Could this be a collectible?
UPDATE: Arthur Frommer bought back Frommer’s and plans to publish the books again. Read more here.
Frommer’s guide books will no longer be printed, reported Skift on Thursday, March 21, 2013. Google, bought Frommer’s from Wiley for $22 million last August, and has now decided to stop publishing the books. This makes me sad because I actually use physical guide books. I even used a Frommer’s book, Stockholm Day by Day: 24 Smart Ways to See the City, on my trip to Sweden this summer. Maybe it will be a collector’s item?
The shutting down of Frommer’s by Google is a sorry ending to a wonderful business story. Arthur Frommer got the travel bug during his military service in the Korean War. His first book was The G.I.’s Guide to Traveling in Europe. In 1956, he revised it and published it as Europe on $5 a Day. He also had a tour company for 20 years, but left that in 1981 to focus on the countless Frommer titles. There was also a terrific, recently defunct magazine, Budget Travel.
I’m all for digital — how I could I not be as a blogger — but I really like the security of having a travel guide book in my hand, or more accurately weighing down my tote bag in the case of the ridiculously heavy Fodors Italy book I schlepped around in 2009. After I’ve booked a big trip, I like to go to my nearby Barnes and Noble and look through the guide books. It’s almost a ritual, and I was write it out I’m aware that it already sounds hopelessly old-fashioned.
There isn’t that much variety; I’m usually choosing among Frommer’s, Fodors, DK, Rick Steves, Lonely Planet and Time Out. Occasionally, there’s an outlier for a specific destination like the “blue books” for Hawaii, The Big Island Revealed. But really, it’s the big names or bust in the Barnes and Noble travel section. My first criteria is the publication date. And therein lies the biggest problem with travel guide books, sometimes they haven’t been updated for a few years. And then after that, I just sort of browse through and decide which one I like better. It’s a highly unscientific process.
I’m really a Fodors girl when it comes to guide books, even though I’d be hard pressed (pun intended) to tell you why. Fodors and Frommers are very similar, or rather were very similar. I find Fodors’ layout a little nicer and the tone is a little savvier yet friendlier. And I have a feeling that the Frommer’s fans would say the same about Frommer’s. When I just need a book about a city (as opposed to a country), then I tend to prefer Time Out for their hip restaurant, nightlife and shopping recommendations. Even though I was traveling with a 10-month-old, I still bought Time Out Lisbon and found it helpful for the Lisbon dining scene.
It’s hard to remember what made me choose Frommer’s Stockholm Day by Day, but I think that I liked the way it was laid out in themes and mini-itineraries that worked well since we had a limited time to explore the city. It turned out to be very useful indeed.
So why do I like guide books? I like to thumb through them in the days before the trip. I like to read them on the airplane on the way to my destination, especially when it’s a redeye flight and I’m the only person awake (in addition to the pilot, I hope). I like that they all include some history about the place. I like that I can access the information without worrying that the battery is running out or where the nearest free Wifi cafe is. I like that I can read them while eating gelato and not worry about destroying them. I also like that no one would be tempted to steal them, unlike a fancy digital device. I like that I’m an unapologetic, book-toting tourist who’s excited to be in a new city.
And yes, of course I also do research online and crowd-source on social media.
Do you still use guide books?
Yep. i love guidebooks. Sigh.
wandering educators recently posted..Remembering Grandma, One Waffle at a Time
Yes, I still use guidebooks, but more often than not, they’re small sightseeing guides from local publishers. The traditional Frommer’s/LP/Fodor’s general-purpose guides seem anachronistic these days–and they’re too bulky and heavy to lug around.
I agree. I’m still a fan of the hard copy — for looking up something specific or for skimming and seeing what catches my eye. So sorry to hear the news.
I still like to read guidebooks even though I do a lot of research on-line as well. There’s just something about thumbing through the pages of a guide book that can’t be replaced by digital content. I know it’s hopelessly old-fashioned but I still read paper books too – not yet convinced that I’ll enjoy reading on an e-reader!
What a shame. I still say paper guides are better than digital for planning a trip but once you’re in a city everything you need is on smart-phones, especially map technology, books cannot compete with a digital map.
Jeremy (TravelApprentice) recently posted..What happens after you die?
Yes, I still like guidebooks as well, although the way I used them has changed a bit. I like books for the history, background and photos of specific sights. For this reason I tend to use DK’s Eyewitness Guides, since the photos and diagrams are really terrific. (although those books are HEAVY!)
For practical tips, transportation and lodging I use online sources since they are more current.
So you’ll still bump into me at the Barnes & Noble travel section 🙂
Larissa recently posted..Mostly free things to do in Auckland
Yes, I’m a huge fan of guidebooks — print versions. There’s an ease in having something you can just check, that’s been fact-checked, that the web is no substitute for.
Theodora recently posted..The Best Laid Plans…
If you ever start a support group…. invite me. I will miss the physical guide book too for many of the same reasons… and I love hitting the book store to peruse the travel section for guide books…
I own over 20 (probably more) in my personal collection and I guess that is what they will become collectors items… “wow take a look at Costa Rica in 2004, boy has it changed”
stay adventurous, Craig
Craig Zabransky recently posted..Quinceañera-A Mexican Sweet 15
I’m actually quite sad that Frommer’s will no longer be in print. I like physical guidebooks and think they’re a good foundation for pre-trip research, although I rarely bring them along on the actual trip. It’s a shame.
Anis recently posted..By train to Bagan
I, too, am mourning the loss of the big, bulky travel guidebooks that I still stubbornly haul around. I like to rip city maps out of them and tuck them in my pocket when I’m exploring, and I haven’t yet been happy with the digital substitutes.
Angela Dollar (Travel with a Purpose) recently posted..Travelers Against Plastic Campaign Launches Today on World Water Day
This makes me sad, even though I haven’t carried around a physical copy of a guide book for years. I think it’s nostalgia for all those years backpacking around with a dog-eared copy of a guide book in my pack.
Micki recently posted..Family Activities in Madrid That Let Parents Enjoy the City’s Art, Food and Architecture