off places feel like home. She learned about unemployment and brain tumors, lost luggage and lost opportunities, and just getting lost in countless terminals and cabs and hotel lobbies across the globe. And she learned that sometimes you can find yourself exactly where you need to be - even if you aren't quite sure where you are.

©2017 Geraldine DeRuiter (P)2017 Hachette Audio

Critic Reviews

"DeRuiter's funny, honest portrayal of life's small and large adventures will convince any hesitant would-be traveler that you don't need bravery or even an above average sense of direction to venture out into the world-all you need is a plane ticket and a sense of humor (and maybe a plunger)." (Rachel Friedman, author of The Good Girl's Guide to Getting Lost)

"Geraldine DeRuiter's All Over the Place is a travel memoir of sorts, but I'd enjoy reading pretty much any topic she wanted to cover. Her voice is funny, witty and warm, and her stories sparkle. This book is a travel companion you'll be happy you brought along." (Lauren Graham, star of Gilmore Girls and New York Times best-selling author of Talking as Fast as I Can)

"I laughed so hard during the book's 'disclaimer' that I woke up my baby, and then actively ignored him to continue reading. Geraldine is at turns laugh-out-loud hilarious and grab-me-some-tissues tender, and all I could think of after reading this was 'can we take a trip together please?'" (Nora McInerny Purmort, author of It's Okay to Laugh (Crying Is Cool Too))

Couldn't finish - story of a dependant/whiny woman

I stopped actively listening around chapter 5 and struggled on, determined to finish. I admitted defeat by chapter 9 after letting the audio play while I washed dishes and scrolled Facebook as those tasks provided more entertainment than this book. If you are looking for a memior or a 'life lessons' essay instead of a book about travel, then this might be for you. If, like me, you are seeking an account of travel stories/descriptions of places, then this is NOT it. It reads more like a compilation of this woman's worst qualities/life experiences as she puts herself down and glorifies her husband through a whiny and trying-too-hard-to-be-witty narration. I kept telling myself to just get through it, that I might take something valuable away from this book by the end even though it wasn't what I was looking for....but I couldn't. Instaed, I just felt annoyed. Perhaps my expectations were too high. I was hoping for the story of a strong female on an independent journey through travel/life, but ended up with a rambling account of this woman's family and their mishaps penned by a seemingly highly-strung, dependant wife who overuses the word "inexplicably." Maybe it's exactly what you're looking for, but for me it was NOT.

I laughed and cried!

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

I've actually purchased ten additional print copies for friends, family, and strangers. So yes, I'd recommend this book.

What about Geraldine DeRuiter’s performance did you like?

It is always a treat to hear a book orated by the author.

Any additional comments?

I read Geraldine DeRuiter’s book in one day. I laughed and cried through the first three-quarters of All Over the Place in print and then when I couldn’t delay leaving the house for another minute, I downloaded the Audible version and listened in the car. Both the print and Audible formats are lovely. Geraldine is honest, vulnerable, relatable and hilarious about her less-than-perfect adventures around the globe. You’re going to love it!

I found this to be boring which surprised me

Oh dear I found this to be very boring after a promising start. The author reads her own book which is always a delight and she does a good job here. The material is just not that funny or interesting. I bought it after reading some hilarious blog posts and Times humor articles of hers. She mainly talks about her family and husband in mostly serious and loving terms which is awesome for her. I'm glad she has them in her life but IMO I don't know them and after several chapters of the same thing I was ready to move on to another topic but she never did.

Life is messy which adds to the adventure.

I thoroughly enjoyed sharing slices of life through Geraldine's eyes. The bits about her mother are especially hilarious! Through thick and thin, I enjoyed the shenanigans.

A fascinating story(ies)!

I found this book after looking up Geraldine DeRulter on Twitter, after one of tweets went viral (the one about how Joker really should be a woman!) and I'm really happy I listened to this audiobook! Geraldine does a great job telling stories, and narrating them too! As someone who likes travelling but still has a lot more to do, I was really enjoying hearing her stories and how different they are from most travellers. The stories were more about her and her relationship with her husband, not where they were specifically. There are some gross stories about half way through which I wasn't sure I needed to hear (TMI! lol) but this is a great listen!

A truly enjoyable story

Geraldine's self deprecating humor woven into relatable stories capped with poignant life lessons make All Over the Place truly enjoyable listen. The way she words things cracked me up from beginning to end, and her performance in the audio is so sincere as she relives her life with you. The book feels like one long chat with a big sister (even though she's four years younger than you) who you know isn't perfect, but when she comes to a conclusion about life, you can't help but acknowledge that she's right.

Simply delightful

Now that I've finished listening to this book, I'll miss Geraldine's storytelling, charm and overall self-deprecating wit. It made me look back on all my own travels to try to piece together what I learned about those close to me and myself. Highly recommend.

Definitely All Over The Place (Not Travel Though)

This isn’t a travel book. This is more of an autobiography. She was “All Over The Place” with her subjects. She definitely goes into the weeds in every sentence. You know the people who tell a story and talk about their uncle’s girlfriend’s car that they had bought off some crack head who was a veteran in a war that they joined when they were barely legal… keep telling us pointless info that don’t have any matter in the story in the first place; where you forget where they were going with the story in the first place. I couldn’t stand the way she read. She tries to be funny and witty, but she isn’t. Only like 2-3 chapters (10-15% of the book) would be considered travel related, and they’re pretty much at the end of the book. She just talks about everyone in her family and life growing up, each of her parents, her brother, how she met her husband and etc… I only liked 2 chapters that were travel related. I pretty much instantly regretted spending a credit on this book after a chapter or two in.

Had this been a person I knew and cared for, then maybe I might find this book interesting. This was like watching a reality show about a random person you don’t care about.

Couldn’t get through this one

Boring not sure if the point did not enjoy the narrator was not marketed correctly

rambling about her marriage

I thought this was supposed to be a travel memoir. I spent an entire 35 minute car ride listening to her drone on about her fiancé and how much she loved him. Maybe for some but not for me.